Tag: Corporate Optometry

5 Ways to Reduce Optical Staff Errors when Collecting Fees for Sublease ODs

Human Resources, NextGenOD

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Being an optometrist isn’t easy as there are so many things to look after, primarily when you are subleasing and don’t have control of the optical staff. Subleasing has plenty of benefits to offer, including having trained staff who work under your wing and assist you in your daily operations via your contract.

So, what happens when your staff makes errors and makes it difficult for you to run your practice? Such errors include not collecting payments on time from patients.

This isn’t beneficial for your practice and can result in significant losses. So, what should an optometrist do in such a situation? Let’s find out:

Collect Payment Before Treatment
This practice may not be allowed in some jurisdications, which is why it’s crucial to check before implementing . When you collect payments from your patients first, it can help you have clarity whether the patient has paid or not.

If your optical staff fails to collect payment from the patients after the treatment, you’ll be looking at a loss. You would have provided quality treatment to the patient and would note  even get paid for it. See if you can collect payment first.

Hire Your Staff
When you sublease space to run your practice, you will likely have to work with the existing staff. However, it can become problematic once the optical staff makes enormous mistakes. I

In such a situation, you should hire your staff. You can interview yourself to see their potential. When you have the right people for the job working under you, you’ll experience fewer errors and more ease.  Interview potential candidates thoroughly before appointing them, and have a much smoother experience at work.

Set Up Online Payment
If your staff forgets to collect payment from the patients, one thing you can do is ask them to call those patients, apologize for the oversight,  and ask for the payment.

Since your staff made the mistake of collecting payment, they should be the ones who make the call. Also, another suitable way to collect payment would be to set up an online payment option where patients can pay before getting the treatment. This way, you’ll receive the amounts, and your staff wouldn’t have to go after the patients regarding payments.

The Paper Trail
There should be paperwork for everything, including collecting payments from patients. You should have access to the invoices stating that the patient has paid a certain amount of money to receive a particular treatment.

Once you have all the documents, you’ll have proof that the patient has paid, and your staff didn’t forget to ask for the required money. Also, if there’s an invoice missing, you’ll immediately know that your employees failed to fetch the payment.

Do it Yourself?
This isn’t your job as an OD, but if your staff is not on top of things, you’ll have to step in. If you want to ensure your patients pay you the money you’re entitled to receive, you should collect it yourself at the end of the treatment. This way, you won’t have to run after optical staff to do so, and you’ll have your dues as well.

MARIA SAMPALIS

is the founder of Corporate Optometry, a peer-to-peer web resource for ODs interested to learn more about opportunities in corporate optometry. Canadian ODs and optometry students can visit www.corporateoptometry.com to learn more.

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How Optometry is Changing because of Milllennials ODs

Human Resources, NextGenOD

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There is an generational effect  on the optometry industry that is changing expectations from optometry clinics. Millennials and optometry have an important correlation since there are steady changes happening in technology, practice management, work-life balance, patient care and diversity and inclusion. For many millenial ODs, there is a good fit between their expectations and values and a corporate optometry career path.

Trends in Optometry
While millennial ODs need to face an economic reality they do have the flexibility that can help them face future uncertainties.  Going through school and building their careers might leave many millennials with high debt, and without the capital to pursue independent optometry.  Corporate optometry has become an attractive option.

Millennials are part of the digital generation, where, like most industries, technology is prioritized. They also wired to expect high efficiency and productivity. They also have a comfort level with technology that can help build relationships with patients.

Digital Future of Optometry
Modern offices are turning towards digital space to increase efficiency. This can include  software for billing, appointments, and booking – things like cloud access and digital imaging for records and patient data. Optometry offices are being expanded to digital spaces for greater accessibility.

Cloud Adoption
The willingness millennials have to turn towards the cloud is a great asset.

Millennials and optometry involve incorporating IT setups, hardware, and software. It can mean more training as well as costs from tech glitches. If an optometry clinic has different office locations, it can mean the use of multiple IT systems, which can lead to expenditure cost.

Millennials are turning the trend to optometry offices towards incorporating the right sort of technology into the right spaces.

This model needs patient privacy compliance and has a fully-managed and secure structure. It also gives room to optometry clinics to be more transparent with their customers.

Through seamless integration, there is increased accountability of the optometry clinics as well.

Diversity and Inclusiveness
Young ODs want to feel part of something bigger. They make sure the promotion practices throughout the organization are unbiased and equitable.

They are looking for a structured internal mobility program to provide equal opportunities. Many corporate opticals, like Warby Parker, have taken steps to help grow diversity in optometry. Many millennial ODs feel they belong in organizations that provide these opportunities, and have taken subleases accordingly.

Millennial ODs have changed how the industry performs and works with its patients and workforce. This can be quite a positive change in terms of relationships, efficiency, and ability to expand.

MARIA SAMPALIS

is the founder of Corporate Optometry, a peer-to-peer web resource for ODs interested to learn more about opportunities in corporate optometry. Canadian ODs and optometry students can visit www.corporateoptometry.com to learn more.

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The Potential of Artificial Intelligence in Optometry

Practice, Technology, The Patient Journey

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Artificial intelligence is a branch of computer science that uses various techniques that aim to mirror human intelligence. One AI technique is machine learning, which relies on vast data sets to learn and predict results without human intervention.

Artificial intelligence has slowly made its way to optometry as well. It is unlikely that AI will ever replace an optometrist but it does have the potential to ease many aspects of their jobs.

This doesn’t mean that robots will be running around in our healthcare facilities; rather, AI focuses on a large amount of patient data to give insight into diagnosis and treatment methods.

Let’s look at how it has the potential to change an optometrist’s practice.

Streamline Management
Software is coming to the market that provides autonomous management of tasks related to patients. Repetitive tasks like scheduling, billing, and follow-ups can be done on the fly and updated in patient records as new information is received.

This improves organizational productivity for many optometry practices, making them more efficient leaving more time to focus on patient care.

Early Detection
One of AI’s advantages is that it can process vast amounts of data more quickly as a computer is doing most of the legwork.

This especially comes in handy when processing optical coherence tomography (OCT) images, retinal images and dry eye. It can look for patterns within these images that optometrists might miss because of the subjective nature by which these images are analyzed.

Diabetic Retinopathy
Machine learning can monitor these images over time and see if any changes are occurring that lead to eye diseases that manifest progressively.

FDA-approved AI systems are already appearing on the market that analyze fundus photography to detect elements of diabetic retinopathy such as hemorrhages, aneurysms, and other lesions.

It can detect these changes early on, leading optometrists to formulate a health plan with the patient. Additionally, this system requires minimal training and can outperform humans.

Glaucoma
Technology to detect other ocular diseases such as glaucoma by fundus photographs, optical coherence tomography (OCT), and visual fields is currently in its early stages.

AI is beneficial for open-angle glaucoma cases where symptoms don’t typically exhibit themselves. Since glaucoma can’t be cured, early detection may help manage the disease to prevent it from getting worse to the point of severe vision loss or blindness.

Dry Eye
There is also new AI technology emerging  in the dry eye arena.

When it comes to talking to patients about their dry eye disease, a picture is worth a thousand words. Conversations become easier when you can show a patient an image of their ocular surface. Suddenly it all clicks (pun intended).

AOS is one company that takes it a step further with innovative technology. The platform automatically grades an image for Bulbar Redness, Injection and Lid Redness. In Staining mode the software counts punctate of a fluorescein image. It can also convert a fluorescein image into 2D and 3D which brings a real wow factor.

The images show patients proof of their condition and the analysis provides context. It’s much like the difference between stating a fact and telling a story.

We can now give meaning to symptoms felt and seen in the eye. And it’s especially useful for assessing progress during follow up appointments. Lower redness numbers or lower punctate counts tell me and the patient we are on the right track.

AOS analysis improves patient education which helps boost compliance. Better compliance leads to better outcomes and that leads to happy, loyal patients.

Reduce False Positives
False positives occur when a test result shows that a disease is present when it is not in reality. Here AI can help as well.

By looking at vast amounts of medical data regarding symptoms that a patient presents, AI can predict the likelihood of a disease or condition being present.

As a result, patients can save time by avoiding unnecessary consultations with their optometrist or an ophthalmologist and save money on unnecessary medications.

In Optometry and Beyond
Artificial intelligence is showing its potential in many medical fields other than optometry, including oncology, dermatology, pharmacology, and genetics.

Though still in its infancy, improvements in this technology will help doctors verify their diagnoses and interpret data faster independently.

This does not mean that a doctor’s work will become redundant, as AI algorithms are not yet 100% accurate. There will cases when a doctor’s insight will be invaluable in diagnosing diseases.

Consider AI a tool to benefit the health care provider and the patient.

MARIA SAMPALIS

is the founder of Corporate Optometry, a peer-to-peer web resource for ODs interested to learn more about opportunities in corporate optometry. Canadian ODs and optometry students can visit www.corporateoptometry.com to learn more.

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Compensation

Human Resources, Managing Others, Talent Acquisition

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people management

This job would be easy if it wasnt for the the people!

Anonymous

by Maria Sampalis, OD

Compensation plans for optometric practices need to be executed carefully since they are a significant expenses for an optometry clinic.

You need to do is the right way to ensure that you don’t end up costing the clinic too much money. Here are five critical steps required to implement a proper action plan that will make the entire process more efficient.

1. Determining the Right Market Pay Rate for Every Position
Each position at the clinic will require a different compensation amount. You will need to use a salary survey to establish bands for salaries. These bands are basic groupings of existing salary rates based on the experience of the candidate or the employee. You will need to determine the amounts for senior, mid-career, and entry-level positions. This can help you make decisions about hiring and raises.

Publishers’s NOTE:  Published Salary rate bands are difficult to come by in Canada.  With a little bit of effort, data points may be available with minimal cost or even free of charge at PayScale.com.

2. Creating Comprehensive Job Descriptions for Every Position
You should think carefully about the responsibilities and duties of every position.

Having a detailed and proper job description that includes duties, required skills, educational levels, and working hours can help the candidates and employees understand their position in a better way.

The description should also have a summary of expected employee behaviour.

The more accurate you are, the more realistically the employees can approach the task. The optometrists should make sure that the employees do their tasks well, and the job description can help with that.

3. Explain the Entire Process to the Team
Making sure you are transparent is the most important thing.

You should answer any questions and make sure the employees know everything they can about the job.

You should also meet with every employee individually to make sure they have a clear understanding of the expectations and compensation plan. This process will pay off in the long run.

4. Ensuring Team Accountability
The performance standards and responsibilities need to be met, but don’t wait till the end of the year to update the employees on their standing.

You should give regular and clear feedback throughout the year to ensure that they are able to improve their performance. Frequent evaluations and reviews will help them, and they will definitely appreciate it too.

5. Reviewing Team Performance, Revenue, and Potential Raises
Evaluate who are the top performers for the year and reward them before anyone else.

Then, you should look at the employees who may not have met your expectations and consider other options.

For example, you can look for new hires or provide a chance for them to develop further. Offering formal reviews for all the team members can help.

Optometry compensation plans may not always be easy to execute, but only if you don’t follow the right steps. It doesn’t have to be such a complicated procedure if you have an action plan in place

MARIA SAMPALIS

is the founder of Corporate Optometry, a peer-to-peer web resource for ODs interested to learn more about opportunities in corporate optometry. Canadian ODs and optometry students can visit www.corporateoptometry.com to learn more.

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First Impressions Count

Practice, The Patient Journey

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“You never get a second chance to make a good first impression.”
Will Rogers

While our workplaces are a place of collegial congeniality and comfort, eye clinics may not always invoke positive feelings among your patients.

People rarely look forward to eye tests, especially those who are squeamish about someone getting close to their eyes. While this may seem like dramatization, the prudent thing is to recognize this reality and act.

By creating an inviting eye clinic reception area, you can appease apprehensive patients. Creating a comforting atmosphere to welcome patients can make a great first impression. The first impression will dictate how they feel about the rest of the experience too.

Here are some ways to create an inviting eye clinic reception.

A Welcoming Environment
Generally, eye clinics rarely radiate warmth. The cold clinical colours often used may not provide a feeling of comfort.

By adding more color to the reception area with soft furnishings, you can easily add a degree of friendliness and warmth in the reception area.

You can even have some gentle music playing in the ground or add some games or toys for kids and magazines for adults. You might also consider providing free Wi-Fi so folks can use their phones in peace while they wait. It can set patients at ease.

Welcoming and Warm Staff
A lot of patients may be on edge, so they don’t really need the extra burden of a non-empathetic staff.

Some kind words from welcoming staff at the reception can be crucial for setting the patients at ease. It can also create long-term, loyal patients if they feel welcome in your clinic.

Make sure the person who manages the phone is also warm and kind. An abrupt or cold approach can dissuade a patient from even attempting to book an appointment with the clinic in the first place.

Flexible Payment Methods & Transparency
Healthcare is definitely expensive for a lot of people. If you provide patients with plenty of options to make payments it can make them feel much better about visiting your clinic.

It’s also important to be upfront about costs and have transparency in the billing.

Effective Scheduling and Appointment System
One of the biggest mistakes is to make patients wait around particularly when they are on time for their appointment.

In rare cases, it may be inevitable, but you should still keep a strict check on time.

An inviting eye clinic reception is one that operates on time so that no patient gets frustrated.

You can automate the scheduling system to send patients text alerts for any schedule changes or delays.

Creating an inviting eye clinic reception is more than just doing the bare minimum of adding furniture. You have to consider the needs of the patient and design your work culture and clinic accordingly.

As the saying goes, “You don’t get a second chance to make a first impression”. Take a fresh look at your reception area.  Can you do better?

MARIA SAMPALIS

is the founder of Corporate Optometry, a peer-to-peer web resource for ODs interested to learn more about opportunities in corporate optometry. Canadian ODs and optometry students can visit www.corporateoptometry.com to learn more.

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8 Tips for Doing Competitor Analysis in Optometry

Advertising & Promotion, Differentiation | Business Strategy, Marketing, Practice

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You might think that competitive snooping is uncomfortable, but it is one of the smartest and most effective ways to grow and develop your optometry practice. You need to to research your competition.

Keeping tabs on what other market players are doing helps you identify their strengths and weaknesses. This, in turn, can help you create a unique value proposition that makes your own services stand out.

Here are ten easy ways to perform competitor analysis in your optometry space:

  1. Go to Professional Conferences (SOON We hope we can!!)  

Attending trade shows, professional conventions, and conferences is an excellent way to stay up to date with what your competitors are doing. Interact with their representatives to learn about their services and product offerings. Meet your competitors socially and get to know them.

  1. Read Industry Reports

This can help you gain insight into the current market conditions and the latest advancements in the industry. Corporate and even privately held optometry firms have to file certain reports with various regulatory authorities on a regular basis. These might be available directly on the local planning commissions’ website, or you may get access on request. If the company is publicly traded on a stock exchange, a lot of information is available.

  1. Check Out Your Competitor’s Online Marketing Strategy

Every business in the modern world has an online presence. Browsing your competitor’s website can tell you a lot about their services and how they operate. If you have a basic know-how of SEO, you can use tools Google Trends to identify how other optometrists are attracting visitors. Take note of social media platforms they are using, how they post and what content they post. Engagement is key, how are they engaging their audience?

  1. Email Strategy

You can subscribe to your competitor’s newsletter on their website. This will keep you in the loop in regards to how they communicate with their customers. You will get insist information on new topics or products in your inbox!

  1. Secret Shopper

This is hands down the most comprehensive strategy for doing a competitor analysis in optometry. Getting someone to get information on employees, supplies price points and how patients view the practice is critical.

  1. Partnerships

Look out for any advertisements and job openings that other players in the industry may post from time to time. Pay attention what they are looking for in a candidate and who they partner with for their business. You should be thinking big picture long term.

MARIA SAMPALIS

is the founder of Corporate Optometry, a peer-to-peer web resource for ODs interested to learn more about opportunities in corporate optometry. Canadian ODs and optometry students can visit www.corporateoptometry.com to learn more.

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Top 10 Tips for Optometric Practice Success

Practice, Resources

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A successful optometry practice requires goals for the practice and systems to implement them. However, the hardest part about managing an OD clinic is sticking to the action plan.

While trying to implement the plan, there are some common mistakes you might be making. Here are my top 10 tips for avoiding these mistakes and making your practice a success.

  1. Take Control

If you fail to take control of your practice, your personal life and happiness can be affected as well. You need to make a total commitment to the practice. When you set out to make changes in the clinic, you may notice that the staff is not really ready to make these changes. If they aren’t willing, nothing will happen.

If the staff is not committing to the new program and the new culture it initiates, they will not understand the dedication that is necessary to take the office to a whole new level.

If you really want the optometric office to make those changes, you need to step up. It begins with creating goals for the clinic, implementing them through action plans, and measuring the results.

Take support from your family and your staff. The staff should carry your program on their shoulders and become partners in moving the practice along. Be assertive and take control!

  1.  Improve the Office Image

The first impression your office gives is crucial to making the patient see value in your office appearance.

By offering them a comfortable and appealing appearance, you are ensuring that they look forward to getting the care they need.

Having a visually aesthetic clinic that you take pride in is necessary to provide the staff support in offering patients good-quality care.

  1. Leverage Technology

Hi-tech equipment will patients perceive the clinic as a state-of-the-art practice and result in optimal performance.

Advanced equipment can also help create a more efficient and effective system that provides better care. Investing in such equipment can be a step in the right direction.

  1. Project a Positive Image

While your office décor and environment can be aesthetically pleasing, it may not project a positive image as you intended.

Your patients should know that they stepped into the right place when they enter through the doors.

The office needs to have a ‘successful’ look; hence, all the staff needs to look professional too. Seek independent feedback to assess your office’s image.

  1. Treat Staff Members as Partners

If you want a successful and productive office, you cannot get one without a group of strong people who give you support.

Treating your co-workers with the utmost respect and professionalism is necessary.

Treat them like partners in the clinic and initiate a bonus plan to keep them motivated.

  1. Take Control of the Front Desk

If you don’t pay attention to how your staff is dealing with patients, you are making a very common optometry practice mistake.

You need to be in control of front desk training and interactions.

Your staff must be trained to properly greet and accommodate patients.

  1. Emphasize and Understand the New-Patient Experiences

Every patient that walks into the practice has a monetary value.

Have you calculated this value so that you know the exact value of new patients? Knowing these metrics and be very important for your practice.

The new patient experience begins from the first phone call they make to book an appointment or ask for details. How are the calls handled at your practice?

Do you ask so much information that you drive the patient away? Do you tell them you are happy they called you?

Making a patient feel welcome and special can be a game-changer when it comes to having a successful practice. Make sure you accommodate walk ins and same day appointments.

  1. Cultivate a Proper Team

You need to have the support of a group of dedicated, talented people who believe in the goals you have made for the clinic. While it can take serious effort and time to develop such a team, it is totally worth the investment of time.

The team members need to think that the optometrist delivers the best care to sell it to the patients too.

This attitude and self-esteem of believing in the practice can make it fulfilling, exciting, and fun.

Remember your vendors are your partners as well. They will help to grow your team as well.

  1. Demonstrate a Great Attitude

Optometrists need to believe in their practice and have a great attitude as well.

You may have a tendency to become too comfortable in the current environment. This can limit your ability to make any necessary paradigm shift.

The world is constantly changing around you, and the clinic needs to keep up with it.

Materials and procedures that worked 2 decades ago may not be the best options right now. Hence, you should believe in yourself and your clinic.

  1. Have Confidence

The biggest optometry practice mistake is lack of confidence.

While optometry school may have given you adequate knowledge to provide great patient care, we don’t get a lot of practice management knowledge.

An optometrist who can share the treatment plan, and communicate the value and benefits of the plan, clearly will be perceived as valuable by patients. Becoming more confident in billing, coding and marketing will help grow your practice.

If you want a successful practice, you need to avoid the traps and follow these tips.  If the management of the OD clinic is perfect, everything else will fall into place.

MARIA SAMPALIS

is the founder of Corporate Optometry, a peer-to-peer web resource for ODs interested to learn more about opportunities in corporate optometry. Canadian ODs and optometry students can visit www.corporateoptometry.com to learn more.

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How to Build Your Leadership Skills: The Difference Between a Manager and a Leader

Human Resources, Managing Others

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If you want to become a leader in the workplace, you’ll need to change more than just your outlook. Becoming a true leader isn’t as simple as managing a team and delegating tasks. You need to learn how to handle stressful situations with ease and make sure that everyone in your team feels valued.

Instead of just supervising a group of people and getting the work done, you need to inspire them to do better every day and step out of their comfort zone. Your focus needs to be on building relationships with your employees and getting them to trust you.

Let’s take a look at what sets a leader apart from a manager and how to develop leadership skills in the workplace.

1. Be Open-Minded and Innovative

Leaders are always open to new things. They have a passion for creating, and they don’t shy away from experimenting with new ideas. They don’t believe in sticking with tradition and are always looking for better opportunities to explore.

They’re unafraid of the challenges that come their way and encourage their employees to think outside of the box. Managers, on the other hand, believe in sticking to what they know. They aren’t open to new changes and like to stay within their comfort zone.

2. Take Risks

Leaders are all about taking risks every time an opportunity presents itself. They understand the importance of risks and are eager to learn from their failures. They believe that risks bring forth a realm of possibilities for any business and help a company grow.

They aren’t scared of failing because they realize that every failure is a blessing in disguise. They exude an aura of positivity and create a sense of hope and curiosity in their employees.

Managers avoid taking risks because they don’t feel comfortable in newer and unforeseen territories. They believe in following tried and tested ways to solve all their problems and don’t appreciate disruptive thinking in the workplace.

3. Stand Out from the Rest

Leaders are driven by their need to stand out and be unique. They’re aware of themselves and aren’t scared of owning up to their shortcomings. They’re willing to take their business to new heights by deviating from established procedures.

They value different opinions and encourage their team members to share and explore new ideas.

Managers like to emulate their predecessors. They replicate what they’ve been taught and don’t feel comfortable with the idea of standing out. They aren’t always eager to accept responsibility for their mistakes. For them, their employees are just individuals who work for them and are expected to complete the tasks they’ve been assigned.

Bottom Line

Now that you’ve learned what makes a leader different from a manager, you can also become a great leader in the workplace by changing your way of thinking. The next time you’re faced with a challenge, you need to be willing to take risks and have an open mind to increase your chances of success.

MARIA SAMPALIS

is the founder of Corporate Optometry, a peer-to-peer web resource for ODs interested to learn more about opportunities in corporate optometry. Canadian ODs and optometry students can visit www.corporateoptometry.com to learn more.

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Finding the Right Fit in Corporate Optometry

Career Options, NextGenOD

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Loving your job can make your professional life a whole lot easier. As aspiring optometrists, this should be at the top of your list of priorities.

It may be impossible to secure a job with the perfect paycheck, flexible timings and a work/life balance, but with some research and a can-do attitude, you too can find a job you love.

When you decided to look for a corporate optometry job, you must have realized that there were too many options out there and no way to know which suits you better. The internet can make you more confused with the influx of information on job openings and everyone telling you what to do and what not to do.

The answer lies with you. Be honest about what you need and what you can compromise on. Following are some tips and tricks that can help you land your dream job.

Know Yourself

You may think you want to work at some corporation, but your experience as an employee there could be the opposite. The grass is not always greener on the other side. Taking inspiration from other people’s lives and what works for them will only hold you back.

Self-awareness will take you a long way because knowing your strengths and weaknesses will allow you to make the right decision. If your workplace falls in line with your values, then you may end up having a great time there.

If you’re someone who loves going on vacations, then you should keep an eye out for places that offer great vacation plans. Some corporate opticals offer 4 weeks vacation at sign up.

Learn About the Organization

Before deciding on a place, make sure you know a little bit about the work culture and benefits they offer. Get in touch with alumni who are employed there and get a conversation going.

You can always ask to set up informational interviews to gauge more of an idea about what you’re getting yourself into. Ask on the Facebook group Corporate Optometry.

Stay Open-Minded but Don’t Settle

Keeping your options limited will only lead to misery. Finding a job is not easy. You need to set realistic expectations and take every rejection as a way to learn and improve.

Feeling like a failure after doing badly in one interview will not serve you well. Sometimes what you think you want isn’t necessarily what will make you happy.

Saying yes to the first job you’re offered is not going to help you either, unless it is all that you want. You may be settling for a lot less than you deserve. Depending on the province and the need for ODs many corporate opticals will pay above average salary and sign on bonuses.

Now that you know the basics, you can go looking for jobs that are fulfilling for you. Remember that haven’t failed until you stop trying.

Finding your dream job can take months, even years, but you need to realize that sometimes it takes a bad experience to help you find what you are looking for.

MARIA SAMPALIS

is the founder of Corporate Optometry, a peer-to-peer web resource for ODs interested to learn more about opportunities in corporate optometry. Canadian ODs and optometry students can visit www.corporateoptometry.com to learn more.

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What Good Leadership Looks Like in Corporate Optometry

Human Resources

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While being a leader comes naturally to some people, for others it’s not that easy. 71% of companies don’t feel like their leaders have the ability to help their organization reach new heights. So what are the traits that distinguish a manager from a leader who has the ability to influence the people around them and engage the ODs?

1. Be Passionate

You can’t fake your interest in your work. Global legends like Steve Jobs and Jeff Bezos didn’t amass corporate empires because they liked their work. In order to take your company’s name to the top, you have to be willing to stick with it through the tough times. Leaders are passionate about their jobs that they know different aspects of the business and are willing to continue to learn.

2. Communicate

People in leadership positions tend to talk more but not listen to their team enough. Communication is a two-way road. Listening to your team’s ideas, providing constructive feedback and allowing them to express their creativity is essential. Give the people around you the comfort that you’re always available to help. Good leaders in corporate optometry listen to their ODs. Decisions are based on best interest of the ODs and their patients.

3. Be Ready to Make Decisions

Leaders may display hesitation when making decisions, especially if there are risks involved. But that’s what makes a true leader: the ability to make a decision, no matter how high the stakes are. Corporate Optometry leaders should not be afraid to question the norm or do something different.

Indecisiveness leads to endless discussions and by the time your company implements that decision, your competition may already be ten steps ahead. This can affect Corporate OD subleases.

4. Empower Your ODs

Gone are the days when companies followed a hierarchal structure and employees not at the top followed orders blindly. It’s okay if your team occasionally colors outside the lines. Empowering your ODs will strengthen their sense of loyalty towards the company and help them perform above and beyond what is required of them. ODs should be empowered to explore their strengths and be able to openly discuss issues that need to be addressed.

5. Be Charismatic

Be the leader in corporate optometry that aspire ODs to grow and to become successful over their career. With your words alone you can move mountains and take your organization to the top of the ladder. After hearing you speak, your employees should be motivated to take initiative and think of ways to deliver more than just what will keep the company stable.

6. Be Competent

It’s not enough to know the basic skills of your job. Those technical skills need to be combined with the right people skills to make you an inspiring leader. Be the leader your organization will remember for a lifetime by understanding every aspect of the company. Know how to get the best out of every OD and make the cogs of your company run faster and rust-free. Understanding the optometric side of the business to help sublease and employed ODs is very important, being a leader many ODs look to that person in that role to mentor them and guide them to personal growth and career advancement.

7. Be Accountable

Being a corporate leader won’t always be smooth sailing. In fact, after having spent a few years in the industry, you’ve probably dealt with your fair share of disasters and failed concepts.

Rather than ignoring them, it’s important to learn from them and make sure they don’t happen again.

If you were the one in charge, don’t thwart responsibility. Take the failure head-on and be a role model for your team. Show them how well you handle the failure and how you use it to push even harder towards success. Blaming others and not following up with solutions didn’t make you a leader just because you have a title.

Being a leader doesn’t mean keeping an organization stable. Stability means stagnancy which will eventually make you obsolete. The aim is to constantly aim to reach new heights. Leaders in corporate optometry have the trust of the ODs.

MARIA SAMPALIS

is the founder of Corporate Optometry, a peer-to-peer web resource for ODs interested to learn more about opportunities in corporate optometry. Canadian ODs and optometry students can visit www.corporateoptometry.com to learn more.

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