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It’s Always About Attitude

My client was preparing for his trip to the Chicago Mid-Winter meeting.  The arrangments for the plane ride, the rooms, the courses to take, and the fun evenings all planned.  The day before his departure his chairside decides to “cop an attitude”.  If you have ever practiced for any period of time, you know exactly what I mean.  Now this didn’t happen overnight…….oh no, this has been an ongoing battle with what I call “attitude sclerosis”…..a hardening of the attitude.  The problems are always someone elses fault!  “I’m the only one who really works here!”  “Just do your job and leave me alone”.  You know this attitude.  Nearly every dental practice has one of these (unless you are in denial like many of we dentists).  You might have one in your office….and if you’re the “attidude sclerotic person” and your reading this…you know it!

So how do you think my client was feeling less than 24 hours before the trip after she was nasty all day; pouting; short & kurt; and then left the office the night before they were to leave without even saying “good night” or “see you tomorrow morning “…and she chose to not attend the 10 minute pre-trip huddle?  Anger was one of the feelings he felt along with disappointment; dispair; conflicted; and terminal.  I asked him how long he planned on living with this crappy attitude?  How long will you permit her to be in violation of your core values?  What do you believe your other team members are seeing and feeling?  What do you need to take the Leadership of your practice?

Here is how we formulated his approach.  If she showed up at the airport the next morning with anything other than a “Sunshine” smile and attitude, he was going to ask her to pick up her bags; turn over her airline ticket to him; and go home and miss the exciting meeting.  In addition, if she ended up traveling with the team to Chicago and at any time while at the Mid-Winter meeting she decided to share or exhibit her “stinkin thinkin” with him or any of the staff he was to provide her with a cab fare back to the airport and she was to pick up her ticket at the gate as he had made arrangements for her flight leaving that day.

As of this post I have not hear of the outcome.  However, there is a moral to this story:  get rid of “stinkin thinkin” as soon as it begins to smell and forget all the remedial efforts to make the stripes on a zebra disappear.  They never do!

Dr. Ron, THE DENTAL COACH

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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