Kent Holtorf is a medical doctor. And like any good doctor, he wants to put the people around him at ease.
That’s not just his patients. That includes the doctors and staff members who comprise Holtorf Medical Group Inc., a franchisor of medical care practices that generated $12 million in 2008 revenue.
Holtorf, founder, medical director and CEO, says a good leader drives goals and promotes accountability while fostering a nurturing, empowering culture that encourages camaraderie among the staff and offers opportunities for achievement.
“I’m very lighthearted,” Holtorf says. “I never raise my voice. I tend to be a practical joker. It’s all because I think it’s really important to be liked as a CEO, and that needs to go all the way from the top down. Especially in a medical practice, the staff is kind of scared of the physicians. Doctors tend to be of a different personality style, and I really don’t fit that.”
Smart Business spoke with Holtorf about how you can use communication to set the tone for a positive work environment.
Lead by example. Telling people it has to be done this way and that way, and then if you don’t do it yourself, it doesn’t fly well. You’ll quickly find yourself with a very unmotivated staff. Another thing is to do things to motivate your staff apart from just pay. It’s very important to get people engaged in what they’re doing, believing in what they’re doing.
You can’t sell a product you don’t believe in, and in our practice and dealing with very difficult patients, you have to understand it and have it in your heart that we’re the best place for these patients and we’re helping so many of them. That kind of mindset can really get our medical staff through the long hours.
Value your team. You have to respect every single person and the job they do. That comes from the top down. Again, just being motivated by money gets you a very poor work ethic and everyone just kind of showing up to work each day. They have to believe that what they’re doing matters, that they’re doing a good thing, and they see the results. We do have an advantage in that we’re treating patients, so our people see those results directly. We’re not making pens or some other product like that where we’re disconnected from the result. If you can do that and hire people with good attitudes, you can help to develop the attitude in a staff where they want to go the extra mile and really care about the result. So it’s about finding the right staff and then fostering that mindset, and both have been very important for us.
