Episode 2: How to Achieve Team Harmony

(SHORT SUMMARY BLOG TO BE ADDED)

00:00 - 1:21 → Intro

Erika: As health, wellness, and beauty experts, you know all about keeping a calm, peaceful space. But what about your business? Is that pretty calm?

I'm Erika Dowell, business operations expert and your host of the Business Flow Formula podcast. Each episode, you'll get real-world advice and strategies from people who have been there and done that and lived to tell the tale – so you can clarify, streamline and elevate your practice from the inside out. Welcome to the Business Flow Formula podcast, the show where we dive deep into strategies for thriving businesses in the health and wellness industry. 

Whether you own a yoga studio or run a fitness center, or manage a paramedical clinic, we're here to share tips, stories, and strategies to help you grow and thrive. 

I'm your host, Erika, and today we're tackling an essential topic: getting clear on team dynamics in your practice.

00:54

Erika: Let's face it, the health and wellness industry is all about people. From the clients who walk through your doors to the team members who make your vision come to life, having a great team doesn't just happen by chance.

Building strong team dynamics requires clarity, communication, and intentional leadership. Today, we're gonna explore why team dynamics matter, the common challenges teams face in this industry, and practical steps to build a cohesive, motivated, and aligned team.

01:21 → Why Team Dynamics Matter 

Erika: So first, let's talk about why team dynamics are crucial in health and wellness businesses. Whatever type of business you're running in this industry, your team is going to be the backbone. Whether they're employees or contractors, whatever it is, a single bad experience with an unaligned or disengaged team member can impact your client's entire perception of the business.

But on the flip side, a team that works well together and creates a welcoming and harmonious space for each service that the client receives it will boost that client retention and improve operational efficiency and foster creativity. And let's be honest, a happy and aligned team makes your job as a leader so much easier.

02:04 → Common Challenges

Erika: Let's dive into some of the common challenges that we see in team dynamics for health and wellness businesses. There's three.

So first off, is diverse backgrounds and expertise. Many health and wellness centers hire people with different training and specialties. That's normal. That's what's needed in this industry. A yoga instructor, a massage therapist, a nutritionist. That diversity is awesome, but it can also lead to misunderstandings or even clashing work styles. That comes from having a lack of clear vision or communication strategy even. Take, for an example, a massage therapist who would prefer the space to be quiet at all times for their clients, but the yoga instructor has classes that come and go during those appointments. That can be a little bit loud, maybe even disruptive. Those classes being disruptive could create tension between those practitioners, and we need a way to solve that. 

Next up in the common challenges is misaligned expectations. Sometime,s team members might not have a clear understanding of their roles, or they may have different expectations of how things should run. This can obviously lead to frustration or even burnout on your side as well as theirs. When you come to work and you don't know what should be done or how you should be doing something, it can lead to a lot of friction. When we don't communicate or align our expectations with our team, it leaves everyone feeling confused, and then ultimately, it leaves the client feeling confused.

One wellness center reported that they had to make some changes to billing that would greatly impact their team. And I mean, revenue-wise. Once they laid out the clear reasons for the why and how, it really helped realign the team to be cohesive in that decision, as well as they found great solutions to overcome how that would impact the individual team members

Finally, we have lack of communication. Poor communication is the root of so many team issues, so many relationship issues, interpersonal, with clients, you name it. So, whether it's unclear policies or unspoken assumptions or even unresolved conflicts, a lack of communication can create tension and inefficiency. Another example of this is perhaps not communicating when the practice might be closed or open over holidays. Communicating that clearly will make sure that your clients feel understood, feel like they're engaged, and that you really care about them.

Does any of this resonate with you? If so, don't worry. These challenges are solvable in your business and we're going to cover some strategies to address them next. So let's get to the good stuff here.

04:46 → Actionable Takeaways

Erika: There's six points that I want you to take away from this. These are actionable steps to create strong, clear and positive team dynamics. 

First of all, you want to define your vision and your values. Your team needs a shared understanding of your business's mission and values. If we go back and remember that wellness center that had to change their billing, that's what they did. They sat down with their team, revisited the mission and revisited those values. If your wellness center is all about creating a calming and restorative space, make sure everyone from the front desk staff to the instructors and practitioners are aligned with that goal. Having a clear mission creates a clear sense of purpose and unity. And make sure that you reiterate this often, not just once a year, not just every quarter, it's monthly, weekly, realign with your team. 

Next, number two, set clear goals and expectations. Ambiguity is a recipe for conflict. Make sure every team member knows what's expected of them, how their role fits into the bigger picture, and who to go to for support. Use written job descriptions, regular check-ins, and team meetings to reinforce that clarity. Having those clear goals makes sure that anyone that's new on the team knows exactly where to go. Even the people that have been with you for years, they'll know where to go. It's easy to say, Oh, just go talk to my assistant over here, they'll deal with it. You got to be the one that is communicating that it's your business.

Thirdly, make sure you prioritize communication. It is the glue that holds teams together, relationships together, you name it. Create those channels for open dialogue. Again, whether that's in weekly team meetings, maybe a group chat or day-to-day updates, or maybe you want to start doing one-on-one check-ins with certain team members or all of them. Encourage feedback, but make it safe for team members to voice their concerns or ideas. This can be done through practicing: Hey, what has been working for you at work lately? How's the balance in your work life? How can I help? How can I make it better? Establishing that trust with your team members will go a long way.

In fourth, invest in your training and development. A team that learns together, grows together. I always like to suggest to my clients that they find opportunities for some type of professional development. Sometimes that is required of their industry, whether they're in social work or therapy or physio, massage, you name it, that is sometimes required. But you can also have other industry workshops, in-house training sessions, or even encouraging peer-to-peer knowledge sharing. This improves skills, but it will also strengthen the trust in the team. Sometimes it's a great idea to have buddies at work where they're able to bounce ideas off of each other or create a very strong space of - I have this client, I think that you should see them and create that holistic approach to their health and wellness.

In fifth, make sure you're celebrating wins and fostering that positivity. Don't underestimate the power of recognition. Celebrating the individual or team achievements, big or small, whether that's someone who is just past their final test, or they just wrapped up a really big client that has been having some struggles with their health and wellness, and they finally had a breakthrough. Make sure you celebrate those wins. And also celebrate your wins, whether that's a membership goal at your yoga studio or a team member has received glowing feedback from a client, make it a point to acknowledge and celebrate that and make it known across the team. 

Finally, we want to address conflict proactively. It is inevitable, we are all humans and working in a very human and heart-centred business, but how you handle it will make all the difference. Address the issues early, focus on solutions rather than blame, and if needed, you can always mediate between team members, but always restore the trust and alignment within the team. Of course, if the conflict gets too much, you might have to find other solutions, but ideally, we don't get to the point of losing team members.

09:03 → Examples

Erika: So let me share a couple examples. 

A client I worked with ran a small wellness studio with yoga classes and massage therapy. They were struggling with miscommunication between their practitioners, which was causing scheduling headaches and a lack of team cohesion. We, working together, implemented weekly team huddles, just 20 minutes every Monday or Tuesday morning, depending on holidays. During these huddles, they would share updates, scheduling, new classes that might be coming up, or perhaps an expansion of different therapy techniques. They also celebrated wins, so that's you know: oh, I finally got all of the clients that I was wanting, I hit my maximum, oh, I had more students in my yoga class than I ever had before. They felt a lot more connected over several weeks, and the client satisfaction really improved, and Google reviews also improved.

09:59 → Wrap Up & Work with Us!

Erika: What step will you take today to start improving your team dynamics? Maybe as you've been listening to this, you're thinking, oh, there is this area that I could improve my team dynamics.

It could be setting up a team meeting. Maybe it's clarifying roles, sitting down and writing out who does what around your clinic or your studio. It could also be asking your team for feedback. What's been working? What hasn't been working? What do you need me to communicate better with you? Remember, a strong team is the foundation of a successful health and wellness business. 

If you found today's episode helpful and you want to learn more about how you can work with me, I do have an entire program that I can help you with and get you through this so much faster. You can also check out our website for more templates and worksheets, and that kind of thing. And finally, book a call to go over what our coaching options are. 

Thanks so much for tuning in to the Business Flow Formula Podcast. Again, I'm Erika, and I will see you next time for more insights and strategies on growing your health and wellness business.

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