How Chiropractors Build High-Performing Teams Without Burnout: The Win-Win Leadership Deep Dive

 All right, let’s dive in. Welcome to the deep dive. This is where we take your source material and really pull out the gold for you. Yeah, the most valuable stuff. Exactly. And today we’re focusing specifically on you, the chiropractor who’s, you know, juggling patient care and leading a practice team. It’s a lot.

Definitely you shared some great material with us excerpts from a Zoom call Dr. Noel Lloyd led about his win-win team plan. And our goal here in this deep dive is to really hone in on the, um, the core issues that came up around team leadership and chiropractic offices. Right. The problem, the problems.

Yeah. And then. Look at the solution. Dr. Lloyd and the folks on the call talked about pulling out those really practical ideas you can use almost immediately. Making it actionable. It’s all about building a team that’s more engaged, performs better, using that, uh, that win-win idea. That’s the plan. And just a quick note, this deep dive is brought to you by five Star Management.

They’re a fantastic chiropractic consulting company. We really appreciate them helping make this happen. Okay. Let’s get straight to it then. What’s the big problem here? The main challenge, Dr. Lloyd and the others seem to zero in on? Well, the fundamental thing that kept coming up is that chiropractors even really great ones.

Often struggle to effectively lead and maybe more importantly, engage their teams. Engage. Okay. Yeah. Like they might have a mission, a vision, maybe some goals, but getting everyone truly aligned, pulling together, especially with that win-win feeling where everyone feels like they’re succeeding. That’s the tough part.

Okay, so why is that? Why is it such a hurdle specifically for chiropractors? You’d think leading a small team wouldn’t be that complex, but clearly it often is. The source touched on why, right. It did. The discussion really highlighted that chiropractors get phenomenal clinical training. I mean, they know how to diagnose, how to adjust, how to guide a patient’s care.

That’s all leadership in a way leading the patient. Sure. Exactly, but they don’t typically get formal training in team leadership. It’s just a different beast altogether. Leading staff requires different skills, different approaches than leading patients, and many docs just have to figure it out as they go.

That makes a ton of sense. You’re trained to be a healer, first and foremost, not necessarily a, you know, a business manager or HR expert. Precisely. So when that specific leadership skill isn’t quite there, it’s still developing, what does that look like in the practice? What are the signs. The symptoms, uh, several clear symptoms came up in the discussion.

One big one is low team engagement. Yeah. When leadership isn’t connecting, team members can feel. Well disconnected. They might not really know what’s happening day to day beyond just their basic tasks, like what the big picture is exactly, or what they’re supposed to be doing, or critically why their specific job matters to the overall mission.

That why gets lost. And I bet that lack of clarity, that feeling of just being a cog in the wheel hits performance hard. Absolutely. Low engagement almost always leads to low performance. Yeah. You see it in the numbers, the KPI’s, key performance indicators. They just aren’t hitting the targets right hand.

You also see it in how well the KPAs, the key performance activities are done. Those are the specific actions, the how that drive the results. Mm. People are engaged. Those activities often get done poorly or inconsistently. Okay. So KPAs are the actions, KPIs are the results, gotta get the first part right.

Got it. And beyond the numbers, the source also mentioned low morale. It wasn’t a general feeling of disconnect, people aren’t really having fun. They don’t feel like a tight-knit team working on something important together. Yeah. That vibe can really drag a practice down. Now, the participants on that call got really specific about mistakes they’d seen or even made themselves.

Were there some common themes there? Oh, definitely. A few really jumped out. One participant talked about what they called the most deadly mistake. Ooh, sounds serious. Yeah. It was having an alpha dog mentality instead of a real team plan, kind of a me plan, focused only on the owner’s success rather than, you know, the rising tide lifts all boats idea.

The point was. That a win-win practice needs everyone feeling like they’re winning the me plan versus the we plan. That definitely resonates communication or maybe lack of, it seemed like another big one. Huge. Absolutely. Another person shared a story about, um, making a decision without telling their office manager first.

Oh boy. Yeah. So the office manager walks into a meeting totally unprepared, gets blindsided. Felt like an idiot as they put it. It wasn’t just the decision, but the lack of communication, not looping her in that erodes trust fast. Ouch. Yeah. Feeling outta the loop is terrible for morale. What about the chiropractor trying to juggle everything?

That came up too, didn’t it? It did. Someone described it as getting lost in the sauce. You know, as the chiropractor, you’re seeing patients running the business, maybe doing hiring, marketing, wearing all the hats. All the hats. And when you’re spread that thin, trying to do it all yourself, you inevitably start dropping plates.

They saw this as a massive source of errors in team frustration. Another participant mentioned trying to launch multiple associates at once, saying it did not go well. Just launching one takes focused leadership, right? Trying to personally manage every single detail sounds like a recipe for burnout for the doc, and total confusion for the team.

What about, um, just knowing if things are even working. Measuring success. Yeah. Another chiropractor brought that up, running their practice for five years without any key performance indicators. Kpi. That’s five years. Yeah. Yeah. And they realized how much clarity and purpose KPIs bring. They call them an automatic check-in for everyone. Without clear metrics,

nobody really knows what’s expected or if they’re hitting the mark. It’s just fuzzy and frustrating, I imagine. Super frustrating. Ah, and the discussion even mentioned a broader study, not specific to chiropractic, but relevant, finding that something like 50% of office workers globally don’t actually know what their leadership expects from them.

Half the workforce. Mm-hmm. Just kind of guessing. That’s staggering and goes right back to that engagement problem. It really does. And tied into that was another mistake, someone called lack of acknowledge. Lack of acknowledgements. Yeah. Basically not celebrating the wins, the team hits a big goal, and maybe the response is just, okay, what’s next?

Without really pausing to praise the effort and the success, this person noted that giving credit is so inexpensive, but often missed, maybe due to ego. Sometimes is this a simple, great job or maybe something more. Yeah. Or even taking it a step further. And another participant added a point about systems like you might create systems, write policy manuals, but then fail to actually check if they’re being followed.

Yeah. That oversight piece, especially with new team members. Is crucial. Otherwise, the manual just sits on a shelf. Right. The system is only as good as its implementation and oversight. Mm-hmm. Okay. So let me see if I can recap the problems. Chiropractors often lack specific team leadership training, right, which leads to disengaged teams, lower performance, poor morale.

And this is often made worse by common mistakes like that Alpha Dog thing, bad communication, the owner trying to do everything. No clear metrics or KPIs, not celebrating wins and systems that aren’t actually used. That sums up the challenges pretty well. It paints a clear picture and it really sets the stage for needing a different approach.

A solution exactly. Which is what Dr. Lloyd and the group focused on next. Great. So let’s shift to that solution. Given all those issues, what’s the actual goal of building this win-win team that the source talks about? What does success look like? Well, the goal they articulated is kind of a three parter, and it’s pretty powerful.

First, helping more people. Seeing, you know, gobs and gobs of patients getting great care. That’s the core mission. The why for most chiropractors, absolutely. Second, having more fun. Creating an environment that’s supportive, positive, where people actually enjoy coming to work makes a huge difference. And third,

Making more money, meaning the clinic itself becomes more financially successful, which in a win-win setup, should benefit everyone on the team, not just the owner. Help more people have more fun, make more money. I like it. It’s clear compelling. So how do you know if you’re actually achieving that beyond just the profit numbers?

The real measure, according to the discussion is seeing genuine teamwork, driving record growth, sure. But also seeing high team satisfaction. I. And maybe the key indicator is hearing team members talk with real ownership. Ownership. Yeah. When they start saying things like, this is our practice, these are our patients, our mission, that shift from I work here to this is ours.

That’s the sign you’re building that win-win culture.  That’s a big shift. And the philosophy behind all this you mentioned is win-win relationships. Yes. That’s the bedrock. Hmm. The source used analogies like the best marriages, the best business partnerships, even strong friendships. They work because both sides feel like they’re benefiting.

It’s mutual. The idea is to create that same dynamic inside the practice. Makes sense. And the leadership style needed to foster that was called servant leadership. It’s a term you hear, but what did they mean by it in this context? Servant leadership was positioned as the key mindset change. They talked about concepts from books like Lee Cockerell’s, creating Magic, which suggests managing like a mother.

Your focus is on helping others succeed and be their best, not just having them serve you. Interesting analogy. Yeah, and they also mentioned Hans Finzel definition. Basically, a servant leader cares more about the wellbeing of the organization and its people than about their own personal enrichment or power.

That feels different from the traditional top-down boss model. It’s a total flip. Really. The source contrasted it with that top-down autocratic style or what they called wagon wheel management, where everything comes back to the owner of the center. Everyone reports to the hub. Exactly. With servant leadership, the leader sees their job as serving the team members so they can succeed.

The leader provides the resources, removes obstacles, gives clarity. They enable the team success. Rather than just directing tasks. Okay. The leader serves the team, so what does that actually look like day to day? Yeah. What kinds of questions should a servant leader be asking? The source framed it like a game, right?

Yeah. It was about shifting your internal questions One participant suggested starting with questions like, how could I better service or train my team? Or even where am I failing them? Instead of just focusing on where the team is falling short. That takes some humility. It does. Another person offered, what kind of resources can I provide to make their jobs more efficient or enjoyable?

Like maybe investing in better software or funding a training course they’re interested in. It shows you’re investing in their growth and effectiveness. Those are tangible ways to support them. What about just asking them directly what they need? That came up too. A powerful question share was simply asking at the end of a conversation, what do you need from me?

Not a passive need anything. Yeah. But a direct prompt. Right. Need anything. Usually it’s a, Nope, I’m good. Exactly. Mm-hmm. But what do you need from me? Invites a real answer. Mm-hmm. Maybe it’s budget for a project. Maybe it’s help with a difficult patient situation. Maybe it’s just clarity on a priority.

Another similar question mentioned was, what can I do to support you better? Both really opened the door. I can see how asking those regularly would build a lot of trust and make people feel supported. Was there anything about the leader’s own mindset or energy? Yes, definitely. A really insightful point was raised about the leader’s self-awareness, asking yourself, what is my actual state, mentally, emotionally, when I walk through that door.

Hmm. Checking in with yourself first? Yeah, because the leader sets the tone. If you walk in like a three outta 10, that energy affects everyone. The idea was to be mindful of your state and actively try to bring your best self. Maybe using a power hour beforehand, or at least being honest if you’re having an off day.

One person even shared shifting from anger to gratitude toward a team member during their commute, just by focusing on the positive things that person did. Wow. Managing your own state before interacting. That’s huge for shaping the office culture. So the solution really involves this win-win mindset.

Practicing servant leadership by actively helping your team succeed, asking those supportive questions and being really mindful of the energy you bring. That’s the core of it. It’s a different way of thinking about leadership focused on enabling others. Okay, fantastic. Now let’s get super practical. The people on the call shared a ton of concrete tips and ideas.

They actually use things learned from Dr. Lloyd to make this win-win thing happen. What were some of those? Alright. Lots of good stuff here. One big one was taking the time to really understand what motivates each individual team member. Not assuming everyone wants the same thing. Exactly. Mm-hmm. One chiropractor shared realizing an associate wasn’t primarily driven by money or collections numbers, but by the number of people helped patient visits.

So they shifted how they talked about goals and performance to focus on patient visits and boom, engagement and performance shot up because they were speaking that person’s motivational language. That’s so important. Finding their why totally. And building on that. Uh, several people stressed, getting crystal clear on the KPAs and KPIs.

It’s not enough for the leader to know them. The whole team needs to understand what’s measured, why it matters, and how their daily actions directly impact those numbers. Making the connection explicit. Yes. And one suggestion was actually having team members articulate their responsibilities back to you after meeting.

Just to ensure everyone’s truly on the same page. Good check for understanding. Got it. Then there was the idea of a leader connecting the practice’s overall mission. Mm. Helping people get well to those diverse individual motivations we just talked about. If you could show how each person’s driver contributes to the big why, you get everyone pulling in the same direction, even if for slightly different personal reasons, aligning individual drives with the collective purpose.

Makes sense. What about celebrating success? We touched on the lack of it being a problem, right? So the solution is to celebrate wins bigger. Go beyond just a quick good job. Think public praise. Maybe taking the team out a small bonus, something that feels like serious acknowledgement. It reinforces what you wanna see more of.

One person gave an example of treating an associate to lunch and praising them publicly after they managed the practice well, while the owner was away really highlighting that capability and ownership, showing genuine appreciation. It seems simple but, but often overlooked and related to that, was giving credit freely.

Yeah. Saying So and so came up with this great idea, or thanks to this person’s hard work. It was described as so inexpensive and just smart leadership. Contrasting it with ego-driven leaders who need all the credit. Yeah. Share the spotlight. What about playing to people’s strengths? That was another key point.

Try to put people in roles where they can use their natural talents. Maybe 90% of the time for the other 10%. Where they might struggle, provide support. This means really understanding your team, maybe using profiles like L.E.A.D. or DSE or just through keen observations so you don’t put your super introverted, detail-oriented person on the front lines, greeting every single patient.

If that’s not their zone of genius, put people where they can shine. That boosts engagement and results. Any other practical tips? Yes. Reading books together, either as a whole team or maybe with key leaders like an office manager. Several participants mentioned doing this like a practice book club, kind of.

They found it helped get everyone on the same page, understand the concepts the owner might be bringing back from seminars or coaching, and just improved how they work together. They even talked about maybe compensating people for reading time. Interesting. Shared learning. What else? Gamification. Making things fun.

Ah, turning work into a game. Yeah. Using friendly competition or rewards to make tasks more engaging. Examples were like a small monthly productivity award, maybe a $10 coffee card or bigger team challenges like a bowling night where the winning team gets an extra day off. It just adds an element of fun and motivation.

Mini meetings were also mentioned as a way to keep communication flowing and energy high. Okay. Wow. So practical tips. Yeah. Understand individual motivation. Get super clear on goals and actions. Celebrate wins in a meaningful way. Play to strengths, give credit, generously learn together through reading and use gamification to make it fun.

That’s a really solid list. It really is. These are things chiropractors can actually start doing tomorrow to build that win-win environment. This has been incredibly insightful. We’ve really dug into the leadership challenges specific to chiropractors. Looked at how that win-win philosophy driven by servant leadership, offers a powerful solution and unpacked a whole toolkit of practical strategies from Dr.

Lloyd’s discussion, focusing on motivation, clarity. Acknowledgement, strengths, shared learning and fun. Yeah. A lot of great takeaways from that source material. And maybe as you’re listening and thinking about all this, here’s a final thought to chew on. What’s just one thing from this discussion? Maybe asking your team, what do you need from me more often?

Or planning a real celebration for the next milestone? What’s one thing you can consciously integrate into your practice this week to start building that stronger, more win-win team. That’s the perfect challenge to end on. Thank you again for sharing the source material that allowed us to do this deep dive.

Absolutely. And remember, this Deep Dive is brought to you by Five Star Management. They’re dedicated to helping chiropractors and their team succeed. And if you feel like you could use some more personalized guidance on leadership, team building or growing your practice, Dr. George Birnbach offers a free call.

You can find the link to book that right in the show notes for this deep dive. Thanks for tuning in everyone. We’ll get you on the next deep dive.