Pharmacy school teaches students the ins and outs of medicine, but far less about how to be an effective pharmacy leader.
Below is a breakdown of seven leadership tips for new pharmacy managers, according to Jason Poquette, RPh, the director of specialty pharmacy at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. He wrote the article in an opinion piece for Drug Topics, part of the ModernMedicine Network.
1. Develop relationships. Relationship building, both inside and outside the organization, is key. Great pharmacy managers will understand their community, key stakeholders in the area and various prescribing clinicians.
2. Always ensure compliance. The main job of a manager is to keep the pharmacy running in a safe and lawful manner. This means that the manager must sometimes be the enforcer.
3. Measure success. Pharmacy managers should immediately begin to track critical performance indicators to help determine success of the team under their leadership.
4. Find a mentor. Find someone in the organization who has a great leadership track record. Ask them to serve as a mentor and bounce questions and scenarios off of them regularly.
5. Read management books. Since pharmacy school typically does little to prepare pharmacists for real management issues, books may be a great resource to help improve leadership skills like decision making or hiring and interviewing.
6. Delegate work. Sometimes it is hard to give up work. However, delegating work shows the team that they are trusted. It allows others to contribute and is a useful way to find star performers.
7. Inspire others with positivity. People will constantly look to the manager as the one who sets the emotional tone for the pharmacy. If a manager is constantly grumpy and complaining, the staff will likely be the same.
Read the full list here.