As my career started, I was an employee of a large group practice with a variety of ages within those four walls. The ladies were cold, standoffish, and very territorial with their positions. The lines were drawn in that office. NO one stepped across them. Each day everyone sported a plastered smile with hidden words behind it, and here I was, this exuberant young new dental assistant that wanted to know and learn everything. Needless to say, it was unacceptable behavior in that office, according to my co-workers. I spent many lunches crying in my car and anticipating the day that someone would retire, speak up about the separation in the office, or that I would magically know everything there is to know about dentistry and be able to move along in my career. Phew… I could only imagine what would have happened if my dreams become a reality.
Arriving at the office with a big smile on your face, feeling truly welcomed by others, and their smiles being authentic along with your doctors. Being a team by helping each other out instead of trashing talking. Staying excited and busy all through the day, knowing that everyone has your back. No tears, no frustration with your team, and everyone teaching each other to make the practice run smoothly.
Which kind of day would you rather have? I would have chosen the second scenario that I described in a heartbeat!
It is possible to have a practice that is full of energy, helpfulness, kindness, and unity. No Lines! It takes effort and buy-in from the entire team. It also takes an owner that is determined to have a team that works together. Here are the steps to erasing those lines within your practice.
Step #1
Removing the lines in the practice and the “us vs. them” walls is to remove your thinking that certain team members are more valuable than others. Everyone in the office is a part of the same amazing team. In the average dental office, there is a division of the dental assistants vs. the hygienists, front office vs. back office, or even the doctor vs. the team. This culture is toxic and creates the negativity that many doctors complain about daily. Negative cultures create poor productivity, unstainable loyalty, and long-term employment. This culture then trickles down on your customer service and patient care. If there’s going to be an “us vs. them” happening in the dental office, it should be us as the entire office fighting for something not against it. How about your entire team fighting for your mission, vision, or your cause… every day, instead of fueling negativity and discourse.
Step #2
Teach everyone ways to come together! The front and the back can work together. By doing this, you are secretly cross-training them all while your building morale and unity.
Let’s think about some examples of specific ways that your team can work together to support each other:
A dental office is going to run more efficiently and be more enjoyable when the team realizes that each position contributes a percentage of each day. If you have 10 team members, each is 10% of the success of the team, and the team makes up 100% of your practice success. They each play an important role in achieving success. An amazing dental team needs superheroes of all kinds to care for your patients. No one’s job is more important than another, and no one role works harder than any other role. The office cannot get where you want it to be if every individual person on the team isn’t dedicated to achieving success as a whole. All positions within the practice have extremely hard parts and extremely exciting parts. As long as the team realizes they need one another, they can learn to work better together and always respect one another’s position and how it affects the growth of the entire practice.
Step #3
Involve the team. Ask them how they feel that they could come together and support each other more each day. What does this look like for the practice daily?
As you know, a team is as strong as the weakest team member. This means that everyone on the team has a responsibility to train and gain each other’s trust. Everyone on your team must learn, grow, and improve to build the culture that you are trying to achieve. The team will be more united when they know they can trust and rely on one another. When everyone on the team can see that each team member is doing their best they are capable of and that all team members will be there to hold each other up, the team will become stronger and dedicated to remaining united.
The positive scenario is possible when you are actively building a culture where the team works together throughout the day and every day. Remove the lines in your practice by stepping into the middle of the practice and erasing them.
Bryant Consultants’ services can help you realize your vision, establish goals, and set processes in place to evolve your practice. Contact us by calling (877) 768-4799. We provide consultation, training, and coaching to help improve the operations of your practice so that you can deliver exceptional results to your patients. No office is out of reach for us. We will even come to you!
