North Texas Dentistry Special Issue 2020 NTD SP ISSUE 2020 DE | Page 7

Leadership coaches understand that within this space, a brief yet critical
millisecond, lies our leadership effectiveness as well. A millisecond
that could change everything.
Each of us face pivotal moments in our personal and professional
lives where a given response in a critical situation could have a profound
and enduring future impact with significant consequences, particularly
during this time of national crisis. It is becoming extremely
apparent that we cannot just manage our way out of this crisis.
A healthy dose of effective leadership is required if we are to emerge
as a better and stronger organization after the crisis mitigates. There
will be no such thing as business as usual following the COVID-19
crisis. Leaders must create and communicate a vision of a new and
different future that awaits us. Along with this disruption and change
comes anxiety and periods of confusion. We must approach all our
organizational stakeholders with calmness and reassurance in the
midst of chaos, even when we do not have all the answers. Never has
the millisecond of choice been more critical. Never has there been a
time in our history that requires leadership more than the present.
Guiding our team through this crisis requires thoughtfulness.
“Between stimulus and response, there
is a space. In that space is our power to
experiences. Because we are unaware of these blind spots, making a
conscious choice to respond differently is difficult.
So how do we go from auto-pilot to making a thoughtful response in
these critical milliseconds? Self-awareness is the answer. Understanding
the critical nature of our responses and acknowledging that we
have an habitual blind spot when choosing an appropriate response
is the key. Only then can we short circuit the reactive knee-jerk response
in favor of an emotionally intelligent response.
Carl Jung, the noted psychologist is quoted as saying:
“Until we make the unconscious conscious, it will direct our lives
and we will call it fate.”
Bringing the unconscious to a conscious level is a critical step in substituting
a mindful constructive response for a mindless reactive one.
Having this conscious awareness of our habitual default response is
also vital to our ability to self-regulate: a mental process through which
we control our emotions in favor of making the appropriate response
in any situation. Self-regulation allows us to stop, if even for the
briefest moment, and even when emotions run high, to consider our
best possible response. There would seem to be some truth that our
fate, good or bad, is determined by our choice between responding
purposefully or defaulting to an inappropriate spontaneous reaction.
Emotional intelligence requires an ongoing awareness of how we are
impacting those around us. Carefully choosing our responses and the
words we use are part of becoming emotionally intelligent. Words are
powerful and responses have consequences. Choose them wisely.
choose our response. In our response
lies our growth and our freedom.”
We must address their fears and create a vision around which they can
rally and find hope in a brighter future. This, in our opinion, is job #1.
Emotional intelligence is dictated by the responses we choose, and
can make the difference between success and failure, a committed
or compliant staff, or a transformational versus a transactional organizational
culture. In our personal lives, the responses we choose may
determine the quality of interpersonal relationships or even our family
dynamics.
Unfortunately, we often choose the wrong response because we unconsciously
default to spontaneous knee-jerk reactions rather than
making a thoughtful appropriate choice. These thoughtless knee-jerk
responses are blind spots that occur at an unconscious level. Many
believe that these spontaneous reactions are caused by deeply engrained
responses that have become habitual and originate from beliefs
and assumptions that we have brought forth from past
Drs. Joel Small and Edwin (Mac) McDonald have a total of over
75 years of dental practice experience. Both doctors are trained and
certified Executive Leadership Coaches. They have joined forces to
create Line of Sight Coaching, a business dedicated to helping their
fellow dentists discover a better and more enjoyable way to create
and lead a highly productive clinical dental practice. Through their
work, clients experience a better work/life balance, find more joy in
their work, and develop a strong practice culture and brand that positively
impacts their bottom line. To receive their free eBook, 7 Surprising
Steps to Grow Your Practice Through Leadership, go to
www.lineofsightcoaching.com.
www.northtexasdentistry.com | NORTH TEXAS DENTISTRY 7