Synopsis
Self-development is essential for veterinary leaders to ensure they can adapt to the ever-changing demands of clinical care, client expectations, and business management. By investing in their own growth, leaders not only make better decisions and guide their teams through change with confidence but also model a culture of continuous improvement – future-proofing both themselves and their practice. Join Paul, Sara and Jackie as they focus on three key areas of development.
As veterinary leaders, we are constantly pulled in multiple directions, leading to fragmented focus and frustration. Without realising it, our time allocation can become dysfunctional and misaligned with our true priorities. Using practical examples, Paul will introduce a simple but highly effective model for auditing how you actually spend your time – whether clinical, team development, project work, or admin – to identify unhelpful patterns and take action to refocus your efforts.
There is often an expectation that, as leaders, we are infallible; this is something we expect from ourselves, those who lead us and feel it is expected from those who we lead. How do we normalise the acceptance of a leader’s humanity, and all our quirks, within the workplace? How do we develop self-compassion? Sara will share how self-compassion and accepting our own humanity can strengthen our bond with our teams.
In veterinary practice where stress, complexity and human interaction are constant, Emotional intelligence (EQ) influences everything from clinical decision making to team collaboration and leadership effectiveness. Jackie will share actionable strategies to enhance emotional awareness and regulation – tools which can immediately be applied in high-pressure, dynamic clinical environments.
Learning outcomes
- Learn a straightforward method to analyse and audit how your leadership time is spent and develop strategies to refocus your energy on high-value activities that drive business and team success
- Recognise how vulnerability and self-compassion is good for us as leaders and sets us up as role models, strengthening both team dynamics and practice success
- Appreciate the impact of EQ on clinical performance, leadership and team dynamics and apply EQ leadership techniques to foster a positive, resilient workplace culture
