Sales are down, it's depressing
"Employing Mary has increased overheads markedly. She's got to do the numbers, get us back into profitability. We've got to have these KPIs clearly defined in her contract" Jack was insistent.
"But Mary doesn't the importance of a KPI" I replied. "How can we get her engaged to improve performance?"
"She'll just have to harden up" said Jack.
And in that moment I saw another example of management pressure. Apply pressure and demanding someone work it out for themselves. I knew all the nurses were committed and working hard but still the numbers weren't what Jack wanted.
What would be the mindset of a leader in this situation?
I asked Jack what was going on when profitability was good. Jack's a GP, practicing in a poorer community where the Government subsidises his service. When it was just him and his assistant he'd work the numbers. When a patient came in he instantly knew what services the system would pay for. He knew exactly what questions to ask so the patient got value and he maximised revenue by providing the service the Government would pay for.
"Otherwise", he said, "these patients with multiple ailments, took my time, I'd be working hard and going broke."
In that moment the deeper issue became clear to me. Mary wanted her service to be profitable; she just didn't understand how to do it.
As in any business, the people who contribute the most to profitability emotionally understand margins. I say emotionally because otherwise delivering profitability becomes hard work and we only do hard work when we have to.
So what's a mindset of leadership in this situation? In a nut shell; "Seeking to understand"
A leader is always seeking to understand "What does this employee want personally? What makes them excited?" A leader then has a better chance of showing them how understanding margins will help them get it, with less work and less stress.