What does your staff do when you’re not watching? Are they making cell phone calls, surfing the internet, reading celebrity gossip magazines, sleeping, etc… We have heard story after story of staff members finding creative ways to get out of producing more dentistry for the practice.
If this is your staff, you know that you spend countless hours creating new rules and standards to try to get them to be more effective. You spend sleepless nights with stress racking your body wondering how you are ever going to fire your hygienist or assistant or just “get it through her head” that her approach is not working.
Is it possible to build a staff that you never have to yell at about their work habits? Is it possible to build a staff that meets and exceeds your expectations for them without your constant nagging? Yes. We have helped practices all over the United States build and rebuild their teams by moving from a rules-based leadership approach to a principle-based approach.
What does principle-based mean? Everyone on your team shares four main principles with you that allow you to trust them to be efficient and effective on their own without you constantly creating new rules and checking on them to make sure the rules are being followed.
The goal of building a team is to find and coach staff members to fully represent these four principles in your practice and in their person. This may mean you have to transition some current team members out of your practice and bring in new team members. Regardless of where your practice currently is in regard to becoming principle-based, the transition can happen if you are committed to it.
Before I share the four principles that you and your team must share, it is crucial that you as the dentist and leader are fully committed to being principle-based in your own personal and professional life. You are the model. You cannot expect your team members to perform at a higher level than you are willing to. Here are the four principles to look for in potential new team members or to cultivate in existing team members.
Here are the four principles to look for in potential new team members or to cultivate in existing team members:
Highly-profitable dental teams have smart team members. That does not necessarily mean highly-educated or able to dominate on the television show Jeopardy. It does mean that they are teachable and do not repeat mistakes. Smart dental team members learn quickly and assimilate their learning into their daily performance. They tend not to make many mistakes, but when they do, they usually do not make that same mistake again.
Smart team members require much less training and correction and intuitively know what they should be doing without being told. It is the difference between parenting a five-year old and leading a professional dental team member. If some current team members do not possess this principle, you may want to begin looking to upgrade your team. It is very difficult to coach this principle for those who do not have it
Some people work hard at finding what work needs to be done and others work hard at trying to be done with work. The difference for your practice is measurable in production and profit every month. You can easily name the producers the freeloaders, if you have any, in your practice.
Work ethic usually begins to show up in the teenage years. If your team member or potential team member had a hardworking job early in their life, chances are they know what hard work is all about. If they did chores as a child, that is a good sign. If they worked their way through their schooling, that is a good sign.
People can learn to work harder, so coaching from you and modeling from you and your team can help in this area. Hard work can cover a multitude of other failings.
Do you ever feel like you’re walking on egg shells around some of your team members, afraid to say certain things or take certain actions for fear they will have a meltdown? Emotionally immature team members suck the life out of a dentist and his or her team. They can’t handle criticism, conflict, or anything that challenges their sense of self-esteem. As soon as an issue is raised, defensive walls rise up and a flood of harsh words and tears pelt their nearest enemy.
If you have a team member that every other team member always has to cater to and keep happy, it may be time to let them find a private pity party somewhere else. They are hurting your production and morale while raising your stress levels. When looking for a team member that is emotionally mature, attitude is a good measure. The ability to have a positive attitude about past failures or difficult life experiences can provide a good barometer of future performance. Be wary of hiring team members that seem emotionally fragile.
Emotional maturity generally improves with age and life experience, but can be difficult to teach. Unless your emotionally immature team member is incredibly strong in the other principles, it’s more than likely time to say goodbye.
Integrity is doing the right thing when no one else is looking. There is a simple word we use to describe integrity in our relationships, we call it TRUST. Great relationships in the office and outside of the office are founded upon trust.
Can you trust your team members to do what’s right when you are not around? Rules-based leadership does not trust. Rules are created to force behavior to fit within guidelines. Trust is not the issue in a rule-based context, obedience is. But, rules without relationship lead to rebellion – ask any parent of a teenager. The primary ingredient of any successful relationship is trust.
If your trust of certain team members has been damaged, it is nearly impossible to rebuild that trust. It is probably better for both of you if you send them on their way. If you have to really think about whether or not you trust someone, you don’t. Lack of trust causes suspicion and stress. Trust brings relaxation and rest.
Team members without high integrity are not worth the stress or the risk. Long-term relationships in the personal and professional life of a potential team member are good signs of a person of high integrity.
To become a principle-based practice, you must have a principle-based team. Imagine never again worrying about whether tasks are being done, patients are being cared for, and the team is on board. Stress plummets and profits skyrocket.Take the time to build or rebuild a principle-based team. It is well worth the investment in your practice and in your life.
Is your team principle-based? Share your tips for making the conversion a success.
What does your staff do when you’re not watching? Are they making cell phone calls, surfing the internet, reading celebrity gossip magazines, sleeping, etc… We have heard story after story of staff members finding creative ways to get out of producing more dentistry for the practice.
If this is your staff, you know that you spend countless hours creating new rules and standards to try to get them to be more effective. You spend sleepless nights with stress racking your body wondering how you are ever going to fire your hygienist or assistant or just “get it through her head” that her approach is not working.
Is it possible to build a staff that you never have to yell at about their work habits? Is it possible to build a staff that meets and exceeds your expectations for them without your constant nagging? Yes. We have helped practices all over the United States build and rebuild their teams by moving from a rules-based leadership approach to a principle-based approach.
What does principle-based mean? Everyone on your team shares four main principles with you that allow you to trust them to be efficient and effective on their own without you constantly creating new rules and checking on them to make sure the rules are being followed.
The goal of building a team is to find and coach staff members to fully represent these four principles in your practice and in their person. This may mean you have to transition some current team members out of your practice and bring in new team members. Regardless of where your practice currently is in regard to becoming principle-based, the transition can happen if you are committed to it.
Before I share the four principles that you and your team must share, it is crucial that you as the dentist and leader are fully committed to being principle-based in your own personal and professional life. You are the model. You cannot expect your team members to perform at a higher level than you are willing to. Here are the four principles to look for in potential new team members or to cultivate in existing team members.
Here are the four principles to look for in potential new team members or to cultivate in existing team members:
Highly-profitable dental teams have smart team members. That does not necessarily mean highly-educated or able to dominate on the television show Jeopardy. It does mean that they are teachable and do not repeat mistakes. Smart dental team members learn quickly and assimilate their learning into their daily performance. They tend not to make many mistakes, but when they do, they usually do not make that same mistake again.
Smart team members require much less training and correction and intuitively know what they should be doing without being told. It is the difference between parenting a five-year old and leading a professional dental team member. If some current team members do not possess this principle, you may want to begin looking to upgrade your team. It is very difficult to coach this principle for those who do not have it
Some people work hard at finding what work needs to be done and others work hard at trying to be done with work. The difference for your practice is measurable in production and profit every month. You can easily name the producers the freeloaders, if you have any, in your practice.
Work ethic usually begins to show up in the teenage years. If your team member or potential team member had a hardworking job early in their life, chances are they know what hard work is all about. If they did chores as a child, that is a good sign. If they worked their way through their schooling, that is a good sign.
People can learn to work harder, so coaching from you and modeling from you and your team can help in this area. Hard work can cover a multitude of other failings.
Do you ever feel like you’re walking on egg shells around some of your team members, afraid to say certain things or take certain actions for fear they will have a meltdown? Emotionally immature team members suck the life out of a dentist and his or her team. They can’t handle criticism, conflict, or anything that challenges their sense of self-esteem. As soon as an issue is raised, defensive walls rise up and a flood of harsh words and tears pelt their nearest enemy.
If you have a team member that every other team member always has to cater to and keep happy, it may be time to let them find a private pity party somewhere else. They are hurting your production and morale while raising your stress levels. When looking for a team member that is emotionally mature, attitude is a good measure. The ability to have a positive attitude about past failures or difficult life experiences can provide a good barometer of future performance. Be wary of hiring team members that seem emotionally fragile.
Emotional maturity generally improves with age and life experience, but can be difficult to teach. Unless your emotionally immature team member is incredibly strong in the other principles, it’s more than likely time to say goodbye.
Integrity is doing the right thing when no one else is looking. There is a simple word we use to describe integrity in our relationships, we call it TRUST. Great relationships in the office and outside of the office are founded upon trust.
Can you trust your team members to do what’s right when you are not around? Rules-based leadership does not trust. Rules are created to force behavior to fit within guidelines. Trust is not the issue in a rule-based context, obedience is. But, rules without relationship lead to rebellion – ask any parent of a teenager. The primary ingredient of any successful relationship is trust.
If your trust of certain team members has been damaged, it is nearly impossible to rebuild that trust. It is probably better for both of you if you send them on their way. If you have to really think about whether or not you trust someone, you don’t. Lack of trust causes suspicion and stress. Trust brings relaxation and rest.
Team members without high integrity are not worth the stress or the risk. Long-term relationships in the personal and professional life of a potential team member are good signs of a person of high integrity.
To become a principle-based practice, you must have a principle-based team. Imagine never again worrying about whether tasks are being done, patients are being cared for, and the team is on board. Stress plummets and profits skyrocket.Take the time to build or rebuild a principle-based team. It is well worth the investment in your practice and in your life.
Is your team principle-based? Share your tips for making the conversion a success.