Exceptional Dental Practice Management

The Good, The Bad, The Ugly, And The Annoying

We all want our staff to work together in harmony, to overlook small slights and mistakes, and to see the good in each other, don't we?  What percentage of each day can you say you see that happening?  In our office I'd say that on any given day it happens at least 98% of the time.  I'm not kidding, our staff likes each other, enjoys each other's company, shares information willingly, and doesn't gossip.  Really, I'm not kidding.

Did we just get lucky and get a magical mix of personalities that meshed perfectly right off the bat?  Yeah right, let me tell you about this bridge I want to sell you, it's in Brooklyn.  Nope, we've had our share of ups and downs, or should I say knock downs and drag outs?  I would bring the offenders into my office and chat with one or both, but it always went back to the same petty arguments and tensions.  Sound familiar?  Here's how to fix it:

Buy each staff member a small notebook.  Have them write down everyone else's name, including your's, on separate pages.   For the next week they should jot down 3 things they found themselves appreciating or admiring about each other person.  

At your next staff meeting have everyone bring their notebooks. Now pick someone to start, and they should tell the person to the right the 3 compliments that they wrote down over the first week.  The person receiving the compliment may only respond by saying "Thank you."  We tend to through off compliments rather than take them in.  The person complimenting should continue with the next person to the right until she's given everyone 3 compliments.  Then the person to her immediate right starts and you go on until everyone has given everyone 3 compliments.  You will be amazed at what that will do.  

First, you'll notice that while some people will get the same compliment from a few people, there will be some things said that will be very surprising and heart-warming.  If you're the dentist or manager, you might find yourself very surprised about how the staff feels about you.  It will probably feel awkward at first, but keep encouraging everyone to really hear and enjoy the nice things that other's are saying about them.

Ok, so that's your nice, feel-good meeting that will help your staff see each other as good people who appreciate each other. You may also realize that you never really looked at your staff members in that way and you may see that they have qualities that you didn't notice. This helps build trust and openness.  

Now, tell your staff that they'll be using their notebooks again.  This time they'll be writing about themselves.  As the week goes on, tell them to jot down things that they find themselves doing that keeps them from being the best they can be.  Maybe they don't share information, they don't respect other's boundaries, they're pushy, they don't feel comfortable talking about treatment, they're judgmental, etc.  

At your next staff meeting (hopefully you can arrange to have one within the next week or two) ask for someone to volunteer to read something off their list that they'd most like to change.  Now, ask if anyone has any ideas for how they can improve with that.  Your job is to facilitate by asking questions as people give suggestions that will help everyone picture how the solution will look, how it will work, and how it will make life better in the practice. Also, you must ensure that the suggestions stay positive and productive.  This is not the time to let anyone slip a dig in, ("bless their hearts.")  Finally, ask the person who gave the problem if they will be ok, if staff members give them gentle reminders when they fall back into the behavior.  It works, we solved a very annoying and tenacious issue between our hygienists who now support and love each other tremendously.  

You don't have to live with the Bad, Ugly and Annoying any longer than you want to, and you can bring the Good into focus and keep it going and growing.

 

Keep Your Garden

"If there is no gardener, there is no garden."~Steven Covey - First Things First~

As a manager, I can't tell you how many times I've been frustrated, or disappointed about something a team member has done.  I'll even admit to self-pity, now and then.  I wonder sometimes, "Why can't they figure out what to do?  We've spent hours in staff meeting discussions, shouldn't they know by now?"  Then I realize that I'm expecting them to read my mind, or do what I would do.  Sometimes what might seem obvious to me, never enters someone else's mind.  It is then I realize that we are all different, we all see the world differently, and we all see different solutions to situations and problems.

What does this have to do with gardening?  Try to see your practice as a garden and yourself as the gardener.  First things first, you have to prepare the ground, in this case, your staff.  At first, you'll probably be filled with enthusiasm, you just can't wait to get in there and get things, or people, growing.  If you're like me when I attempt to garden, after about an hour or two, it just becomes tedious and you really wish someone else would come along and finish up.  You can't do that with people, once you start, you need to stick it out or you won't like the result.  

Just like an attentive gardener, you need to fertilize the thoughts you plant with acknowledgement, praise and encouragement.  When you see the thoughts and ideas you've planted start to grow, you have to help them along.  You can't just plant and walk away, or it will all dry up and disintegrate.  Keep at it and before long, you'll have the results you worked for.  

An experienced gardener also knows that he must be watchful for the weeds that will choke out the plants he is trying to cultivate.  In our practices, there are times when a team member is not ready to be productive and work toward service to others.  So, to begin with we can see their attitude as a weed.  If we can help them change their attitude, we can keep them in our garden and let them produce.  If they persist in their attitude, they become a weed and we risk letting them choke the good attitude out of the rest of the staff.  Just like gardeners dislike weeding the garden, so do managers and owners dislike weeding their staff, but it must be done when needed to ensure healthy growth.

Now, let me turn my attention to the seed itself.  A gardener knows that the purpose of growing flowers, fruit or vegetables is to give nourishment and pleasure to ourselves and others.  Do you realize that your purpose is the same?  When you are considering the seeds of thought you will plant, consider their purpose.  Will this make someone's life better?  Will it have a positive effect in the life of anyone?  Will it help you and your team serve others?  

These are simple questions with one word answers.  If you can't answer "Yes", you have some work to do.  Does your practice have a gardener, or is everything just growing haphazardly?  Is it you?  If not, who will it be? 

Oh Come On, Hug Me

"Go out into the world today and love the people you meet. Let your presence light new light in the hearts of people."   ~Mother Theresa

I remember reading a book by Dr. Paddi Lund, a dentist in Australia.  He says that he and his staff begin each day with a hug.  We tease one of the hygienists in our office that we're going to start doing that because she is notoriously uncomfortable with hugging.  We make her hug us every now and then on special occasions, like Christmas, but she hates it.  I bet a lot of people would be uncomfortable with it, buy why?  It's a sign of affection so shouldn't we love to hug?  Maybe it's the full, frontal body contact that makes us squeamish, but there's nothing worse than an awkward hug.  Better never to have hugged at all, than to have hugged like a klutz.

I have to wonder why it's so much easier to pass along gossip, than it is to hug.  We only feel uncomfortable gossiping if we get caught.  Why is it easier to stab someone in the bag, than it is to hug them?  If you ask me, it's what we're used to.  Those juicy tidbits flow so easily from our mouths that half the time we don't even stop to think of it as gossip.  It's interesting to watch someone try to seem like they're not gossiping.  They smile while they're blabbing and sometimes even end with a tinkling laugh and say, "I'd tell you the same thing if she were sitting right here."  Really?  Let's go get her.  

So, what if you decided to spend today loving everyone you meet?  What would that look like?  What would that feel like for you and for them?  You don't have to hug them to love them, you can just find the best in them and bring it out for you and for them.  Bring it out for yourself first so you can feel appreciation for them.  Then express that appreciation to them.  It might be just as awkward as that hug at first, but they'll hold it in their heart all day long.  You'll light a light in their heart and they may be moved to love someone too.  Imagine what the day will be like if you do the same with everyone you see.  Your patients might think you're crazy, but it will be crazy in a good way.  They'll love the way you made them feel and that's everything.  At the end of the day, thank everyone for all they did that day.  Send them all home with one last dose of love.  Now you've set them up to go home and be loving toward their family.  Will it never end?  Let's hope not.

Leading To a Higher Power

"You are not here merely to make a living.  You are here in order to enable the world to live more amply, with greater vision, with a finer spirit of hope and achievement.  You are here to enrich the world, and you impoverish yourself if you forget the errand."    ~Woodrow Wilson~

 

Ok, I'm going to take a giant leap of faith.  This blog will be changing a little.  I'll still be giving you tips and ideas about how to lead your staff and increase the health of your practice, but the focus is going to shift somewhat because my focus has shifted.  

Last July 4th, my life as I knew it changed forever.  I'm not going to give you the particulars about what changed, but I'm going to tell you everything about what inspired and saved me from utter despair.  

I'm Catholic and for the previous two years, I had stopped going to church.  I had a bunch of reasons that all seemed valid, which now just seem stupid and pompous.  On the morning of July 4th, I had the strong feeling that I should go to church, 7:30 mass to be exact.  Are you kidding, no way, that's way too early.  The was insistent though, so I got dressed and went.  I realized that I missed all the ceremony of the mass and the community with God and my fellow parishioners.  I had been kidding myself to think I could take care of my faith at home, I knew I was back for good.  That night, at 10:30, the life I had spent my entire adulthood building, disintegrated.  

I got through the rest of the night and amazingly, went to work where I kept my problem to myself.  The only thought that got me through that day, was that I would go to the church and talk to the pastor after work.  When I got to the church office the secretary told me that he had already gone home to the rectory.  I was distraught and she saw that I had a true need so she called him and he agreed to come back and see me. 

I told him what had happened and he counseled me for over an hour.  I could see he was tired, but he saw my need. He told me that God had called me to church that morning so he could embrace me in my trouble and heartache.  He met with me two more times after that and then told me what I needed to do.  First, I needed to forgive myself for not going to church.  It was part of my journey, and the necessity for it would be revealed later.  Next, I needed to spend time alone in the chapel with God, building my relationship with Him and strengthening my prayer life.  So basically, Fr. Nick set me on my feet and gave me a gentle push in the right direction.  Smart man, now rather than depend on him, I depend on God, and rightly so.  Fr. Nick was always available to me if I needed his counsel, but I learned to lean on God more and more.  One more thing Fr. Nick said that seemed a little odd at the time was, "Let's see what good will come of this."  At first, I was skeptical that any good could come of the situation I was in,  now I could make a long list.

Now, 8 months later I am re-building my life and stronger than ever in my faith.  I also know the answer to why leaving the church for a while was a part of my journey.  I would have continued to be a "Sunday Catholic" if I'd never left.  I'd never have gone any deeper into my faith.  So, yes, I forgive myself.

Recently we had a speaker, Matthew Kelly, at our church for an all day seminar.  He is calling all Catholics to become the best possible version of themselves, as God created us to be.  I believe that God has created all mankind, regardless of their particular faith, to become the best possible version of themselves.  Hearing Matthew inspired me to take his message into my daily life.

That is where I intend to take this blog.  Being Catholic, I will introduce ideas from scripture, knowledge I gain from reading works by authors like Matthew Kelly, C.S. Lewis, Henri Nouwen, and writers of all faiths.  My focus is on leading to serve a higher power.  When we serve God, or any benign higher power, we work toward a greater good, and that is how to find true success.  

The difference you may see will be in some of the quotes I use, some of the ideas I base the content of a post on, and some of the books I may list on the side panel.  It's an addition and somewhat of a shift, but not that far from where I've always come from.  I will also, for the first time, allow guest writers.  I would be happy to have contributions from readers of other faiths to discuss how their faith can be applied to building a better practice, or just to help us understand other faiths so we can better relate to our co-workers and patients.  I think there is a lot of confusion and misplaced fear of other religions, and maybe we can ease that a little.

I hope you'll stick with me and see where we'll go with this new focus.  Take this leap of faith with me and "Let's see what good will come of this."