Gossiping & Backstabbing in the Pharmacy

Having problems with gossiping or backstabbing happening in your pharmacy, or someone on your pharmacy staff always arriving late and others getting upset about that person never being called out on it?

Let it be a thing of the past.  Create a “code of honor” specifically for the pharmacy to prevent this.

Q: This sounds stuffy. Why go through the trouble?

A:  This is something that isn’t routinely talked about in pharmacies, but is in essence the things (said or unsaid) that a team works according to. If there is not an established code of honor for the team, an individual usually goes by his/her own code of honor to make decisions.  This is where you can start having problems among your staff.

Q: A Code of Honor-What is it?
A: As defined by Blair Singer’s “The ABC’s of Building a Business Team That Wins” (NOTE: this also applies to pharmacies & hospitals), “a Code of Honor is the physical manifestation of the team’s values, extended into behavior.
Not only is it important to have values, but also knowing how to put behavior into practice that reflect those values.  Establishing and agreeing to a code of honor helps everyone achieve their best performance, enjoy their work environment, and see the best results.

Q:  Why is it necessary?
A: Blair explains why a Code of Honor is necessary: “By experience and default we all formulate our own sets of guidelines, rules and assumptions. That’s natural.  But when we start coming together with other people, organizations and cultures, we sometimes have a tough time figuring out why “those guys” don’t understand, or how they could so blatantly turn their back on our feelings, our way of doing things and our rules.  In most respects, “those guys” feel the same way about us. Why? Because we assume that certain basic rules are the same. Bad assumption.”.

Having a strong mission & an established culture is only part of the whole picture.  Having a strong code of honor within the pharmacy makes the team stronger and reinforces what the pharmacy stands for.

Mission comes first, the needs of the team second, and the needs of the individual third.  Develop the code of honor together as a pharmacy.

Some code of honor examples: “When a team member needs help, we will do whatever it takes to help that team member complete the task.” “Celebrate all wins.” “When someone breaches the code…”call it”!” “Keep agreements.” “Be on time.”

Tips for Implementing Your Pharmacy’s Code of Honor

Discuss the code and make sure everyone is on the same page.  For example, there may be different interpretations of what being on time means.  Some people view being on time as arriving through the door on time.  Others view it as ready at a workstation with a pen to start doing what needs to be done. This is to be discussed so that the team is on the same page and there is no unspoken resentment about different interpretations about the code.

In the absence of rules or “code”, people make up their own rules.  One of the biggest challenges about the workplace is that well-meaning people are playing by different sets of rules.

If you want to learn more about how to implement the code of honor in your pharmacy, read Blair Singer’s “Rich Dad’s Advisors®: The ABC’s of Building a Business Team That Wins: The Invisible Code of Honor That Takes Ordinary People and Turns Them Into a Championship Team