practice owners or office managers , has many benefits , not the least of which is the ability to act quickly on decisions and effect change . Leaders who combine their authority with a high degree of influence are by far the best leaders and get the most out of their followers . Numerous studies have validated this assertion .
The sad and unfortunate truth is that many doctors and managers would prefer to be influencers but operate as authoritarians due to a multitude of blind spots . Simply put , many of us are unaware of how we show up for our staff , and we fail to see alternative forms of leadership that would better serve our needs and the needs of our staff .
To this point , the greatest service a leadership coach can provide for a client is to facilitate a high degree of personal selfawareness . As we become more selfaware we are able to adopt a more realistic vision of how we show up for others . Assessments like the LCP 360 ( www . leadershipcircle . com ) are valuable aids in developing personal self-awareness . These assessments are often the very first time doctors / managers get to view their leadership through the eyes of those they lead . We get a close-up view of ourselves from the other side of the mirror and learn what our followers view as our strengths as well as our reactive tendencies that are creating barriers and diminish our influence with our staff . Armed with these valuable insights we can work to diminish our reactive tendencies , leverage our strengths , and expand our influence ; all of which can occur simultaneously .
Influence now trumps authority , but combining both is the secret sauce to becoming the very best and most effective leader .
It is important to realize that authority is not a prerequisite for influence . Anyone can be an influencer no matter what position they occupy . Some of the most influential people in healthcare practices hold no position of authority , yet their coworkers and even their doctors will seek their counsel and look to their input and guidance when making important decisions . Doctors and office managers should consider seeking buy-in of their team ’ s influencers before introducing change to their staff . These are the people that will most likely determine how change is perceived by the entire team . Making influencers early adopters of a change initiative will often determine whether it is successful or not .
As an exercise , take a moment to reflect on the most impactful people in our lives ; those that helped shaped who we are . Were they authoritarians or influencers ? What are we bringing forward into our current reality because of their impact ? You can bet that there are some aspects of their impact that are being manifested in our leadership . Which of these manifestations do we want to keep , and which would we like to discard ? Sometimes leadership is as much about letting go as it is about acquiring new skills . Letting go of an authoritarian mindset would be a wonderful first step in becoming the effective leader that we were meant to be .
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 .
The day of the command-and-control authoritarian leader is long past . What may have worked during the industrial revolution is at best no longer effective and at worst extremely destructive . Societal changes have altered the nature of effective leadership over time , and those of us that remain stuck in an authoritarian mindset do so at our own peril . Influence now trumps authority , but combining both is the secret sauce to becoming the very best and most effective leader . www . northtexasdentistry . com | NORTH TEXAS DENTISTRY 25