Veterinary Voices

Want to improve job satisfaction and attract high-performing employees?

You need to prioritise Quality of Life in your Workplace. 

This Culture-Positive concept is gaining popularity.  

But what is it exactly and how does it benefit both employees and employers? 

Stay tuned as we explore the benefits of Quality of Life in your Workplace, how it can be your clinic’s recruitment superpower and how it can enhance your professional life. 

We look at the original six Quality of Life in the Workplace Factors from the mid-20th Century and how you can make them relevant for life and work in today's 21st Century. 

Could Your Kind of People recognise Their Kind of Clinic?

A job ad may catch a vet’s or nurse’s eye. But it’s their own due diligence that determines whether they apply—or keep in touch.

Culture Story Centres turn real experiences from inside your team into credible, discoverable recruitment evidence, giving vets and nurses meaningful reasons to choose your clinic.

Explore Culture Story Centres for veterinary clinics

Are you curious about the power of gratitude?

Perhaps you're sceptical of its benefits, thinking it's just a trendy buzzword. 

What if I told you that there's scientific evidence that practicing gratitude can enhance your mental and physical health? 

Join me:  today we dive deep into the world of gratitude, exploring its benefits and giving you practical tips on how to cultivate thankfulness in your daily life. 

It's not uncommon to be sceptical of the concept of gratitude. 

Some may view it as a new-age trend or an unrealistic expectation in a world that can often be challenging and unfair.  However, research has shown that practicing gratitude can have significant positive effects on both our physical and mental health.

Today we look at:

• Gratitude
• Forgiveness
• Reframing
• Actioning

Could Your Kind of People recognise Their Kind of Clinic?

A job ad may catch a vet’s or nurse’s eye. But it’s their own due diligence that determines whether they apply—or keep in touch.

Culture Story Centres turn real experiences from inside your team into credible, discoverable recruitment evidence, giving vets and nurses meaningful reasons to choose your clinic.

Explore Culture Story Centres for veterinary clinics

Are you struggling to juggle your professional and personal life?

Do you feel like you're missing out on the things that matter most?

Whether you're an introvert or an extrovert, finding the right balance can be a challenge.

Here are 7 practical strategies tailored to your intro or extro “vert” personality-type that can help you create the balance you've been dreaming of.

A lot of people think that introversion and extroversion is the difference between being shy or not.   Between being able to walk up to a stranger and say hi… or to have the ability to speak in public.

It’s none of those because both can relate to either of those scenarios. 

It’s all about how we each recharge ourselves and maintain our focus.

The suffix vert in introversion and extroversion comes from the Latin word vertere which means to turn. 

In this context, it's about the direction in which your energy is turned or directed - inward or outward.

Having work-life balance refers to the equilibrium between your professional and personal life and whether you’re able to effectively manage both aspects without one negatively impacting the other. 

Work life balance means different things for different people.  Each person’s balance varies and is dependent on your priorities, needs, and values. 

Could Your Kind of People recognise Their Kind of Clinic?

A job ad may catch a vet’s or nurse’s eye. But it’s their own due diligence that determines whether they apply—or keep in touch.

Culture Story Centres turn real experiences from inside your team into credible, discoverable recruitment evidence, giving vets and nurses meaningful reasons to choose your clinic.

Explore Culture Story Centres for veterinary clinics

Are you a veterinary clinic owner, HR, or Practice Manager struggling to recruit and retain top performers? 

Or maybe you're a veterinary professional on the hunt for your next career move? 

Either way, this episode is for you! 

We're diving into Vet Clinic Employer Branding, the power of employee testimonials to showcase the best clinics in town and how they can help you find the good employers.

As a veterinary clinic owner, attracting more, and retaining the top performers you’ve already got, is critical to the success of your practice. 

In today’s highly competitive veterinary industry, it’s essential to differentiate your clinic from others – especially that one down the road - by showcasing your unique culture, values, and work environment. 

One effective way to do this is by leveraging employee testimonials and case studies.

And if you’re the veterinary professional looking to make your next move, you’ll want to know what it’s like to work at a clinic you’ve got your eye on.  

This week’s episode is for you – whether you’re the employer or the employee – because we’re looking at employee testimonials as a way to showcase the best clinics in town. 

Could Your Kind of People recognise Their Kind of Clinic?

A job ad may catch a vet’s or nurse’s eye. But it’s their own due diligence that determines whether they apply—or keep in touch.

Culture Story Centres turn real experiences from inside your team into credible, discoverable recruitment evidence, giving vets and nurses meaningful reasons to choose your clinic.

Explore Culture Story Centres for veterinary clinics

Have you ever felt like you're stuck at the bottom of an insurmountable mountain or in a valley with no way out?

How do you maintain that initial sense of wonder you first had when you started your veterinary career?   

What is "grit"?  How and when do you use it?

In this inspiring and openly honest episode, we continue our conversation with Dr. Crystal Loh, one of New Zealand's three companion animal dental specialists, as she shares the trials and tribulations she faced on her path to specialisation and how she used grit to commit and continue.

Dr Crystal Loh, BSc Hons, DVM MANZCVS, DAVDC - nzvetdentistry.com 

Could Your Kind of People recognise Their Kind of Clinic?

A job ad may catch a vet’s or nurse’s eye. But it’s their own due diligence that determines whether they apply—or keep in touch.

Culture Story Centres turn real experiences from inside your team into credible, discoverable recruitment evidence, giving vets and nurses meaningful reasons to choose your clinic.

Explore Culture Story Centres for veterinary clinics

What would you tell your younger self if you could go back in time?

Where's the most interesting place you've ever found a tooth?

And what does Hobbiton have to do with becoming a boarded dental specialist?

Today, Dr Crystal Loh, one of New Zealand's three companion animal dental specialists, shares her journey towards becoming a Specialist and offers valuable advice for anyone on a similar path.

Dr. Crystal Loh has an impressive resume that includes being a Member of the Australian NZ College of Veterinary Surgeons – Small Animal Dentistry and Oral Surgery – and a Diplomate of the American Dental Veterinary College.   

Her credentials are an impressive mouthful:  BSc Hons, DVM MANZCVS, DAVDC and I got to chat with her – twas a bit of a fan-girl moment!   

Could Your Kind of People recognise Their Kind of Clinic?

A job ad may catch a vet’s or nurse’s eye. But it’s their own due diligence that determines whether they apply—or keep in touch.

Culture Story Centres turn real experiences from inside your team into credible, discoverable recruitment evidence, giving vets and nurses meaningful reasons to choose your clinic.

Explore Culture Story Centres for veterinary clinics

Whether you’re looking to improve your leadership skills or interested in the impact of effective leadership at your vet clinic, today’s 101 Guide to the Situational Leadership Model is for you.

Discover how to tailor your leadership style to fit just about any situation to achieve greater team success.

Four Situational Leadership Styles:

1. Directing
2. Coaching
3. Supporting
4. Delegating

Pros of Situational Leadership Styles

• Flexibility
• Team development
• Improved communication
• Higher staff motivation

Cons of Situational Leadership Styles

• Time consuming
• Can be difficult to implement
• Can lead to lack of clarity
• Has potential for inconsistency

Skills required to be effective

• Assessment
• Adaptation
• Communication
• Empathy

Could Your Kind of People recognise Their Kind of Clinic?

A job ad may catch a vet’s or nurse’s eye. But it’s their own due diligence that determines whether they apply—or keep in touch.

Culture Story Centres turn real experiences from inside your team into credible, discoverable recruitment evidence, giving vets and nurses meaningful reasons to choose your clinic.

Explore Culture Story Centres for veterinary clinics

Today, we're diving into another three powerful leadership styles – servant, coaching and authentic – that can transform the way you lead and inspire others.  We also look at what type of team member thrives best under each of these different leadership styles.

Servant vs Coaching vs Authentic Leadership Styles

Similarities:

1. All three leadership styles prioritise building positive relationships with their teams.
2. All three leadership styles aim to inspire and motivate teams towards a shared vision.
3. All three leadership styles require self-awareness and reflection to be effective.

Differences:

1. Servant leadership focuses on serving the needs of others, while coaching focuses on developing others' skills and abilities, and authentic leadership focuses on being true to oneself and acting ethically.
2. Servant leadership emphasises humility and putting others first, while coaching emphasises the importance of feedback and accountability, and authentic leadership emphasises transparency and ethical behaviour.
3. Servant leadership is focused on the needs of others, coaching is focused on development and results, and authentic leadership is focused on being true to oneself and acting ethically.

Understand the strengths and weaknesses of each style, consider the unique needs of their team members => a positive work environment that fosters growth and success.

Could Your Kind of People recognise Their Kind of Clinic?

A job ad may catch a vet’s or nurse’s eye. But it’s their own due diligence that determines whether they apply—or keep in touch.

Culture Story Centres turn real experiences from inside your team into credible, discoverable recruitment evidence, giving vets and nurses meaningful reasons to choose your clinic.

Explore Culture Story Centres for veterinary clinics

Have you ever been drawn to follow a charismatic or transformational Lead Vet or Head Nurse to their next job?

If so, you likely understand first-hand how a leader's style can influence their team members' interactions and overall performance. 

In this Leadership 101 series, we continue to delve into the different types of leadership styles. 

Today we look at the nuances of managerial, charismatic and inspirational leadership. 

We’ll explore how to recognise and understand how each of these different leadership works best in different situations.   

For Autocratic or authoritarian leadership, Democratic or participative leadership, and/or Laissez-faire or delegative leadership listen to episode 122

Could Your Kind of People recognise Their Kind of Clinic?

A job ad may catch a vet’s or nurse’s eye. But it’s their own due diligence that determines whether they apply—or keep in touch.

Culture Story Centres turn real experiences from inside your team into credible, discoverable recruitment evidence, giving vets and nurses meaningful reasons to choose your clinic.

Explore Culture Story Centres for veterinary clinics

Crack the Code: Your 101 Guide to Recognising Different Leadership Styles

Have you – or someone you know - ever left a workplace not because of the job but because the clinic owner, head nurse or lead vet, let toxic behaviour persist?  

If so, you’ll “get” first hand how different leadership styles impact how individuals interact with their team members, how conflicts are resolved (or not), and ultimately how clinic culture is impacted.  

By recognising and understanding different leadership styles, you can improve your communication, team dynamics, conflict resolution, and personal development within your clinic’s team.  

That’s what we’re looking at today in this new 101 series on Leadership Styles.

Recognising different leadership styles at your clinic is important for several reasons:

1. effective communication
2. team dynamics
3. conflict resolution
4. personal growth

Different Leadership Styles

Today we're looking at the first three Leadership Styles:

1. Autocratic or authoritarian leadership
2. Democratic or participative leadership
3. Laissez-faire or delegative leadership
4. Transactional leadership
5. Transformational leadership
6. Servant leadership
7. Charismatic leadership
8. Situational leadership
9. Coaching leadership
10. Authentic leadership

For each style we cover:

• what the style looks like from the outside
• what it looks like on the inside
• when it's effective and when it isn't

Other podcasts mentioned in today's episode:

The distinction between Equality and Equity for cost effective veterinary recruitment

Dr Megan Alderson of The Strand Veterinarian - her journey to implementing mental wellness in her veterinary clinic

Could Your Kind of People recognise Their Kind of Clinic?

A job ad may catch a vet’s or nurse’s eye. But it’s their own due diligence that determines whether they apply—or keep in touch.

Culture Story Centres turn real experiences from inside your team into credible, discoverable recruitment evidence, giving vets and nurses meaningful reasons to choose your clinic.

Explore Culture Story Centres for veterinary clinics