Insights From Our Editors

Go ‘Teamers’

By Mark Wright, OD, FCOVD

August 1, 2022

3 minute read

The book Gen Y Now: Millennials and the Evolution of Leadership by Buddy Hobart and Herb Sendek breaks down your team into three groups: Teamers, Fence-sitters, and Squeaky Wheels. [Note: We changed the original name Lottery Ticket Winners to Squeaky Wheels.] Here’s how you can tell who fits into which group.

Teamers
These team members are best described as:

loyal
dedicated employees
always giving their best
positive
trusting their leaders
striving to do their part

Because these people require little “maintenance,” managers and leaders tend to ignore them and do not give them much time or energy.

Teamers represent 20% of your practice employees.

Fence-Sitters
These team members are those who are:

the silent majority
not overtly negative or positive
those with a “wait and see” attitude

Because these people are usually “silent,” managers do not spend much time with them.

Fence sitters represent 60% of your practice employees.

Squeaky Wheels
These team members:

perceive nothing as ever right
think (and say) they are smarter, more qualified, and more talented than everyone
seldom offer proactive ideas, but they are always the first to point out the negatives

Because they are the “squeaky wheels,” managers spend a lot of time with them.

Squeaky wheels represent 20% of your practice employees

The following real-life e-mail sent from an eyewear stylist to the entire team clearly illustrates within which group this employee belongs.

From: Emma Few
Sent: Friday, July 15, 2022 8:47 AM
To: ES <Eyewear Stylists >; Docs <Docs>
Subject: Two Pair Race!

Hello Fellow Eyewear Stylist!

Let’s have a competition! I think it is time for some fun and a little bit of a challenge. A race to see who can utilize the BOGO sale the most! From today until the end of the month we will see who can win.

Before we get started, let us refresh our verbiage. Remember, we are filling our Doctors’ prescriptions just like any other prescribed medication. Glasses are so important whether it would be Everyday or Workspace or SV specific lenses or even Sunglasses. With that being known among our stylists already, remember we don’t ask the patient if they want them. They NEED them! Instead let’s speak positively.

For example:

The Doctor prescribed an update to your eyewear today. Do you prefer metal frames with the nose pads or plastic frames?
The Doctor prescribed an update to your eyewear today. Do you prefer neutral tones or colorful tones for your next pair?

YOU ARE THE EXPERT ON LENSES AND FRAMES! You are able to quickly grab the frames off the board that will suit the patients’ wants and needs. This will help to also cut down on time. 🙂 You are so amazing and have gone through extensive training. YOU GOT THIS!

Rules

The competition Starts NOW

What’s in it for you?

The first place gets 150 Hub Points
The second place gets 75 Hub points

WOO HOO!

Emma Few
LEWIS CENTER SHOWROOM MANAGER
EYEWEAR STYLIST
Professional VisionCare LLC.

Teamers Move Forward Without Wasting Time
Which of the three categories would you put Emma into? We put her into the Teamers group. Think of what she is doing. She is causing other Teamers to produce even more. She is showing the Fence Sitters what good leadership looks like. She is not wasting her time with the Squeaky Wheels. Instead, she is moving forward.

Wouldn’t you love to have a practice filled with Emma’s? Re-evaluate your team members. Which category would you put each one into? Then, as you think about each staff member, you will have a clearer path when you think about spending time, effort, rewards, and advancement.

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