The feeling I'm talking about is sincerity. It's palpable, it's believable and it's unmistakable. My husband and I recently vacationed in Hawaii to celebrate our 30th anniversary. We spent time on Maui and Kauai. Both islands are beautiful. We went to Maui first and I hated to leave because I thought anything else would be disappointing. I didn't need to worry, Kauai is just as beautiful in it's own way. As the days went on I realized that something about Kauai was winning me over and making it my favorite. It was the sincerity of the people. Everywhere you went you could feel that they enjoyed being of service and truly wanted you to have a wonderful experience. If you commented on it, they would respond with gratitude that you noticed and they would speak with pride about the island and their particular workplace. It was a passion for them.
I began to realize that we have that in our practice with our team. They are truly dedicated to patient service and proud to work in our practice. I also realized how lucky we all are to be in that kind of environment. How do you get a staff like that? You grow them. You start by recognizing quality of character. It's a limited commodity, but there are people with good work ethics and dedicated, compassionate hearts. Sometimes you have to realize that staff members may have been in other offices where bad attitudes and poorly conceived beliefs have been accepted, and you have to work to overcome that. If the basic good character is there, you can guide the employee to a belief in and commitment to teamwork, equality and service. I have seen team members come to the brink of dismissal, only to turn their attitude around and become wonderful co-workers. It's worth the effort.
It takes time and persistence to guide a team to excellence. Sincerity is a component of excellence. It is the aspect of care that grabs a patient and creates loyalty and makes them want to tell everyone how wonderful and special your practice is. Sincerity shows in the empathy of a hygienist who slows down to listen when a patient confides that she is worried about her husband who is being tested for cancer. It's in the concern of an assistant for an elderly patient who lives alone has no one to talk to. When she sits and chats with that patient she knows she may be the only one who made her feel important that week. It's the doctor who calls his patients in the evening to see how they're doing. Sincerity is the smile going all the way up to the eyes. It's realizing that a patient is a person who wants to feel like they can count on us to see them as more than a set of teeth.
Sincerity builds on itself. Once team members see the difference it makes, they're hooked. Everyone loves to feel good about themselves. Without sincerity people often have to resort to bragging or bringing others down to make themselves look better. That's when gossip and back-stabbing enter the picture. Soon jealousy follows and the focus shifts from caring for patients to self-centered attitudes and competitive behavior. When a team works to serve the patient, everyone shares information so that each person can do the best they can for every patient. They become supportive and positive because everyone does well and there is no reason for envy or selfishness. A sincere team builds rapport with the patients and with each other. It's another thing that everyone who enters the practice can feel.
Look at it this way. It doesn't matter how good you are, what school you went to, or what every other dentist in town thinks about you if you aren't sincere. It's a feeling and if you don't have it, your patient's can feel that it's missing. Got sincerity?
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