Dr. Eva Evans, DVM, MBA, cVMA
Dr. Kim Therrien and I spoke at AVMA Convention about leadership and what that looks like in the veterinary profession. Our session, Transitioning Into a Leadership Role: Find the Tools YOU Need to Lead, was an introduction into 7 of the most common styles of leadership including Autocratic, Authoritative, Affiliative, Coaching, Democratic, Laissez-Faire and Pace Setting.
We also discussed the unique situations that call for each of these different styles of leadership. While we all possess the ability to lead in all of the above styles, many of us gravitate toward one or two main types of leadership. We explored what it meant to be a leader, what motivates people to lead and discussed challenges that all leaders face in their journey.
Both Dr. Kim and I work in leadership positions; I lead a small animal private practice and Dr. Kim leads the Operations team for Blue Pearl in the Southeast region. Even though our day to day jobs are different, we both focus on building teams, problem solving and promoting healthy culture in our organizations. It is our primary focus to act as both a visionary for the future AND as support to our team members to help them be the best they can be while building an organization that provides great pet care, a wonderful client experience and fulfilling professional career opportunities to our teams.
We both joined the WVLDI board because we have seen the disparity in the veterinary profession between what our membership demographics are and the lack of true reflection of those demographics in the leaders at the top of our industry organizations. We are both passionate about helping to train, mentor and guide women veterinarians (and other veterinary industry team members!) by supporting leadership development skills and resources to every member at every level of our profession.
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