A question of management styles...

A question came in our Power Team Builder workshop with regards to what management style was best for the practice? The horizontal, we're all friends working together in harmony, on a level playing field, or the more vertical, commands from the top down from seniors to juniors style? It's a good question isn't it? I think it comes down to what is ultimately the most effective in terms of impectable cusomer and patient service and what creates to best staff morale! We sorted this out by running some timed trials that involved getting a simple task done. The "I'm ok, your ok, we're all friends" style resulted in lots of smiles but poor customer service. It simply took too long with all the politeness and lack of decision as to who was going to do what! The vertical, get it done via friendly orders from seniors to juniors consitentely beat the clock and delivered high speed customer service. The morale from this team was higher from their stellar performance, not from their "taking care of friends" approach. Tip? Try giving some friendly direct orders to your staff. Do ask for their permission - just give them a nice snappy order and see what happens!