• DVM360_Conference_Charlotte,NC_banner
  • ACVCACVC
  • DVM 360
  • Fetch DVM 360Fetch DVM 360
DVM 360
dvm360 | Veterinary News, Veterinarian Insights, Medicine, Pet Care
dvm360 | Veterinary News, Veterinarian Insights, Medicine, Pet Care
By Role
AssociatesOwnersPractice ManagerStudentsTechnicians
Subscriptions
dvm360 Newsletterdvm360 Magazine
News
All News
Association
Breaking News
Conference Coverage
Education
Equine
FDA
Law & Ethics
Market Trends
Medical
Politics
Products
Recalls
Regulatory
Digital Media
dvm360 LIVE!™
Expert Interviews
The Vet Blast Podcast
Medical World News
Pet Connections
The Dilemma Live
Vet Perspectives™
Weekly Newscast
dvm360 Insights™
Publications
All Publications
dvm360
Firstline
Supplements
Vetted
Clinical
All Clinical
Anesthesia
Animal Welfare
Behavior
Cardiology
CBD in Pets
Dentistry
Dermatology
Diabetes
Emergency & Critical Care
Endocrinology
Equine Medicine
Exotic Animal Medicine
Feline Medicine
Gastroenterology
Imaging
Infectious Diseases
Integrative Medicine
Nutrition
Oncology
Ophthalmology
Orthopedics
Pain Management
Parasitology
Pharmacy
Surgery
Toxicology
Urology & Nephrology
Virtual Care
Business
All Business
Business & Personal Finance
Hospital Design
Personnel Management
Practice Finances
Practice Operations
Wellbeing & Lifestyle
Continuing Education
Conferences
Conference Listing
Conference Proceedings
Resources
CBD in Pets
CE Requirements by State
Contests
Veterinary Heroes
Partners
Spotlight Series
Team Meeting in a Box
Toolkit
Top Recommended Veterinary Products
Vet to Vet
  • Contact Us
  • Fetch DVM360 Conference
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy
  • Do Not Sell My Information
  • About Us

© 2023 MJH Life Sciences and dvm360 | Veterinary News, Veterinarian Insights, Medicine, Pet Care. All rights reserved.

Advertisement
By Role
  • Associates
  • Owners
  • Practice Manager
  • Students
  • Technicians
Subscriptions
  • dvm360 Newsletter
  • dvm360 Magazine
  • Contact Us
  • Fetch DVM360 Conference
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy
  • Do Not Sell My Information
  • About Us
  • MJHLS Brand Logo

© 2023 MJH Life Sciences™ and dvm360 | Veterinary News, Veterinarian Insights, Medicine, Pet Care. All rights reserved.

Check your culture

May 17, 2018
Katie Adams, CVPM

Whether you have a positive or negative culture at your veterinary practice may be traced back to how closely youre sticking to your core values.

shutterstock.comWhat's growing at your veterinary practice? Is your business full of healthy organisms, or are bacteria taking over and infecting your team?

You know it's important to create a great culture and develop core values for your veterinary practice. Often the missing link is in examining the relationship between the two. Because while it's important to have a great culture and great core values, it's just as important to ensure that the two are in sync within your organization.

There are seven characteristics of any organization, according to Timothy A. Judge in the book Essentials of Organizational Behavior:

Innovation and risk-taking. The degree to which employees are encouraged to be innovative and take risks

Attention to detail. The degree to which employees are expected to exhibit precision, analysis and attention to detail

Advertisement

Outcome orientation. The degree to which management focuses on results or outcomes rather than on the techniques and processes used to achieve them

People orientation. The degree to which management decisions take into consideration the effect of outcomes on people within the organization

Team orientation. The degree to which work activities are organized around teams rather than individuals

Aggressiveness. The degree to which people are aggressive and competitive rather than easygoing

Stability. The degree to which organizational activities emphasize maintaining the status quo in contrast to growth. 

An organization will exist somewhere on a continuum from low to high within each characteristic. The question is, do your core values line up with your organization's placement on each continuum? For example, let's say you have a core value that states “we notice the small stuff,” where in reality, details like pets that are supposed to get baths while boarding or a swollen paw where a catheter is taped too tight are often missed. In this example, you sell the practice to existing and future employees through a great core value, but they deliver on the low end of the attention to detail spectrum. 

Perhaps you purport to encourage personal and professional growth but you micromanage and don't let your team take risks and make mistakes that don't put patient health at risk. 

It's the type of hypocrisy illustrated in the previous two examples that often leave our teams feeling frustrated and demotivated. Every now and then, simply take a moment to consider if you are walking the talk in the way you execute activities within your organization. If not, own it and change it and be more mindful how your values and culture align in the future. 

Katie Adams, CVPM, is director of curriculum development at veterinary education provider Ignite Veterinary Solutions based in Austin, Texas.

Related Content:

Practice ManagerRoles
3 tips for selling your practice
3 tips for selling your practice
A day in the life of an Australian veterinary student
A day in the life of an Australian veterinary student
Texas Tech professor inspires students with large animal surgery
Texas Tech professor inspires students with large animal surgery

Advertisement

Latest News

CE: Why tapeworms matter

Freshpet and Petco partner launch fresh pet food subscription

AAHA Con heads to San Diego

VHMA announces latest class of CVPMs

View More Latest News
Advertisement