The Most Important Leadership Question Every Podiatry Practice Owner Should Ask

We graduated knowing how to diagnose heel pain, prescribe orthotics and treat ingrown toenails, but very few of us were taught how to motivate a team, communicate effectively or create a workplace where people genuinely enjoy coming to work.

The result? Many practice owners spend years developing their clinical skills while assuming leadership will simply come naturally.

It rarely does.

Leadership Is a Skill, Not a Personality Trait

I’ve met practice owners who are brilliant clinicians but struggle to lead a team. I’ve also met average clinicians who have built incredible businesses by investing in becoming exceptional leaders.

The encouraging part is that leadership isn’t something you’re born with. It’s a skill that can be learned, practised and refined.

Like any skill, improvement begins with awareness.

The Question That Changes Everything

If I could ask every practice owner one question, it would be this:

Would you want to work for you?

It’s an uncomfortable question because it forces us to step outside our own perspective.

We know our true intentions, but our team only experiences our behaviour. That’s all they can see. You may believe you’re approachable, but do your staff feel comfortable bringing you bad news?

You may think you’re supportive, but do your employees feel recognised and appreciated? You may believe you’re creating opportunities, but are you also creating unnecessary stress?

The gap between intention and perception is often where leadership problems begin.

Small Habits Shape Your Culture

Workplace culture isn’t created by long-winded mission statements framed on the wall. It’s created by hundreds of small interactions every week.

• Do you thank people for doing a great job?
• Do you listen without interrupting?
• Do you admit when you’ve made a mistake?
• Do you ask questions before jumping to conclusions?
• Do you encourage ideas, even if they challenge your own?

None of these moments seems significant on its own, but together they determine how your team feels about working with you.

Culture is simply the accumulation of daily behaviours.

Stress Can Quietly Change Good Leaders

One thing I’ve noticed over the years is that very few practice owners intentionally become difficult bosses.

Instead:

• Life gets busy.
• Payroll increases.
• Staff resign.
• Patients complain.
• Equipment breaks.
• Cash flow tightens.

Before long, conversations become shorter, patience disappears, and every interaction starts revolving around problems instead of people.

The danger isn’t that we’re bad people; the danger is that we’re too busy to notice how we’ve changed. That’s why reflection is so important.

Ask for Feedback Before It’s Too Late

One of the simplest leadership habits you can develop is asking your team for honest feedback.

Questions such as:

• What could I do to make this a better place to work?
• Is there something I could communicate more clearly?
• What frustrates you that I might not be seeing?
• What’s one thing I do well as a leader?

The key is listening without becoming defensive.

If your team trusts you enough to answer honestly, you’ve already taken a significant step towards becoming a better leader.

Great Leaders Build Great Businesses

The practices that consistently attract and retain great staff aren’t necessarily the ones paying the highest salaries or operating from the newest buildings.

More often than not, they’re led by people who genuinely care about developing others.

• They communicate clearly.
• They recognise effort.
• They create trust.
• They remain calm under pressure.

They understand that leadership isn’t about controlling people. It’s about helping people succeed.

Blind Spots

Every practice owner has blind spots. I certainly have, and I’m still learning every day. The goal isn’t to become the perfect boss because that person doesn’t exist.

The goal is to become a little better each day. Because when your team grows, your business grows. When your culture improves, your patients notice. And when people genuinely enjoy coming to work, everything else becomes just that little bit easier.

Ready to Become a Better Leader?

If you’d like an experienced sounding board to help you improve your leadership, strengthen your team and build a more profitable podiatry practice, I’d love to help where I can.

I work exclusively with podiatrists to simplify their business, develop stronger leaders, and create practices that are both financially successful and enjoyable to run.

To learn more, please look at my coaching programs.

Or, if you just want to make more money in podiatry, we can talk about that as well.