- "Leadership is communicating to people their worth and potential so clearly that they come to see it in themselves."
- Steven Covey
When you lead a group of people you have a responsibility to them. They are throwing their lot in with you, believing you know the way. I have seen and heard of some practices in which the dentist identifies one person as their right hand person and together they belittle and ridicule the rest of the staff either in front of them or in whispered, but overheard conversations. I've actually spent a year in a practice like that. It was horrible. That behavior destroys the culture of the practice and the spirit of the staff. Even when the dentist doesn't actively engage in this behavior, if he lets a dictatorial manager run roughshod over the staff, he'll end up with the same result.
You can never build up the self-esteem of your staff too much. It won't make them conceited or cause them to look for bigger pay increases. Both of those behaviors come from staff that doesn't feel good about themselves. They have to resort to those actions to see how you'll react. It may be the only indication they get that they are valued and doing a good job. Find big and little things to talk about. Morning huddles are a great time to praise the staff as a whole or to mention individual accomplishments and deeds. Praise in public, correct in private. It works. People crave security and nothing sounds sweeter to the human ear than a compliment or praise. Your employees want to know that you see them as people as well as staff members. You might find that there are things about them that surprise you and strengths and character traits that you admire.
Potential is a wonderful thing in that once you reach it, you increase it. Keep pointing that out to your staff and you'll keep them focused and excited. Yes, people can be excited about their jobs. I wake up looking forward to each day at work because of the possibility of new experiences and the opportunity to spend another day among such great people. Just try making that statement to your staff and watch their eyes light up. When you can receive pleasure in seeing the positive impact you can have on your staff, to quote Dr. Seuss, "Oh, the places you'll go."
When you lead a group of people you have a responsibility to them. They are throwing their lot in with you, believing you know the way. I have seen and heard of some practices in which the dentist identifies one person as their right hand person and together they belittle and ridicule the rest of the staff either in front of them or in whispered, but overheard conversations. I've actually spent a year in a practice like that. It was horrible. That behavior destroys the culture of the practice and the spirit of the staff. Even when the dentist doesn't actively engage in this behavior, if he lets a dictatorial manager run roughshod over the staff, he'll end up with the same result.
You can never build up the self-esteem of your staff too much. It won't make them conceited or cause them to look for bigger pay increases. Both of those behaviors come from staff that doesn't feel good about themselves. They have to resort to those actions to see how you'll react. It may be the only indication they get that they are valued and doing a good job. Find big and little things to talk about. Morning huddles are a great time to praise the staff as a whole or to mention individual accomplishments and deeds. Praise in public, correct in private. It works. People crave security and nothing sounds sweeter to the human ear than a compliment or praise. Your employees want to know that you see them as people as well as staff members. You might find that there are things about them that surprise you and strengths and character traits that you admire.
Potential is a wonderful thing in that once you reach it, you increase it. Keep pointing that out to your staff and you'll keep them focused and excited. Yes, people can be excited about their jobs. I wake up looking forward to each day at work because of the possibility of new experiences and the opportunity to spend another day among such great people. Just try making that statement to your staff and watch their eyes light up. When you can receive pleasure in seeing the positive impact you can have on your staff, to quote Dr. Seuss, "Oh, the places you'll go."