ADVANCE Outlook: Lab Professionals : Management

The Importance of Recognition

Amanda Koehler — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 15:37:00 GMT

Everyone likes to be recognized for his or her work. Managers need to make sure they show their appreciation for their laboratorians. In his book GIVING the Real Recognition Way , Roy Saunderson goes over different recognition scenarios and what managers...(read more)

Who Is Going to Lead Your Laboratory in 2014?

Matthew Patton — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 19:25:00 GMT

Approximately 20 percent of lab managers report planning to retire in the next 5 years, and a shortage of nearly 5,000 medical technologists is projected per year. On Thursday afternoon, Tara Kochis, executive vice president of Slone Partners, Miami Beach,...(read more)

Preparing for a Bio-Katrina

Matthew T. Patton — Tue, 26 May 2009 16:03:00 GMT

In an interview with Federal News Radio in March, Tara O’Toole, MD, MPH, was asked what she would tell President Obama if she had the chance. Her reply: "There is a possibility, a real possibility, that there could be the equivalent of a bio-Katrina on...(read more)

Last Chance!

Kerri Penno — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 19:19:00 GMT

Don't miss your opportunity to enter our Laboratory and Laboratory Professional of the Year contests!

We've extended the deadline to enter the annual ADVANCE Laboratory Professional of the Year and Laboratory Facility of the Year Contests to Wednesday, Feb. 25. Click here today to nominate your facility or a coworker for these prestigious awards. All entries should be no longer than 500 words

When nominating a laboratory professional, consider:

How does the nominee improve work environment, patient satisfaction and relations with medical teams?
How does the nominee adjust to change and cope with difficult times?
How does the nominee support other lab professionals and implement the team concept in meeting goals?
How does the nominee go "above and beyond" to make a difference?
How does the nominee pursue continuing education, certification and learn new techniques?

When nominating a laboratory, consider:

How does the facility improve employee and patient satisfaction?
How does the facility participate in community outreach events?
How does the facility encourage innovative programs?
How does the facility go "above and beyond" to make a difference?
How does the facility foster teamwork and good staff relations?

Win Cash and Prizes

$1,000 and a commemorative plaque for the winning laboratory
$200 and a commemorative plaque for the second place laboratory
$100 and a commemorative plaque for the third place laboratory
$500 and a commemorative plaque for the winning laboratory professional
$200 and a commemorative plaque for the second place laboratory professional
$100 and a commemorative plaque for the third place laboratory professional

Nominate a winner and receive a $35 gift certificate to the ADVANCE Healthcare Shop. The winning essays, along with photos, will be featured in the April 20 issue of ADVANCE for Medical Laboratory Professionals. These contests are sponsored by Aureus Medical Group, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, CELLNETIX, LabCorp, NewYork-Presbyterian, NYU Langone Medical Center, North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System, Spectra Laboratories and Spectrum Laboratory Network.

E-mail: kpenno@advanceweb.com with any questions. For more information and discussions on National Medical Laboratory Professionals Week 2009, visit our Lab Week Tool Kit.

Second ASCLS Leadership Academy in Full Swing

Matthew T. Patton — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 03:10:00 GMT

After a successful first year in the ASCLS Leadership Academy, the second class began its journey toward becoming more effective leaders at the ASCLS Annual Meeting in Washington, DC, on July 27-29th.

The class will continue to meet in three face-to-face meetings and six conference calls during the 2008-2009 year. They will also work on group projects and other assignments. Curriculum topics include leadership styles, communication, mentoring, team building, motivation, public speaking and presentation skills, writing skills and strategic planning.

This year’s class represents six of the ten ASCLS Regions and nine different states. They have varying levels of experience in both ASCLS and the profession but all are ready to prepare themselves to step into leadership positions.

Throughout the next few weeks, we'll get to know the members of the second Leadership Academy class on this blog, including:

Lisa Anderson (NC);
Michelle Butina (GA);
Zandy Chinte (CA);
Katie Franz (PA);
Shannon Jongeward (SD);
Robert Lahoe (HI);
Ashley LeFrois (VA);
Theresa Ortner (IA);
Terri Pauken (MI); and
Kim Von Ahsen (IA).

Tips to Motivate and Retain Employees

Amanda Koehler — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 14:07:00 GMT

In their book The New Manager's Tool Kit, Don and Sheryl Grimme give tips on things a new manager needs to know "to hit the ground running." The book focuses on how to lead people, how to be effective and how to optimize the contributions of your employees, among other topics.

One part I found especially interesting was "Grimme's Top 10 Tips to Motivate and Retain Talented Employees." Read over these and think about them. If you are a manager, do you do these things for your employees? And if you are an employee, does your manager do these things for you? Don't be afraid to share your feedback!

1. Pay employees fairly and well; then get them to forget about money.

2. Treat each other and every employee with respect. Show that you care about each employee as a person, not just as a worker.

3. Praise accomplishments... and attempts.

4. Clearly communicate goals, responsibilities and expectations. Never criticize in public -- redirect in private.

5. Recognize performance appropriately and consistently.

6. Involve employees in plans and decisions, especially those that affect them. Solicit employees' ideas and opinions. Encourage initiative.

7. Create opportunities for employees to learn and grow. Link the goals of the organization with the goals of each individual in it.

8. Actively listen to employees' concerns--both work-related and personal.

9. Share information--promptly, openly and clearly. Tell the truth... with compassion.

10. Celebrate successes and milestones reached--both organizational and personal. Create an organizational culture that is open, trusting and fun.

Interesting Icebreakers

Amanda Koehler — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 16:18:00 GMT

In college, I was a member of a service organization. Although I thoroughly enjoyed the club and what we did, I sometimes dreaded the meetings -- because we would usually open with icebreakers. Some of them were uncomfortable... I remember being horrified one time when we were all asked to introduce ourselves and then sing or dance. I didn't feel comfortable doing either in front of a bunch of people I hardly knew!

Many people, like me, hate icebreakers because they can be corny, lame or make you squirm in your seat. But Brian Cole Miller has come to the rescue, releasing his book Quick Meeting Openers for Busy Managers: More Than 50 Icebreakers, Energizers, and Other Creative Activities That Get Results.

In his book, Miller insists icebreakers are a great way to introduce employees, to get to know each other better, to split into groups, to brainstorm and to get people energized.

He doesn’t include any icebreakers in his book that are considered “touchy-feely” – where participants have to touch each other or share intimate thoughts or feelings (I think dancing and singing is included in here, too).

Here are a couple of suggestions for your next meeting of quick and interesting icebreakers, preapproved by the Icebreaker Hater herself (that’s me):

§ “If I were an ____”: Manager picks a statement, such as “If I were a cartoon character, I’d be a _____” or “If I were a toy, I’d be a _____.” (Maybe “If I were an infectious disease, I’d be_____?”) Participants fill in the blank and explain their answers.

§ Questions: Manager poses a thought-provoking question, such as “What’s your middle name, and why did your parents give it to you?” or “What is your favorite guilty pleasure?”

§ Fortune Cookies: Have each participant write down a fortune on a slip of paper, and then have participants exchange fortunes.

§ Fortune Tellers: Ask each participant to describe what they believe their lives will be like in 5, 10 or 20 years from now.

§ Fun Facts: Participants write down an interesting fact about themselves. The manager reads the facts, and everyone guesses what fact belongs to what person.

§ Quotes: Participants share their favorite quotes with the group and discuss why they like that quote.

§ Ten Fingers: Participants start this icebreaker with all 10 fingers in the air. Participants then go around the room, sharing a statement with the group, such as: “I have a dog” or “I read a novel last year.” If a coworker agrees with the person’s statement, she puts one finger down. The icebreaker can go on until all fingers are down.

§ Photo Scavenger Hunt: This one could be a lot of fun, but it requires more time than the others (and that a few employees have a camera on their cell phones). The manager should create a list of unique, possibly hard to find items around the lab or facility and have the coworkers split up into teams to take photos of these items. Bonus: For the first team to come back with photos of all the items, the manager could offer a small prize.

§ Optimists: This could be a good one if you have a lot of Debbie Downers in your lab. Have each person write down a negative thought or comment about their day or their work. Then the participants should get into pairs and share what they wrote. Their partners should offer them a positive alternative to what they wrote. For example, Cindy says, “These meetings always seem to run late.” Bill responds, “But this means we’ll have to spend less time on the same topic at the next meeting.” Maybe this will help some employees to start thinking more positively!

§ Rock, Paper, Scissors: You know how to play the game. Give each participant five tokens, and have them challenge a coworker to a good old fashioned game of Rock, Paper, Scissors. Whoever wins gets a token from their opponent. Then coworkers should challenge new opponents. The game should go on until someone gets 10 tokens.

Feel free to share some icebreakers you enjoy (or those you hate!)

Managing Your Friends

Amanda Koehler — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 17:35:00 GMT

Last week I started writing a story for the Web site about moving up the lab career ladder. For the story, I interviewed Randall Hansen, PhD, founder and president, Quintessential Careers. I asked Dr. Hansen about some of the common obstacles laboratorians could face when transitioning from a regular technologist or technician to a management position.

One point he brought up is that a new manager could become the boss of his former peers. This could cause some issues or awkwardness for both the manager and the laboratorians, but Dr. Hansen mentioned it doesn't have to affect your friendship, as long as you can separate the professional and personal relationships.

However, something Dr. Hansen told me brought me back about 12 years. He said, when it comes to managing your friends, "You have to be extremely careful of giving preferential (or perceived preferential) treatment to your closest friends in the lab."

Years ago, my dad used to coach my sister and I in softball and basketball. Obviously, all the girls on the teams (and their parents) knew he was coaching his daughters. My dad (who was, in my opinion, a great coach) never gave Emily and I any special treatment. Although he's never came out and said this, I believe he was harder on us than he was on the other girls -- and maybe one of the reasons why was because he didn't want anyone to think we were getting any preferential (or even perceived preferential) treatment.

It can be tough to manage (or coach) people with whom you have an established personal relationship. You might not even be giving your friends any special treatment, but others in the lab may think so anyway, just because you are their friends.

Have you experienced or seen preferential or perceived preferential treatment in your lab between friends, as either a laboratorian or a manager?

What Motivates You?

Amanda Koehler — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 13:27:00 GMT

In his book Persuasion IQ, Kurt W. Mortensen discusses a working paper by Kenneth A. Kovack of George Mason University, Fairfax, VA. Kovack researched the differences between what motivates employees and what managers think motivates employees. Here's the data:

What Motivates Employees as Ranked by Employees

Interesting work
Appreciation of work done
Being well informed
Job security
Compensation
Growth and promotion opportunities
Good working conditions
Personal loyalty to employees
Tactful discipline
Help with personal problems

What Motivates Employees as Ranked by Managers

Compensation
Job security
Growth and promotion opportunities
Good working conditions
Interesting work
Personal loyalty to employees
Tactful discipline
Appreciation of work done
Help with personal problems
Being well informed

(Kenneth A. Kovack, "Employee Motivation, Addressing a Crucial Factor in Your Organization's Performance," working paper, George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia, 1997).

It's interesting compensation is No.1 on the manager's list, but No. 5 on the employee's list. Also, managers don't perceive interesting work as much of a strong motivator as employees do.

What do you think are some common motivation discrepancies between laboratorians and managers?

CLMA ThinkLab Update

Amanda Koehler — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 18:51:00 GMT

We asked CLMA to update us on the status of ThinkLab '08, to be held March 29-April 1 in Atlanta, where a recent tornado did some damage to the Georgia World Congress Center. Here's what they said:

"CLMA is closely monitoring the situation in Atlanta as a result of the tornado that hit the downtown area on Friday, March 14. We are in communication with the Georgia World Congress Center and area hotels as they assess the damage to their facilities. Contractors are assessing the damage to the Georgia World Congress Center today and will contact us with further updates.

As of Monday, March 17, ThinkLab '08 will continue as scheduled without interruption for March 29-April 1. In the event that we run into any issues that prevent access to hotels, or the Georgia World Congress Center, we will notify you immediately. We will provide further updates to you as soon as something more definitive is known.

Thank you for your understanding and we look forward to seeing you in Atlanta!"

How Much Do You Make? Take the Salary Survey

Matthew T. Patton — Tue, 25 Dec 2007 03:47:00 GMT

We've put together a simple salary survey tool to see how you compare to your peers.

We also have a fantastic contest as an incentive to help us populate the data. I can already reportl that the survey results are absolutely rolling in. It's really quite fantastic to see the amount of interest. Obviously, the more people respond, the more valid the salary survey will be for laboratorians across the country. Further, I think this is going to be an excellent negotiation/teaching tool once we compile the results.

Click here to get started.

Expecting More From Employees

Matthew T. Patton — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 18:00:00 GMT

In May 2004, I wrote an editorial about the Pygmalion effect, a phenomenon of the self-fulfilling prophecy ilk whereby increasing a leader's expectations of subordinates' performance actually improves that performance. This begs the question: Is it that leaders implicitly expect more from subordinates who demonstrate more potential, or does having that expectation about anyone create the prophecy and motivate the fulfillment?

Leaders who expect more from their subordinates tend to be considered better teachers, tend to push their employees to their limits more often and tend to have higher expectations. That environment creates the opportunity for employees to flourish and to perform at a higher level. Do we work harder to meet higher expectations when others expect more from us?

By considering this phenomenon, are we, to use a cliché, "placing the cart before the horse?" In other words, is that greater level of performance mysteriously inspired by the expectations of a leader; or do leaders have an innate ability to identify potential, and do leaders then hold higher expectations for those individuals who they believe have greater potential?

For me, this raises the question of how the Pygmalion effect is realized in work settings. If, as I imagine, leaders devote more resources to individuals whom they believe have greater potential, how blatantly obvious is the lack of their own resources they provide to those whom they do not expect to perform well?

How many cases of discrimination (racial, gender, ethnic, religious, sexual orientation) arise because of measurable and observable differences in how a leader treats a subordinate because of perceived differences and commonly held stereotypes about the "them" group (a group of which one is not a member)?

How do we coach leaders to hold high expectations for everyone, and to discard their knowledge of stereotypes and their own biases and prejudices so as not to have lower expectations of others that could be realized through their treatment of those individuals?

Hiring the Wrong Lab Director Can Be Costly

Matthew T. Patton — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 17:07:00 GMT

We received a press release for an upcoming book that reiterates what most of us already know: Hiring the wrong person can be costly. Interesting to note was that laboratory director mis-hires can cost a company seven times the lab director's salary.

I'd definitely like to get my hands on this book to read how the data were compiled for laboratory directory, and to learn whether it's clinical/anatomical or pharma/research lab (as you can imagine, we often get a lot of press releases that really aren't fits for the publication). Regardless, the press release appears below.

Over the years Smart & Associates, Inc. has published numerous studies of the costs associated with mis-hires. The Medical and Surgical industries have been represented in our surveys. Hundreds of managers, from 1989 until 2007, have estimated the costs associated with mis-hiring someone. Even fired people contribute something, so the value of contributions is subtracted from the costs, to produce a net cost of mis-hires. The major cost factors are compensation, benefits, recruiting, training, travel, severance... and the single biggest: wasted business opportunity.

Dr. Brad Smart, President of Smart & Associates of Wadsworth, Illinois, says, "If a sales rep is hired, and supposed to sell $1 million of product and only sells $750,000, the wasted business opportunity might be the $250,000 not sold but also the cost of mis-treating a major customer and losing that customer forever." Over the years the costs of mis-hires have remained fairly constant, in terms of the ratio of cost-to-salary. For example, the average costs have remained steady for:

Laboratory Director: 7 times salary
Nurse: 2 times salary
Programmer: 4 times salary
Mid Manager: 10 times salary
Senior Executive: 15 times salary

In a book to be released in May 2008 (Topgrading for Sales: World-Class Methods to Interview, Hire, and Coach Sales Representatives -- New York, Portfolio), authors Brad Smart and Greg Alexander report a study in which the average cost of mis-hiring a sales representative earning $100,000 was $563,000, or about 5 1/2 times compensation. Smart says, "The dollar costs are only part of the picture. A mis-hire drags down others on the team and consumes far too much time of the manager."