Written by Tammy Mudge Tuesday, 27 July 2010 06:00

If you are pushing your way through you EMR implementation, you may want to consider pulling.

Transitioning your office is a very difficult job.  Now more than ever you are forced to change the way the office does business and at a rapid pace.  The industry is changing fast and your practice better keep up.  This adds incredible pressure to the management team especially because people generally hate change.  So, how do you manage the push back?  Here is a little friendly advice:

There are several management styles.  In the simplest terms you can think of the process of managing as pushing or pulling your team.  Let’s think about the difference.  Think about pushing a wagon up hill.   When pushing the wagon there is no one leading the way, just someone shoving with no control of what direction the wagon will go.  Eventually the wagon will either hit a bump (and as we know there are many bumps in real life) and will screech to a stop causing the person pushing to fall on their face, or the wheels will turn on you causing a jack knife effect which will again cause the wagon to come to a complete stop.  Chances are in both the pushing options the wagon will at some point roll backwards and run you over.

Let’s think about pulling a wagon.  The person pulling the wagon is clearly in the lead. They are guiding and steering the wagon, avoiding the bumps because they are in clear site.  They are proactive so that even if they hit a small bump, they will be in the position to pull the wagon through it.

You have to think of managing your employees the same way.  To push without a clear path, without showing that you are willing and able to pull the team through, you will be run over.  Be in front of the wagon and pull, just remember to have a firm grip and look back once in a while to make sure your passengers are still on board.

Your employees need to be clear about the path they are traveling, the potential bumps in the road and where you expect the journey to take then.  If everyone knows the destination, it is easier to identify if you have lost your way.

Count on your “passengers” to guide you and be sure they are part of the team.  If they are not part of the team they are simply dead weight and may want to consider removing  them from the wagon.  At times you may come to a steep hill, allow your team to grab a part of the handle and help pull, it’s ok to ask for help.  Together, as a team you will make it to the top.

Whether you are the lead physician, office administrator or project manager, chances are that your role is more of a leader than a manager. Through a transformation process, such as an EMR implementation, you are setting a path, planning for obstacles and striving for a goal .  As Bev and Tim wrote in their blog’s previous to mine, teamwork and attitude plays such an important role to the success of any project and the management technique you chose will be either the wedge that busts it all apart or the glue that holds it all together.

There is no time to let that wagon sit and rust.  Get the team on board, grab that handle, take a good running start and most of all, make sure you all enjoy the ride.