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Without the skeletal sys-tem, humans arereduced to fleshy Jell-O. You don’t have topossess the knowledge

of Temperance Brennan (from theTV series “Bones”) to know this.

Leadership without strong dele-gation can also be a little soft. (Onthe other hand, barking orders, giv-ing ultimatums, and making unreal-istic requests can mean your opti-cians are using their version of thisSouthern phrase behind your back,“She might be pretty on the outside,but she’s ugly to the bone.”)

Without mastering the art ofdelegating, you will feel stressed andoverloaded. Because the amount ofrevenue generated in an optical isfinite and there are only so manytasks you can complete in a workweek, it’s understandable that opticalmanagement might be at the bottomof that never-ending to-do list.

That’s what makes delegationsuch an excellent skill for adminis-trators with dispensaries. An opticianlicensed by the American Board ofOpticianry is typically proficient inthe core skills of assisting patients inthe dispensing of prescription lensesand the selection of eyewear.Therefore, these optical tasks arealready a part of your opticians’ nor-mal job requirements. Think aboutdelegating tasks that involve sharingmore “top-level” information andthe execution of tasks that involvecritical thinking. For example, pro-jecting how net would be impactedby a 5% increase in sales and sug-gesting three ways to achieve thatgoal in the next six months wouldallow your opticians to learn andmove toward greater buy-in into a

Leadership to the Bone—Mastering the Art of Delegation Donna Suter

An effective delegatoracknowledges optical successes and gives publicrecognition as well as private praise.

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critical goal that aligns with overallpractice profitability.

Where to StartThere are three optical managementtasks I recommend that the adminis-trator or owner of the practice dele-gate: 1. customer service, 2. increasing gross revenues, and 3. achieving a higher net.

While it is not uncommon tofind opticians with a natural talentfor one, or perhaps two, of thesemanagement tasks, it is impossibleto excel in all three without mentor-ing or formal training. So delegatingalso involves providing adequatetraining, being available for ques-tions and answers, and providingopportunities for progress checks(and for rework as necessary).

It’s important to understand thatpeople fail at delegation becausethey do not understand the amountof up-front skill-building it takes.After all, you look at P&Ls almostdaily and are successful because youcan generate charts and graphs thatmonitor customer service, gross, andpractice net in real time. The criticalquestion becomes, “Is it a good useof your time to perform these servic-es for the dispensary?”

You might feel it is easier to dic-tate your budgets and sales goals tothe optical; however, there are rea-sons to delegate the responsibilityfor determining these goals to theminstead:

• First, if you can manage theoptical, there is a high probabilitythat your skills are better useddeveloping new revenue streamsfor the practice. Therefore, bydoing the work of managing the

optical yourself, you are failing tomake the best use of your time.• Second, by meaningfully

involving optical employees infinancial management, you devel-op their financial skills and abili-ties. This means, eventually, youcan delegate the task with a highdegree of confidence that it will bedone well and with much lessinvolvement from you.

Deciding to DelegateConsider the following when deciding to whom you will delegate:

1. The experience, knowledge and skills of the individual as they apply to the delegated task.a. What knowledge, skills, and attitude does the person already have?b. Do you have time and resources to provide any training needed?

2. The individual’s preferred work style.a. How independent is the person?b. What does he or she want from his or her job?c. What are his or her long-term goals and professional interests and

how do these align with the work proposed?

3. The current workload of this person.a. Does this person have time to take on more work?b. Will your delegating this task require reshuffling of other

responsibilities and workloads?

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store and you will find it is notvery expensive.

• We ceased serving a post-operativesnack 10 years ago. Patientsreceive such minimal sedation,and NPO standards and safetyparameters have changed dramati-cally. Our patients are not in StageI and II PACU for a lengthy periodof time. We offer them coffee, tea,water, or juice in a six-ounce cup.If a snack is needed for a particu-lar patient, we have them avail-able. We give each of our patientsa satisfaction survey, and I can

only recall one related commentsince we made this change. Thisdecision was not fiscally based butrather time-oriented: It can takean elderly patient a great deal oftime to eat a snack. As operativetimes shorten and patient vol-umes increase, you need to payclose attention to the details relat-ed to things like timing in thepost-operative areas. Patient safetyand compliance with yourDischarge Readiness standards, ofcourse, is important in all thesedecisions.

• Because the patient just has "light"sedation, we have a side chair ineach of our PO bays. Whenpatients are ready, we have themsit in the chair and give them apacket of saltines or graham crack-ers and juice or an eight-ouncecan of soda while the family pullsthe car up to the discharge door.Many times patients prefer to taketheir snack and drink with them,which keeps our discharge timeshort and the patients satisfied. Ifthey stay to eat, it doesn't takelong to consume because there areonly two crackers in the pack. AE

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Strategies for SuccessDelegation allows you to make thebest use of your time and skills, andit helps other people on the teamgrow and develop to reach their fullpotential. Opticians are closest tooptical productivity and are bestsuited for the task because they havethe most intimate knowledge of thedetail of everyday work. This alsoincreases optical efficiency and helpsto develop leaders.

Execute the following strategiesto delegate successfully:

1. Develop a plan for consis-tent and continual growth. Whatyou set is what you get. For example,reduce cost of goods (COG). Build apattern of positive expectations foroptical employees by keeping score.Keeping score motivates when expec-tations are well defined. Be specific.Count the number of frames specialordered for patients. (Shipping con-tributes to COGs. Selling from in-house selection could reduce COGby 1% or more.) On the other hand,when you wait for the annual per-formance review to point out highshipping, you may be met with sur-prise, shock, disdain, anger, and agroup of opticians who feel“ambushed.”

When you first start to delegateoptical budget items like COGs, youmay notice that the optician takeslonger to complete these tasks thanyou do. This is because you are theexpert and the optician is still learn-ing. Be patient. If you have chosenthe right person to delegate to andyou are delegating correctly, you willfind that he or she eventually willbecome competent and reliable.

Bare-bones advice: Concernyourself with what is accomplishedrather than detailing how COGs

should be lowered. Allow the personto control his or her own methodsand processes.

2. Use a problem-solving toneof voice and body language. Amanager unwilling to delegate thelevers of control they have worked alifetime to achieve tells others “howthings work around here.” A leaderspeaks in a pleasant, conversationaltone of voice and invites feedback—body language and vocal tone areparamount in communicating bothpositive and negative feedback in away that inspires productivity andmorale. A leader who delegates wellhelps dispensary employees learn tocommunicate their thoughts and feel-ings about optical sales in a mannerthat respects them while pointing theway toward the agreed-upon goal andsubsequent tasks. Conversational dele-gation creates a system that promotesbuy-in and participation and opticianswho know how to solve problemsbefore they blow up.

Bare-bones advice: Be aware thatpeople read between the lines. Whenyour posture changes or your voicechanges pitch or tone, so does themessage.

3. Clearly identify constraintsand boundaries. Where are the linesof authority, responsibility, andaccountability? Does the opticianfeel his suggestions on how to lowerCOG would be welcome? Which ofthe following unspoken organiza-tional norms are your opticians fol-lowing:

a. Wait to be told what to do?b. Ask what to do?c. Recommend what should be

done, and then act?d. Act, and then report results

immediately?

e. Initiate action and thenreport periodically?

When possible, include an opti-cal representative in delegation deci-sions. Empower this person to decidewhich tasks are to be delegated andwhen. Match the amount of respon-sibility with the amount of authori-ty. If there is a problem, don’t allowthe optician to shift responsibilityfor the task back to you. Ask for rec-ommended solutions and encourageyour future manager to provide ananswer.

Bare-bones advice: Employeeslearn better when they are delegatedentire projects and not just detailwork. If you ask your optician toseek permission for small details, youare violating the principle of delega-tion.

To Ask and To RememberDo you have the backbone to dele-gate? Remember that not all delega-tion assignments succeed. There willbe mistakes. While you can delegateresponsibility, you cannot delegateultimate accountability. An effectivedelegator acknowledges optical suc-cesses and gives public recognitionas well as private praise. You alwaysstand tall when optical delegationturns out well. Let your optical shineand watch your patients and yournet grow. AE

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Donna Suter (423-545-4562;suter4pr@donnasuterconsult-ing.com) is president of SuterConsulting Group, Ringgold,Ga. Suter is an internationallyrecognized authority on theunique practice managementissues that face dispensingeyecare practitioners.