Archive for Dental Business Tips
Do You Understand Your Staff?
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You probably do not.
Well, not as things are now, anyway. Staff members come in all shapes, sizes, and personalities. They come with different beliefs, preferences, interests, and abilities.
If your goal is to work effectively with your staff members, you need to spend time learning more about each other.
Most people do not think like you. The more you understand this and accept it, the more effective you will be in communicating with others. When you take time to understand your team members, they will enjoy being with you. When they enjoy being with you, they will work harder.
Pay attention to differences in personalities and work styles. Understand that when expectations are not met, it is not the end of the world, as some would want you to believe. It is a beginning.
It is a beginning to understanding your staff better, working more efficiently together and having an overall more successful dental practice.
Action step: Take your individual team members out to lunch, just the two of you. Get to know him or her. When you learn more about your team on a personal level, your professional work together will be 100x’s better!
Passion and Dentistry
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Do those two words go together for you? Finding passion in our work is something that comes easy for some dentists. For others, it is nebulous. Passion is that great thing we feel when we are committed to something we love. Unfortunately, many people discover that passion at work has no place to blossom. They run into barriers — policies, procedures, technology. Unleashing passion is about fun!
How can you find passion in your work in your dental office?
- Encourage silly questions and dumb ideas. Creativity is enhanced in environments where new, outrageous thinking is nurtured. Those “dumb” ideas are often the basis for greatly successful dental practices.
- Share compliments with everyone. When people compliment your practice, make sure everyone – patients and staff – hears about it. Share the compliment with your staff by posting it on your bulletin board or sending out an e-mail. Excitement breeds excitement.
- Give employees credit for the work they do. By heaping praise and acknowledgement on individual efforts and accomplishments you reduce turnover, gossip, and mediocrity.
Action step: Have more fun in your dental office to unleash your passions. In addition to the ideas above, what would make you feel great and energized about coming to work?
When Hiring: What Means More Than Years of Experience
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The elusive term…attitude. When recruiting a new employee or nurturing a current team member, how important is this elusive attitude thing?
As THE DENTAL COACH©, I say it’s HUGE!
Sure, I think there is value that comes from years of experience. But, instead of focusing on who went to the better school, why not focus on finding staff members who share your Core Values? Why not look specifically for those who have a passion to serve patients and give excellence?
I promise you that you can train a Dental Assistant to do a new procedure much easier than you can change her bad personality.
Positive patient experiences = positive cash flow. The next time you place an ad in the classifieds for a new employee, think attitude over experience.
Standards: A Great Neutralizer
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Standards are the behaviors to which you naturally hold yourself. Standards neutralize and streamline your office’s practices. And they are a must!
In your dental practice, standards define the framework in which everything operates around you – your staff, your patient and your office systems.
When you articulate your standards clearly, it helps everyone understand what behaviors are expected.
This may seem daunting to you – after all, I know you have other stuff going on as the Dental CEO – but, I have good news. You do not have to create and formalize standards on your own. By doing this jointly with staff, it reduces friction, increases productivity, and improves retention.
Doctor, it is crucial for you to model and enforce standards consistently. You will be surprised to find how quickly patients and staff adjust their behavior to meet your expectations.
Take a look at your current standards. How well do they represent you? Are you on time for your Morning Huddle? Are you in a positive mood when you see patients? Can you think of any inconsistencies in your behavior?
It’s tough being a Dental CEO sometimes, take a look at these 72 common sense strategies.
Are You a Perfect Dentist?
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Dental CEOs do a lot of finger-pointing these days. Can you imagine what it would be like; if instead, we all would lend a hand?
What if we found solutions, instead of finding fault? What if we realized “the buck stops here,” instead of passing the buck all the time?
Leaders are expected to be visionaries and have all the answers. What would it be like — as a leader of your firm — to simply say “I’m sorry” when you didn’t meet expectations?
I’ve discovered through my mistake-ridden career, that when I apologized for an oversight or a poor choice, I feel liberated. Others tell me it’s a mark of maturity. What do you think?
As a dentist, the expectation is to be perfect – at all things, at all times. Where did that come from? Our DNA or our training?
I learned that I am not perfect at all times. But it almost killed me trying. (See my book: Killing the Practice Before It Kit Kills You: How Throwing Out My Business Model Saved My Life).
Perhaps it’s time for us to laugh at ourselves, and move on from being perfect.
Now, go out and take really great care of your patients, support your team, and make a difference in the world.
Sure, I Told My Wife I Loved Her – 20 Years Ago at the Altar!
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What? That’s not often enough?
This character above feels that acknowledgment and recognition once every 20 years is good enough for his wife. If you’re like him, your business is in trouble. Yes, they really do relate. I coach my Full Contact Coaching© clients that taking care of business starts at home.
Why not acknowledge your wife – or someone special – tonight?
I guarantee it will help your business tomorrow!
Owner? Mother? Champion?
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When someone owns a project, there’s a higher likelihood that that project will be taken to satisfactory completion.
As Henry J. Evans declared in his book Winning with Accountability, there is no “I” in team… And there are no “teams” in ownership.
Years ago, when coaching one of my dental practices, I was looking for an owner of a particular project and made the socially unacceptable request of asking for a “Mother” for the project. I was nearly tarred and feathered. I was accused of being sexist. “We don’t use “mother” to identify the owner of any project,” I was scolded.
My new Socially Acceptable term–– “Champion”.
For every project in our office we need to assign a “Champion”. This is the person who is ultimately responsible. The buck stops with the Champion.
While the Champion owns the ultimate outcome of the project, he or she may delegate every aspect of that project to other team members in order to have a successful outcome.
Who can Champion your next major project?
Well, I’ve Just Been Busy!
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The other day, one of my clients was about ready to pull his hair out.
He asked his financial coordinator to give him a report on treatment that was diagnosed, compared to treatment that was scheduled.
Two days late on the report she replied: “Oh, I’ve just been busy.”
The problem isn’t the poor attitude by the staff member. To the contrary, it is the doctor’s fault. (I am certain I will get flack for saying this!) The doctor failed to give his staff member a deadline, and she failed to create a timeline.
What resulted was a mix of poor performance, disappointment, and frustration. In a high accountability business, a broken promise means a lack of integrity that ultimately results in a lack of trust.
If you experience this in your practice, be very specific upon your request. Encourage your staff members to ask you about the priority level of your request if they aren’t sure, and to establish timelines for themselves.
I Can See Clearly Now, the Rain Is Gone!
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Why in heavens name do you find Braille on drive-through ATM machines?
I’m still flummoxed. Perhaps the blind can see that which I cannot see.
I fear that’s what we oftentimes do with our employees. We expect them to understand things that we have not helped them clearly envision.
How fair is it to ask our employees to be accountable to their results and performance when we haven’t provided a clear picture of what it is that we are requesting?
Create your picture in words, enthusiasm, and clear language.
(PS – Take a look at my book, Killing the Practice Before It Kills You: How Throwing Out My Business Model Saved My Life, and learn how I set expectations for my team… right after I fired them.)
They Just Don’t Do What I Say!
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It seems to be all the rage in so many dental practices today. Doctors complain that their team members fail to follow through on requests, tasks, and projects.
Clients come to me and ask: “What can I do? They just don’t do what I tell them to!”
The solution rests with clear expectations, followed by accountability. (If you want more instruction on this, check out “Killing The Practice“)
If we don’t explain in clear detail what we want, how we want it and by when we want it, there is no way our team can perform to the level we expect. Would you drive a car with a blindfold? Well, that’s exactly what you’re doing when you fail to tell your team what you want!
I’m not saying it will be easy. Creating a culture of accountability involves change and hard work. This is no place to make excuses, play the blame game, or point fingers. When your expectations are clear, you can hold your team members accountable. When they’re not clear, it’s up to you to change that.
What specific steps are you taking to create a culture of accountability in your practice?
