When you become the owner, manager or administrator of a home health agency, people look to you for leadership, to clarify and guide them in the right direction, even if they don’t ask for it, they want it. When I was pushed into a leadership position a few years ago, I kept looking for someone who could guide me and show me “the ropes.” I started reading as many leadership books as I could. What helped me the most, though, was seeing leaders and mentors in action like Oprah, Tony Robbins, Les Brown, and a host of unknown leaders in various professions. YouTube is great for easy access to the world’s top leaders.

I realized that it was hard to find a person in a leadership position who would take the time to show me the ropes. Hey! I had to learn the hard way through a lot of trial and error. I finally understood that in some industries there is no emphasis on the concept of mentoring and training “newbies”. You are on your own, especially if you need help in the home health industry.

So many home health agencies need to have an experienced director of clinical services on board that they are now hiring nurses with no home health experience who can jeopardize the success of the agency. Having the right person and processes in place is critical to meeting state and federal requirements. Therefore, having someone with great leadership skills, experience, and knowledge is becoming more and more important in the home health industry.

What about home care (personal care) agencies?

While home health agencies are not required to have a Director of Clinical Services, the Manager must still have the specific qualifications required by state regulations.

As a first-time administrator, manager, owner, or director of clinical services, here are some strategies any leader can use to succeed.

1. Be a first class listener

To be a good listener you must be present. This means being physically or mentally focused on what is being said and not being distracted by everything going on around you. Being a good listener will make you more appreciative of what the other person has to say. You will be more effective in solving problems. Listening to your staff can take a lot of practice, consistency, and effort on your part, especially if you don’t agree with what that person has to say. We must remember the benefits of listening more than talking. We should not judge the employee who is speaking and look at the situation from his point of view.

2. Be a better communicator

Being a leader who can communicate successfully will be key to your success. Strong communication skills should be a requirement for all agency owners, managers, or administrators. This is a skill that will improve greatly over time with practice.

3. Have a vision for your agency

A great leader must have a clear and exciting vision of the future of their agency. This vision must be clear to everyone who works for your agency, your clients and business partners. What are your goals for the agency? Share those goals with the people who matter and can help your goals manifest.

4. Find a great leader to emulate

As I mentioned before, when I started my journey as a leader, I was looking for someone who would serve as a role model and a good leader. Of course, there was no one in the health or home health industry to emulate. Who do you know who is a successful leader as a home health administrator, owner or manager? Good question huh! Since our options are so limited, we have to emulate people in other industries to guide us to success and prosperity.

A leader who can demonstrate a commitment to being persistent, honest, taking risks, and discovering ways to develop creative solutions will be successful in growing a highly profitable business.

Being a great leader won’t happen overnight, but by simply doing these 4 things you can start to learn a lot about yourself and what good leaders do to be successful. You’ll find out what works for you and what else you need to learn to continue your growth as a great leader. If you enjoyed reading about leadership, let me encourage you to check out the different online leadership programs on this site.