Goals
"In the absence of clearly-defined goals, we become strangely loyal to
performing daily trivia until ultimately we become enslaved by it." ~Richard Heinlein~
Are you nodding your head in agreement? If not, then what do I have to say to convince you? Clearly defined goals that have been set before your team, discussed and agreed upon will keep everyone moving toward the same target. The above quote makes me think of automatons working mindlessly and repeating the same actions and responses day in and day out. It's true for a group, as well as for individuals.
Let's pick on hygienists for a minute. I choose hygienists for this example because their position seems to be the one that has the highest chance of becoming repetitive. If a hygienist adopts the belief that she comes to work to clean teeth and then leave, she seems to stand a high chance of mediocrity and burnout. If each action becomes rote, the only difference between patients is their plaque score, and Tuesday is just one day closer to Thursday, I would think that having a goal would seem like a nice, but pointless idea.
An assistant without a goal might stopping being curious, stop learning and stop seeing what she does as a profession and start wondering what she wants to do when she's ready for a real job. Instead of the enjoyable career that it can be, dental assisting might seem like a thing to do until she's ready to find something to do for a lifetime.
A dentist without goals may someday find himself walking through his days feeling like a trained monkey. Check hygiene one, check hygiene two, anesthetize Mrs. Lane, adjust Mr. Morgan's denture, extract Mrs. Lane's tooth, anesthetize Mrs. Edwards.... You get the idea, day after day without a goal becomes day after day and then you retire.
What makes life so much better with goals? The thrill of achievement. Seeing something come closer and closer to your reach and then, once there, enjoying that achievement, all the while knowing that you can recapture that feeling of accomplishment with the next goal you set. Goals give you a way of measuring and even noticing growth. They allow a group of people to come together as a team and give them something to work toward and help each other with. Talking about teams is a positive thing, setting goals for them to work toward is the first step in actually making individuals want to work together to succeed. When you see two team members hovering near the operatory of a third team member who is running behind, ready to help her clean it and set up, it's a sign that everyone is working for the common good. People are seeing other people and thinking about their experience. If you really think about how rare that is, you'll realize it's a worthy goal. A goal doesn't have to be something that will bring in revenue in the usually recognized form. Those staff members waiting to help another are building up something just as valuable as money in the bank, they are building trust and a spirit of cooperation. That is the invisible currency that ensures success. Success is that feeling you have that, "Yes, there is something special happening here."
Once that feeling exists for you and your staff, your patients will become aware of it. Every service person and sales rep that comes into your practice will feel it and talk about it to others. You will become a practice of choice and an employer of choice. That is the cornerstone of success. And it all started with a goal.
Are you nodding your head in agreement? If not, then what do I have to say to convince you? Clearly defined goals that have been set before your team, discussed and agreed upon will keep everyone moving toward the same target. The above quote makes me think of automatons working mindlessly and repeating the same actions and responses day in and day out. It's true for a group, as well as for individuals.
Let's pick on hygienists for a minute. I choose hygienists for this example because their position seems to be the one that has the highest chance of becoming repetitive. If a hygienist adopts the belief that she comes to work to clean teeth and then leave, she seems to stand a high chance of mediocrity and burnout. If each action becomes rote, the only difference between patients is their plaque score, and Tuesday is just one day closer to Thursday, I would think that having a goal would seem like a nice, but pointless idea.
An assistant without a goal might stopping being curious, stop learning and stop seeing what she does as a profession and start wondering what she wants to do when she's ready for a real job. Instead of the enjoyable career that it can be, dental assisting might seem like a thing to do until she's ready to find something to do for a lifetime.
A dentist without goals may someday find himself walking through his days feeling like a trained monkey. Check hygiene one, check hygiene two, anesthetize Mrs. Lane, adjust Mr. Morgan's denture, extract Mrs. Lane's tooth, anesthetize Mrs. Edwards.... You get the idea, day after day without a goal becomes day after day and then you retire.
What makes life so much better with goals? The thrill of achievement. Seeing something come closer and closer to your reach and then, once there, enjoying that achievement, all the while knowing that you can recapture that feeling of accomplishment with the next goal you set. Goals give you a way of measuring and even noticing growth. They allow a group of people to come together as a team and give them something to work toward and help each other with. Talking about teams is a positive thing, setting goals for them to work toward is the first step in actually making individuals want to work together to succeed. When you see two team members hovering near the operatory of a third team member who is running behind, ready to help her clean it and set up, it's a sign that everyone is working for the common good. People are seeing other people and thinking about their experience. If you really think about how rare that is, you'll realize it's a worthy goal. A goal doesn't have to be something that will bring in revenue in the usually recognized form. Those staff members waiting to help another are building up something just as valuable as money in the bank, they are building trust and a spirit of cooperation. That is the invisible currency that ensures success. Success is that feeling you have that, "Yes, there is something special happening here."
Once that feeling exists for you and your staff, your patients will become aware of it. Every service person and sales rep that comes into your practice will feel it and talk about it to others. You will become a practice of choice and an employer of choice. That is the cornerstone of success. And it all started with a goal.
great article
Posted by: Cassie | May 29, 2008 at 12:25 PM
I've noticed the same thing in the clients I serve.
Focusing on outcomes and goals is resisted.
But without outcomes as your focus you will stay small, never "play big" and you might become as you well-noted, a "trained monkey".
Good to take in the liveliness of your thought here!
Keep creating...your wildest dreams,
Mike
Posted by: Mike Wagner | May 31, 2008 at 03:58 PM
Hi Mike, have you also noticed that some people never become goal oriented. As a manager you have to keep refocusing them and keep setting goals for them. So that tells us that we must always keep aware of whether or not complacency is beginning to set in. We can't be content just to do our best, we must encourage others to keep increasing their best.
Linda
Posted by: Linda Zdanowicz | May 31, 2008 at 07:07 PM