Join me this week as I have a great conversation with Tori Lauro, Veterinary Hospital Manager at VCA Animal Hospitals. Tori shares her journey from becoming a customer service supervisor to being promoted to hospital manager in 2018. Having faced challenges early on, she reflects on feeling like she needed to have all the answers and make changes quickly, without first understanding her team which led to some initial resistance, as her staff saw her as an "interloper" trying to change things. Hear how Tori learned from this experience and how, when she later transitioned to managing a different hospital, she focused first on building relationships and trust with her team before implementing changes.
Tori discovered that leading with empathy, rather than from a place of just authority, was far more effective, and that maintaining psychological safety, focusing on improvements over blame, and having open communication are key. She discusses how she handles pushback from colleagues who want a more rigid, disciplinary approach and how she tracks "chronic mistakes" in a spreadsheet to identify trends but addresses issues in collaboration with staff to understand root causes.
Our conversation truly highlights Tori's passion for creating a positive, supportive work culture in which people feel empowered to learn and grow, and she regards her role as a leader not just to enforce policies but to understand her team's challenges and help them succeed. She was even recently recognized as an emerging leader in the veterinary management field, and she shares advice for new managers to have patience, give themselves grace, and focus on the incredible opportunity they have to make a real difference! Enjoy my conversation with Tori Lauro!
Show Notes:
[2:24] - Tori reflects on how, early in her role, she prioritized policy changes over understanding her team’s established methods.
[4:43] - Lessons from her first hospital taught Tori to build relationships before managing at her second hospital.
[6:52] - Hear how Tori learned to balance rules with empathy, adapting her style to the needs of the hospital.
[9:17] - I reflect on struggling with staff wanting strict accountability for others but not themselves.
[11:41] - Tori shares how a tech praised her for fostering a no-blame culture focused on solutions over finding fault.
[14:11] - I address mistakes by improving processes, not shaming people, even when errors are significant.
[16:57] - Accountability needs to target issues, not people, and be built on trust.
[19:16] - Tori uses spreadsheets and emails to factually address concerns.
[21:19] - I share how I log minor mistakes and check in to uncover personal struggles affecting work.
[24:18] - Tori encourages new managers to show themselves grace, keep learning, and value their team.
[26:27] - Ultimately, managers greatly influence staff morale and need to lead as trusted role models.
Thank you for listening. Remember you are not in this alone. Visit our website for more resources.
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