North Texas Dentistry Volume 9 Issue 4 2019 ISSUE 4 DE - Page 17

LACK OF TRUST The “currency” of relationships is trust. Trusting relationships are the building blocks of a successful contemporary practice. Highly effective leaders under- stand this and have spent a great deal of time and effort on the inner game of per- sonal development to become more trusting and trustworthy leaders. Most successful practices have leaders and teams that trust one another. They trust in each other’s integrity and capability. The exceptional leader understands that trust is established through both words and actions. Not only do they believe in their people, they speak and act in a manner consistent with this belief. In contrast, an underdeveloped leader can- cels out his or her personal strengths and erodes trust with words and behaviors that are grounded in distorted beliefs and assumptions. Let’s use the exhausted doctor men- tioned above as an example. This doctor may be a high achiever, but when we look at his team dynamics it is obvious that he or she is not utilizing the staff’s capabilities to achieve their goals. The doctor may be harboring the false assumption that they do not need their teams input or skill to accomplish their goals. They may even believe that their team is incapable of carrying out the more intricate tasks necessary to achieve high priority goals. Given this false assumption, the doctor may then adopt a self-limiting belief that only they can do the work necessary to accomplish these goals. Thus, they see no value in developing their team. They choose to “go it alone” and isolate themselves; foregoing valuable collaboration and assistance that would lighten their load, allow them a better work/life balance, and resolve their state of exhaustion. Through the doctor’s words and actions, the team members sense that the doctor lacks confidence in their abilities. They see that the doctor does not value their thoughts or efforts. They feel the obvi- ous lack of trust, and from that point on dialogue breaks down, creativity and col- laboration cease to exist, and stagnation arises. In the absence of trust, team members will fail to make the commit- ments that will unlock their potential. Trust will also erode when default lead- ership results in ill-defined practice val- ues and purpose. Because there is no clarity, there is also no shared under- standing of the direction of the practice. Team members, lacking this sense of common values and purpose, are left to define their own values and create their own interpretation of the organization’s purpose. In effect, each team member begins to act out of their own self- defined operating system. There is no common driving force within the organ- ization, and dysfunction ensues. Dys- function is accompanied by distrust as each team member views the other team members’ actions in conflict with their own self-defined organizational values and purpose. SYMPTOMS: conflict, disillusionment, high turnover, lack of team coordina- tion, low production and organizational capacity BURNOUT Burnout is different from exhaustion. Exhaustion is the loss of physical stam- ina due to an excessive workload. Burnout is the loss of passion as well as physical and emotional stamina created Virtual services to assist dental clients in all major cities and many rural areas throughout Texas Wm Stukey & Associates LLC 8 _ Advanced tax planning for high income clients 8 _ Virtual Accounting Services 8 _ Financial Consulting Services 8 _ Dental Advisory Services 8 _ Services to help prevent fraud / defalcation 8 _ Cloud based payroll services 817.481.3265 [email protected] www.northtexasdentistry.com | NORTH TEXAS DENTISTRY 17