March 2005

Chiropractic leadership

by Dr. Robert Schiffman

"The function of leadership is to produce more leaders, not more followers." ‑‑ Ralph Nader

"The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you. In between the two, the leader must become a servant and a debtor. That sums up the progress of an artful leader." ‑‑ Max DePree

"Leadership occurs when a person attempts to motivate and guide a group of people to complete specific tasks or reach certain goals. Some commonly‑identified traits of a good leader are self‑confidence, creativity, good communication skills, the ability to inspire and motivate, the ability to make decisions, a desire to lead, and a desire to influence others." ‑‑ Unknown

Throughout my 25 years as a principled chiropractor, I've often found chiropractors who wanted to be led by someone with experience. These aspiring young leaders say they want to manage, and this gives me the opportunity to discuss the differences between leadership and managing.

I once heard a saying, "We manage processes, but we lead people." Sometimes leaders confuse authority with leadership. One important point I think we should always remember is that "authority is granted, while leadership is developed." I was told once by a close friend that "Leadership is not a title; it isn't having a louder voice or a more convincing style. Leadership comes from attributes that make people want to work toward the goals and pace you have set."

I heard a story about a man that went on a bird hunt in the south, quite a few years ago, with a guide on his mule wagon. One day they wanted to go down a short cut, but the mules were not cooperating. The problem here was that the driver was asking the mules to go a way that they were not used to. After some time of prompting the mules, the driver got down from the wagon, talked to the mules eye to eye, then led them on foot, and the mules followed. The point of the story is that a good leader needs to get down and lead the way, especially when a change is being implemented.

When trying to be an effective leader it's often forgotten that there is always need for improvement. There isn't a single perfect person in the world. The world is always changing. People change, office staff changes, lives change, and communities' needs change. In order to be effective as a leader, the first step is to be willing to change, and improve yourself. When the choice is made to never change habits or fail to adapt, the leader becomes irrelevant. As leaders or mentors, you must always be able to capture, hold and focus people's attention on the mission, and how it can be achieved together.

Leaders are known to be consistent in the way they enforce change or how they work together. This means that a good leader is willing to get down and walk the talk. When you are consistent you know that being a leader is not just Monday through Friday or an 8‑5 job. If you're a leader and your work is not consistent you will have a hard time getting people to follow you. People who are following you want you to lead them and help them see the glass half full, and see you put a plan into effect to fill it the rest of the way.

There are many attributes that a leader should have and there are concepts that they should possess. Leaders should always be willing to facilitate change. They should continually know their culture and environment. One of the best concepts that leaders should have are good communication skills. Good leaders create vision, and are willing to continuously learn. Leaders know their people and always want to develop future leaders.

The foundation of leadership skills and concepts should be the values of passion, attitudes and relationships. Always be willing to change your attitude and decide whether you have the passion to succeed, and be professional with all of your relationships. If you understand and practice everything in a positive manner, it will become part of you. It won't be work anymore, and then you'll be able to make a difference in someone's life. Make it a habit to help change someone's life by helping people achieve the goals they set. As an elder in the profession, I get to coach and mentor future leaders about the importance of principled chiropractic and the need to carry it on.

I commend you to keep the focus on the mission. I know this is hard work. The secret lies in our communication. If you tackle this challenge, you must understand the issue and begin to focus on it and be prepared for action. As a good leader you will be able to hold people's attention and communicate the chiropractic mission, creating goals and modeling behaviors that will produce action.

Chiropractic leaders must remember the initial premise that leaders must believe and demonstrate the attributes and behaviors that are needed to succeed. Be a great chiropractic leader in your office, by helping as many people as you can, through the vehicle of principled chiropractic!

(Studying under CS Gonstead ignited Dr. Robert Schiffman's passion for chiropractic. The Life University graduate's career accomplishments have won him much recognition, and he is one of the most sought‑after speakers in chiropractic today. Dr. Schiffman ‑‑ founder of the Get the Big Idea Seminars and Schiffman Solution Coaching Program ‑‑ continues to maintain one of the world's largest volume practices. Contact him by calling 877‑251‑0181, or visit online at www.getthebigidea.com.)