Do you know what it takes to strengthen and develop effective leadership, good management and create a healthy team culture? More importantly, why should dentists and office managers care? On October 23rd TempStars founder Dr. James Younger travelled to Vancouver to moderate a discussion forum on that very topic.
The forum, Organized by Cleardent and held at the Vancouver Convention Centre, was attended by large group of dental professionals eager to learn.
Here are some key takeaways from the discussion:
Strengthening and developing effective leadership, good management and a healthy team culture may seem like hard work now, but it will pay off in the long run. Not only do these factors work to improve office morale, but they actually drive measurable business results over time.
There seems to be a common feeling that dentists don’t want to be the leader of the office; they would rather delegate the role to the office manager. While this may seem tempting, the reality is this: If you own a dental practice and you’re the person deciding who is on your team, then naturally, you are the leader of the group. In this case, it is best to take the time to discover, develop and strengthen your leadership skills through learning, coaching and practice.
Looking to strengthen your team culture? Here are three pieces of advice from Dr. Younger:
- Find Your Values
Spend some time self-reflecting on your own personal values and what’s important to you. If you’re going to craft a team around you, it should be a team of people who share similar values and perspectives. In order to build a team like that, you must first spend time thoughtfully reflecting who you are, who you like to work with, what your vision is, and what like-minded people would look like.
- Communication is Key
Communicate your (possibly newly discovered) mission, vision and values to your team. Take time to explain why these are important, paint a picture of how the team can/will work if everyone is aligned, explain to the team the “what’s in it for me”. Opening a line of communication between yourself and your employees will pay dividends.
- Constant gardening
Live the mission, vision and values, watch out for signs of slipping, or counter-culture behaviours. Encourage and reward the behaviours that align with your culture while setting a good example for employees to follow.
