Melanie Denton Dombrowski, OD, MBA, FAAO

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Hi, I'm Dr. Melanie Denton Dombrowski. I own a practice called Salisbury Eyecare and Eyewear. It is in Salisbury, NC. And we have a YouTube channel if you want to check that out. But this video is for 

I wanted to talk a little bit about my amazing team and how I have handled keeping in touch with my team throughout this whole pandemic, COVID-19, and all the closures that have occurred because of it.

So, first of all, a little bit about my team.

My team (I have 4 of them) and I started 4 years ago. It has been quite a ride to get to this team of 4. But I can honestly say this is the best team I have ever had. They are so well trained. I have natural-born leaders within my team, and they are just kind and wonderful people who love working together, who do so very, very well. And we have worked really hard to train them both in the technical aspects and kind of the service aspects of our business. They are just great people.

When COVID-19 first started, I would say the first thing that made a difference with my team was communicating from the very, very beginning. It is so critical as a leader to talk to your team to let them know what is going on.

Admittedly, I think they saw a lot of my fear and uncertainty. But you know, I think it is OK to be vulnerable sometimes. Your team needs to see that you are a person, too. One of our great strengths is that my team, I think they will tell you that they respect me greatly, and they trust in me and know that I am doing my best for them and for our practice. So, we can have that foundation as a core but when this all started, I was very forthcoming with all of the information I knew.

Related: COVID-19 means I’m a full-time, stay-at-work mom

I knew they wanted answers right away. And I could not give that to them. But I was as open as I could possibly be. When we did have to close down again, I had personal conversations with the folks who were going to be affected more greatly than others. Then, a team conversation and I reiterated what our goals were, what our mission was at the office, and that we would be back. This has to be temporary.

The second thing I did was, and continue to do, is support them throughout. So, it is critical to me that they know the resources that are out there, that I am helping with that actively. I know nothing about the unemployment system. I know nothing about the stimulus checks, and they don’t either, but I am traveling that road with them and helping them throughout every step of the journey.

Most of the time I do not know the answer, but I think the fact that I care makes a difference.

The third thing is that we have initiated team Zoom calls. And we do that every single Friday. It is pretty short and brief. But I tell them what has happened during the week, what I have come up with; usually it is not much. It has been a lot of, “Oh, I have tried everything, and we are not getting that grant, but at least we can get together.” And I think that gives them sort of a sense of solidarity and they still feel like a team, and that they have a place on this team and that we will be back. It is just a matter of time.

Related: Video: How I have been using telemedicine amid COVID-19

The final thing, and this is still in action, still in process, is that as I reopen, I am really keeping them in mind. I understand that my team is probably a bit apprehensive, especially those who have been at home the entire time. And it is really hard to step back into an environment you have not been doing your job for like 4 or 5 weeks. You do not know this environment, it is a totally new normal.

There is, all of a sudden, these shields everywhere. We have to wear masks, our patients have to wear masks, all the rules have changed. And so, what I plan on doing is not seeing patients for those first couple of days.

Now, I have kind of a Plan A and a Plan B.

If I get the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), they are all coming back. And we can spend a lot of time acclimating to our office, our roles, each other, and getting used to the new way of doing things.

But even if we don’t get PPP, my plan is to take several days and to spend that time with my team and make sure everyone is extremely comfortable before we get started again.

That is what I have done so far with my team and what I plan to do going forward. I would love to know what you are doing with your team, how you are choosing to lead them through this time, little tips and tricks you have for me. Feel free to comment. I would love to start that conversation, and I will see you next time.

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These are baby cookies. That is all I have to eat at my office.

I'm Dr. Melanie Denton Dombrowski. I'm the owner of Salisbury Eyecare and Eyewear, a practice I started cold 4 years ago in Salisbury, NC.

Right now, it is April 21, and we are in the middle of COVID. We're in the middle of a shutdown. The North Carolina governor, where I live, has shut down our state for everything but essential business. Now, I'm considered essential, as I'm sure you are as an optometrist watching this, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has had us discontinue our routine care, which means that a lot of us have furloughed our teams, laid off our teams, and we ourselves are not doing a whole lot.

In my position, I have a 9-month-old daughter, and her daycare is still open. You can go only if your parents are essential workers. But I have elected to keep her out of daycare for the time being just until this thing settles down a little bit.

So, I have been running my business, applying for Paycheck Protection program (PPP) grants and loans, applying for the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL), making calls, delaying payments, making staffing decisions. I'm a business owner. And now I'm a full-time, stay-at-work, mom.


	So, I wanted to give you a behind-the-scenes and talk to you about how that is going. It is really interesting. So, I have a greater respect for daycare than I ever did before. And a greater respect for stay-at-home moms than I ever did before. And I don't say that to make myself sound bad, but I just, I get it. It is a lot. Yeah.

To watch the associated video of Dr. Denton, click here

So, my baby started crawling when this happened. Right at the same time, she started crawling in 8 months. And so, she is mobile, and she is on the move, and it's a lot. So, here is what I do. Number one, I own my own practice. And so, I have a complete setup for her here. She has been coming here since she was 4 days old, 6 days old, something like that. So, she has been at my office from the beginning, and it feels like home to her, anyway. I have a Pack ‘n Play here as well as one at the house. And so, she has duplicates of everything.

Everything she has at the house she has here. She has toys here, I have diapers here, I have wipes here, we are fully set up in both places. We get up, and I try to bring her to the office. She takes 2 naps a day, 1 in the morning, 1 in the afternoon. So, I try to time so that 1 nap is at the office and 1 nap is at home. It doesn't really matter which one is which, but I am going to go into the office in the morning and get things done during her nap or vice versa, in the afternoon, and get things done during her nap. I have just gotten used to and people have gotten used to me being on Zoom calls and like “Oh hold on,” and I pick up a baby.

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Because it just is what it is at this point. I am doing my thing with my baby sidekick right next to me. So, overall, it is going pretty well. My husband just retired from the Army, and he has a new job. And he is an essential worker. And he is working four days a week. And so, when he is off, he takes the baby and helps me to get to the office on my own. But most of the time, it is me and the baby going to work and doing things. I'll show you some of her setup in this video. So, you can see. And right now, she is sleeping in the other room. So that's great. So, as a business owner and a mama, that is how I am balancing it right now. I just make it work. We just make it work.

That's what you do as a mom. That's what you do as a business owner. And in some ways, I feel like owning a business and all the things that come after prepared me for this. I'm like, “Oh, whatever, we'll figure it out. It's fine.”. So, if you're on a Zoom call with me and there is a baby, you know, just take it in stride. I'm just doing my best.

So, tell me down below, are you an associate who got laid off? Are you at home with your baby full time? Are you a busy mom who owns a practice and has multiple kids and you are bringing them in with you? How are y'all handling this? Tell me all about it down below. I look forward to talking with you.

Author | Melanie Denton Dombrowski, OD, MBA, FAAO

Articles

How one OD communicates with her team amid COVID-19

Creating YouTube content for your practice: Lighting, editing, and filming tips

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COVID-19 means I’m a full-time, stay-at-work mom