You may have an office manager who is exceptional at running the business of your practice. She understands your billing, scheduling, systems, finances and daily operations. She is organized, dependable and knows the practice inside and out.

There’s just one problem: she isn’t particularly good at managing the staff.

Before deciding that you have the wrong manager, consider whether you simply have the wrong responsibilities assigned to the right person.

People management is a very different skill from practice management. Some highly effective administrators struggle with conflict resolution, coaching employees, delivering corrective feedback or navigating different personalities. That doesn’t necessarily mean they should lose their management position.

First, identify exactly where the problem lies and provide structure and coaching. Clear job descriptions, measurable expectations, regular employee check-ins, written disciplinary procedures and objective performance standards can make managing employees much easier.

But if people management simply isn’t your manager’s strength, stop trying to make her good at everything.

Consider dividing the responsibilities. Your office manager might function more effectively as a Practice Administrator or Operations Manager, overseeing the business of the practice, while a strong senior employee serves as a Team Lead, handling day-to-day staff communication, training, workflow and minor personnel issues.

A structure as simple as:

Doctor/Owner → Practice Administrator → Team Lead → Staff

can allow each person to work within their strengths while maintaining a clear chain of command.

There is one important caveat: if your manager’s interactions with employees are contributing to turnover, hostility, fear, favoritism or the loss of good staff, the issue needs to be addressed promptly. Being excellent operationally does not excuse damaging the practice culture.

The goal isn’t to find one person who can do everything. It’s to put the right people in the right roles so the entire practice performs better.

Pinnacle Perspective: Before replacing a valuable manager because of one area of weakness, ask yourself: Does this person need to be replaced—or does the position need to be redesigned?