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The Power of the Compliment

Every day is a good day for a compliment. Compliments are possibly the most underrated social tool we have. Compliments are a simple, inexpensive, yet powerful, relationship building tool. Compliment giving is a jump-start for looking at the world in a positive, refreshing, stimulating, and creative way.

Yet, when speaking with team members of my clients the number one issue brought up by employees is their lack of being acknowledged. They do not feel valued and appreciated. Now I’m not talking about going overboard with soft, mushy and insincere words. What I’m referring to is genuine and sincere recognition for doing their job with excellence or going the extra mile.

In our dental offices, there are many different reasons to give a compliment. The most compelling - it makes you feel good. You cannot give a sincere compliment without feeling great. It’s impossible. Giving away compliments can change the way you view yourself and the world around you. Each time you give a compliment, you focus completely on the other person, you strengthen relationships, and you boost your self-esteem. It feels great to pay a compliment yet unfortunately it is a basic need that doesn’t get met often in our fast-paced, media-hyped, high-tech dental world.

Dentists are often surprised to discover that their staff members feel unappreciated as many truly believe they are recognizing employees when they give them their paycheck, or when they say something like; “good job.” By making a concerted effort to pause and recognize appropriate behaviors or excellence in performance and actively look for positive traits or attributes and specific examples, the outcomes can be stunning. The doctors thought processes shifts from looking for the worst in people to looking for the best. You begin to see possibilities, not obstacles. The power of the compliment is powerful!

The following Top 4 Tips to Delivering Compliments will make acknowledging easy to do. And they will help your business excel, reduce staff unrest, and improve morale.

1. Identify behaviors that are important for you to compliment. These might be any behaviors you truly appreciate and any behaviors that signal progress or growth in the other person. You may want your team to be on time for the morning huddles…compliment them when they are on time. You may want your phone answered by the third ring…compliment the behavior every time you see the phone answered by the third ring. You may want your chairside to regularly request referrals from your patients…compliment her/him when you hear the request being made.
2. Learn and practice how to compliment. This can be learned easily with some practice. You can either compliment directly: “Lisa, I really appreciated your fantastic shade selection on Mr. Brown’s anterior crowns. He loved the color. Thank you.” or indirectly: “Beth, that is amazing that Mrs. Puffy finally accepted periodontal therapy, how did you manage to do that?”
3. Decide what you like about the person you are going to compliment. What are the things that make a big difference to you and the success of your practice? Consider looking for things like Positive attitude; Kind; Helpful; Perceptive; Honest; Friendly; Hard worker; Concern for others; Self-confident; Caring; Reliable; Problem solver; Great sense of humor; Loves to learn; Fair; Sunny disposition; Adaptable; Flexible; Self-starter; Team player.
4. Be specific by adding a detailed example of what you mean. Rather than say something general like, “nice job” consider making your compliment more specific. Example: “Denise, you have a great way with words. The way you encouraged Mrs. Smith to handle her outstanding balance with our third-party financing made her feel great and we got paid. Thank you.”

Everyone appreciates kindness. There are also many hidden benefits to giving compliments. It helps people to focus on the positive. It builds a sense of community. It encourages a higher level of trust. And compliments encourage and rewards kindness while making people feel great.

Every day is a good day for a compliment. Take action starting today. Make acknowledging your team members a priority. Make compliment giving a habit - a compliment habit.

Incorporate the 4-Quarter Technique into your daily routine. It’s simple and it works like this: at the beginning of the day place four quarters in your right pocket. The object of the exercise is to get all four quarters to your left pocket by the end of the day. In order to move a quarter from the right to the left pocket, you need to deliver a specific, encouraging, and positive compliment to a team member. Each time you deliver one of these acknowledgements move a coin. While the game sounds silly, it will encourage you to be regular and consistent in your complimenting. Remember, you can’t go home until all 4 quarters have been transferred to your left pocket!

Team members, patients, all of us hunger for recognition. Delivering compliments offers this acknowledgment. If done right, a good compliment provides the kind of feedback that helps us become aware of just which of our behaviors is effective. More importantly, a compliment shows there is somebody who pays attention to you and cares for you.

The Power of the Compliment can really make your day!

Dr. Arndt is the only Master Certified professional dental Coach on the planet. He blends 20 years of clinical dental practice with five years of executive corporate experience in the financial planning and investment management industry.

With his graduate business training and hands-on experience, he coaches dental professionals throughout the United States and Canada. Dr. Ron is the author of a series of ThinBooks© and web-based Right Hiring and Retention for the Dental Team© learning modules and a new dental-specific Hiring Assessment tool, DTA. You can contact Dr. Ron at 440-748-6161 - or use the contact form

Dr. Ron is the only Master Certified Dental Coach (MCC) on the planet. He has blended 20 years of clinical dental practice with executive roles in financial planning and investment management along his graduate business training to provide his clients with the tools, support, and accountability to accomplish more. About Dr. Ron, "I count you as one of life’s best finds", says Dr. Gary Imm of Reisterstown, Maryland. He has authored many articles; manuals; ThinBooks ^tm; TeleClasses and if you visit http://www.drarndt.com you can receive one of his FREE reports, "9 Painful Mistakes Dentists Make in the Hiring Process"

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3 Responses to “The Power of the Compliment”

1. Linda Zdanowicz Says:
   September 3rd, 2006 at 3:41 pm

   Dr. Ron, you sound like everybody’s dream boss. Every boss should print out this post and hang it over his computer. Appreciation is so important to us humans, yet so many of us hoard it. It’s only worthwhile when given freely. A leadership consultant told me that people don’t just have confidence naturally, it is given to them by others. Keep spreading the word.
   Linda

2. Dr. Ron, THE DENTAL COACH Says:
   September 4th, 2006 at 4:00 pm

   Linda, while I am frar from a dream, I have learned that acknowledging others is the “honey” of leadership. When given liberally and genuinely, I believe this will do more to advance the organization than most actions. Thanks for your comments.
   Dr. Ron, THE DENTAL COACH

3. Dr Steve Fitz Says:
   September 21st, 2006 at 10:12 am

   Easy to understand. Hard to do. I need to increase my efforts to do this as it is not part of my normal routine.

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