leadership
How to Create Your
BEST YEAR EVER
by Joel C . Small , DDS and Mac McDonald , DDS
It almost seems counterintuitive that dental practices could be experiencing their best year ever . Considering the numerous demands being placed on dental practices through governmental mandates , lock downs , new Covid safety protocols , inflation , etc ., one would naturally assume that having a successful year would be difficult if not impossible . Yet , many of our clients are experiencing their most productive year ever . We have observed this phenomenon and have identified several key factors leading to their success .
A current industry-wide challenge for clinical healthcare practices is staffing . Acquiring and maintaining quality staff has become an arduous task for most doctors . Consequently , we are having to do more with less staff , and being shorthanded can have a profound effect on our current staff as they are having to work harder to maintain productivity . As a result , many of us share a very real concern that our current staff may ultimately burn out and seek employment elsewhere . It is our belief that the longer the staffing shortage issue continues , the more likely this concern will become reality .
Doctors are now having to ask more of their teams . Tapping into a team ’ s discretionary energy and receiving 110 % effort from them requires exceptional leadership skill . Those leaders that know how to access this vital source of energy and scale their team ’ s capabilities and capacity to handle an increased workload are finding success despite these current difficulties .
Developing our practice ’ s human capital by creating peak performing teams is an absolute imperative for success in today ’ s challenging environment .
Understanding how to develop peak performers will simplify and expedite the process . The following suggestions will prove helpful in achieving this goal .
Become a people developer .
This concept is not new . Many leadership opinion leaders believe that developing an organization ’ s human capital is a leader ’ s primary responsibility . However , developing people goes beyond just developing technical skills . Of equal importance is the development of their mental capabilities and capacity to handle increased workloads .
We are currently working with our clients to help them acquire basic coaching skills so they can develop their team ’ s capabilities much more rapidly and predictably . Coaching as a leadership style is becoming the gold standard for team development and is currently being utilized by many Fortune 500 companies .
Many of us unknowingly serve as a barrier to team development by requiring all decisions to pass through us . Granting teams a degree of autonomy and the authority to make decisions within predetermined boundaries is important , and allowing this to occur within a psychology safe environment is essential . Our staff , just like us , are human and they will make mistakes even with the best intentions . With the right attitude and coaching skills , doctors can turn mistakes into valuable teachable moments for our teams , and in doing so , we will see our teams develop into peak performers at an accelerated pace . Furthermore , we will begin to see greater levels of commitment to our cause and begin tapping into our team ’ s discretionary energy .
Become emotionally intelligent .
It matters not how we see ourselves as leaders , rather , what matters most is how those we lead view us . Authority can be a double-edged sword . We can use authority to gain compliance from our team , but authority by itself will never create the necessary commitment that allows us to receive our team ’ s discretionary energy .
Those of us that are emotionally intelligent understand the importance of how we show up for our team . Emotionally intelligent leaders are powerful influencers . Through their words and deeds , they create strong practice cultures that are conducive to peak performance .
Become a collaborator .
Steven Covey once stated that “ We believe we see the world as it is , when in fact we see the world as we are .” Each of us has a
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