Getting our butts in gear is hard when numbers are down, the team is stale with the same routine each day, and well frankly, no one feels like having fun. The stress of the business has brought everyone down, starting from the top as it trickles down to everyone in the practice. Yep, it starts with the owners, which usually are the doctors and as their crap creeps into the office, so does everyone else’s. Bryant Consultants wants to help you by providing 12 steps to getting your team on board, again.
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Put on a smile every day.
Every stinking day, get up and put that FREE smile on your face. Life could be worse, so try to find something to be grateful about and start smiling again. Owners (who usually are the dentists) forget that their stress shows on their face too. There are no exceptions, smile all the time. Please do not read on until you place a smile on your face and find something in your life to be thankful for!
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Lead by example.
Practice owners expect their team to check their personal life at the door for eight hours each day, go the extra mile for patients, stay motivated, and be involved and engaged…. all while the dentist is the exact opposite. The old saying, “do as I say, not as I do,” doesn’t work and will not work with a dental team. So get your butt in gear and start leading by example. Try being the first at the office and greet each team member as they arrive, make coffee for everyone, find a positive quote or favorite jam song to play before you start your morning huddle. And, if you aren’t doing huddles, you’re missing out on an opportunity to lead your team, and we teach our team the same way we would teach our children. The more they see us do what we want them to do, the more they will follow you based on what you do, versus what you tell them to do.
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Start the day on the right foot by having a team huddle each morning.
How you run your huddle, and how you lead the team in the morning will trickle throughout the day. You want your team to be motivated, work hard and do more, so there will be a greater chance of this taking place when the day starts on the right foot and not just starts out however it starts. Be Intentional on how your day will start by having a huddle and setting the standard, going over plans for the day, verbalizing your expectations as well as sharing with the team what you will be doing to make the day great again. Imagine the difference!
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Give positive feedback.
Find something positive to genuinely praise each person on your team, and provide positive feedback daily. Yep, you will always find something, or a lot of things, that need improvement. But, you will not see improvements if all that comes out of your mouth is negative glass half empty stuff. You will eventually get tagged as the dentist that can never be happy or pleased. Don’t be the dentist that only provides feedback to employees when they do something wrong. If you want to motivate your team, spotlight the positive things that they do well.
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Ask your team for their professional opinion.
If your team members are always coming to you to help solve problems, over time, they will feel they need to rely on you and not have the motivation to solve their problems and do things on their own. If you ask for their opinion, they start to feel you value them more and begin to trust themselves in the process. Try this line… “What do you think the right decision would be in this situation?” (Don’t give your answer away first… hear them out, and then provide feedback to their response). Something like, “I could see why that makes sense to you….”). Dentists think that if you ask for a team member’s opinion, you have to take it and go with it. Instead, you can consider it, and then make the decision that best suits the needs of the business.
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Take a routine audit of your business.
It is extremely important to have your team members know their work will be checked and evaluated on a random, yet regular basis. This means taking a look at the KPI’s of your practice and asking important questions… “Tell me more about (fill in the blank here), or “I’m interested to know how this is going.” If they know their work will be evaluated, they will work harder to ensure it is done well.
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Always remind the team of your “WHY.”
Understanding the purpose is critical in any business. If the team doesn’t understand and they are not reminded of it often, they will never go the extra mile to make things a success. Heck, if a large corporation will do a team cheer each day, couldn’t your small team recite your vision every morning? (Just saying, it’s not a foreign thing). Get your “WHY” written down if you don’t have it and meet with your team and start changing your culture.
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Get outside the office (doesn’t matter where).
Take the team out for an event that gives them time to spend with their co-workers outside of work and shows them they are appreciated. This can be a bucket of KFC and sitting at the park for an extended lunch, or an after-hours social, a boat ride, a talk and walk through the city (change positions in line every 15 minutes to be sure to engage with each team member). If money is tight, you could find something free to do. It’s about allowing your team to come together without the stress of the practice around them.
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Mind your manners, always.
Saying please and thank is something we were taught to do growing up. Manners are important, no matter where you are in your life. HAVE THEM! Please and thank you can go a long way to motivate your team members. Whether you ask for something to be done or after it’s complete – say please and thank you.
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Keep your word – do what you say you’re going to do.
When you say that you are going to do something… do it. The same rules apply in our personal life that applies to our professional one. You do not want to lose the trust of your team by failing to honor your word.
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Find reasons to celebrate and reward your team.
Create goals and stepping-stones to help you and your team achieve your practice goals. When your team achieves one, celebrate no matter how big or small. When you skip the rewards, you will eventually see your team stop pushing towards goals. Everyone in life is driven to achieve and win. Some more than others, but it’s still there ….deep inside of us. If money is tight, you scale your rewards to fit your budget. You don’t STOP celebrating and pressing forward, or you will ultimately fail, and that isn’t an option, right?
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No drama, please.
There are zero reasons to put up with drama, gossip, and adult bullies in your business. This is not grade school, this is not, “Well they don’t know what they are doing.” This is adulthood, and we are way beyond drama. It kills a business, it kills a culture, it kills great team members, and it makes you look like you’re the worst leader in the world since you own it… you can stop it and prevent it. Stop accepting it as a culture.
Running a practice and managing a dental team isn’t always easy. You’re the dentist, and you know how to prep a tooth for a restoration, or how to treat a patient with severe periodontal disease, but that doesn’t mean you are the best at handling and motivating your team. The first place to start is recognizing that you may need help getting your team on board, again, which is where Bryant Consultants comes into play. If you would like to learn more about what we do, call (877) 768-4799.
We provide consultation, training, and coaching to help improve the operations of your practice so that you can provide exceptional results to your patients. No office is out of reach for us; we will even come to you!
