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The dentist as a leader
A BETTER PRACTICE
Roger Levin, D.D.S., M.B.A., F.A.C.D.
The dentist as a leader y goal in writing these JADA columns is to focus mainly on the business of dentistry. However, I do not want to wait too long to introduce a subject that will be included periodically in these columns, and that is the subject of leadership. Leadership is a skill. People are not born with it or genetically endowed with leadership capabilities. Most dentists do not think about leadership as part of their necessary skill set. Conversely, most chief executive officers (or those who want to be CEOs) most certainly do.
M
THE TRUTH ABOUT LEADERSHIP
The truth about leadership is that dentists actually have no choice in the matter. Whether we chose to think of ourselves as leaders is not the determining factor. If you own a dental practice, your staff views you as the leader. Despite the fact that we tend to work in rather small physical environments and become very close to our staff members, both personally and
professionally, there is another aspect to the relationship and that is the responsibility of leadership. The obligation to provide direction to your business rests squarely on your shoulders. Whether we like it or not, the staff, not the dentist, gets to define who the leader is. By virtue of the fact that you own a practice, you are seen as the leader, and the staff will always defer to you on leadership issues. The staff knows that you can hire or fire, work when you want and set the practice systems the way you want. On the other hand, if staff members decide to take a day off, be in a bad mood or not perform their tasks as defined by your business systems, they know that they can be disciplined or even terminated. By virtue of this relationship, regardless of how close you feel to your staff, you have been defined as a leader. The staff will look to you for leadership direction. What does this mean? Dentists must lead by example. The team always is watching the dentist. The way the dentist behaves will have a
significant effect on how the team behaves or acts. The mood of the dentist, comments made, attitude toward patients, attitude toward customer service— all of these behaviors send messages to the team. To be a good leader, you must understand that you must lead by example because your team is watching you and emulating your behavior. It may not be obvious and you may feel that you deserve a different status of behavior than your team, but in reality it is impossible to establish and maintain such separate standards. Your team is looking to you for leadership guidance, and the best strategy is to lead by example. Good leaders coach. As leaders, dentists have to do more then simply show up and treat patients every day. Although ideally we would like to come to the office, treat our patients and go home, there is a lot more to the leadership story. Coaching is a major factor for any leader. No team is perfect, and even if yours is, it likely will not stay that way in the long run. This is where coaching is JADA, Vol. 134, October 2003
Copyright ©2003 American Dental Association. All rights reserved.
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critical. Whether we handle our coaching through informal feedback during the workday, formal performance reviews, other oneto-one meetings with our team or all-staff meetings, coaching is an ongoing process for every practice. It is essential for the doctor to understand that the team needs feedback to continue to develop. It must be said, however, that continual criticism of mistakes rarely is a good leadership formula for feedback and improving performance. Effective and responsible leadership focuses on positive, specific and practical feedback that helps team members learn, grow and excel at their duties. Leaders have a vision. A vision is a statement of where the practice is going. Different from a mission statement, it helps the team better understand the direction in which you want to take the practice. Simply coming to work every day and collecting a paycheck does not motivate people. By developing a vision and sharing it with the team on a regular basis, you have a greater opportunity to create a sense of purpose for your team. Whether
1392
your vision is simply to provide outstanding quality, enjoy every day in a comfortable atmosphere while providing outstanding care to patients, increase cosmetic services, decrease dependence on insurance, increase other elective services, grow the size of the practice or grow the production of the practice, your team needs to be reminded constantly that this is the direction in which you wish to take the practice. One By developing a vision and sharing it with the team on a regular basis, you have a greater opportunity to create a sense of purpose for your team.
option is to read the vision statement to your team every day in a morning meeting to constantly remind them that this is where we are going and this is why we have come to work today. Vision statements are not accomplished overnight. They are not goals set at rigid 12month intervals. They represent a longer-term direction that you would like to see your practice
take. It is advisable to ask the team for feedback periodically. Ask them how Dr. Levin is chief executhey think you tive officer, Levin Group Inc., 10 New Plant are doing in Court, Owings Mills, terms of Md. 21117, e-mail “rlevin@levingroup. achieving your com”. Address reprint vision or living requests to Dr. Levin. your vision. Getting people involved greatly enhances commitment and fortifies your leadership position. SUMMARY
Leadership is one of the more difficult business skills to develop. Any dentist can be a better leader and should view this as an essential aspect of his or her own personal business development. Dental practices today are more dependent on staff than ever before, and it is well-known that the number of well-trained staff looking for positions has diminished. To overcome this challenge, we have to increase the skill set, knowledge and commitment of our teams. To do this, dentists will need to be better leaders and continually work to improve these same skills in themselves. ■
JADA, Vol. 134, October 2003 Copyright ©2003 American Dental Association. All rights reserved.
Roger Levin, D.D.S., M.B.A., F.A.C.D.
The dentist as a leader y goal in writing these JADA columns is to focus mainly on the business of dentistry. However, I do not want to wait too long to introduce a subject that will be included periodically in these columns, and that is the subject of leadership. Leadership is a skill. People are not born with it or genetically endowed with leadership capabilities. Most dentists do not think about leadership as part of their necessary skill set. Conversely, most chief executive officers (or those who want to be CEOs) most certainly do.
M
THE TRUTH ABOUT LEADERSHIP
The truth about leadership is that dentists actually have no choice in the matter. Whether we chose to think of ourselves as leaders is not the determining factor. If you own a dental practice, your staff views you as the leader. Despite the fact that we tend to work in rather small physical environments and become very close to our staff members, both personally and
professionally, there is another aspect to the relationship and that is the responsibility of leadership. The obligation to provide direction to your business rests squarely on your shoulders. Whether we like it or not, the staff, not the dentist, gets to define who the leader is. By virtue of the fact that you own a practice, you are seen as the leader, and the staff will always defer to you on leadership issues. The staff knows that you can hire or fire, work when you want and set the practice systems the way you want. On the other hand, if staff members decide to take a day off, be in a bad mood or not perform their tasks as defined by your business systems, they know that they can be disciplined or even terminated. By virtue of this relationship, regardless of how close you feel to your staff, you have been defined as a leader. The staff will look to you for leadership direction. What does this mean? Dentists must lead by example. The team always is watching the dentist. The way the dentist behaves will have a
significant effect on how the team behaves or acts. The mood of the dentist, comments made, attitude toward patients, attitude toward customer service— all of these behaviors send messages to the team. To be a good leader, you must understand that you must lead by example because your team is watching you and emulating your behavior. It may not be obvious and you may feel that you deserve a different status of behavior than your team, but in reality it is impossible to establish and maintain such separate standards. Your team is looking to you for leadership guidance, and the best strategy is to lead by example. Good leaders coach. As leaders, dentists have to do more then simply show up and treat patients every day. Although ideally we would like to come to the office, treat our patients and go home, there is a lot more to the leadership story. Coaching is a major factor for any leader. No team is perfect, and even if yours is, it likely will not stay that way in the long run. This is where coaching is JADA, Vol. 134, October 2003
Copyright ©2003 American Dental Association. All rights reserved.
1391
L
E
V
I
N
critical. Whether we handle our coaching through informal feedback during the workday, formal performance reviews, other oneto-one meetings with our team or all-staff meetings, coaching is an ongoing process for every practice. It is essential for the doctor to understand that the team needs feedback to continue to develop. It must be said, however, that continual criticism of mistakes rarely is a good leadership formula for feedback and improving performance. Effective and responsible leadership focuses on positive, specific and practical feedback that helps team members learn, grow and excel at their duties. Leaders have a vision. A vision is a statement of where the practice is going. Different from a mission statement, it helps the team better understand the direction in which you want to take the practice. Simply coming to work every day and collecting a paycheck does not motivate people. By developing a vision and sharing it with the team on a regular basis, you have a greater opportunity to create a sense of purpose for your team. Whether
1392
your vision is simply to provide outstanding quality, enjoy every day in a comfortable atmosphere while providing outstanding care to patients, increase cosmetic services, decrease dependence on insurance, increase other elective services, grow the size of the practice or grow the production of the practice, your team needs to be reminded constantly that this is the direction in which you wish to take the practice. One By developing a vision and sharing it with the team on a regular basis, you have a greater opportunity to create a sense of purpose for your team.
option is to read the vision statement to your team every day in a morning meeting to constantly remind them that this is where we are going and this is why we have come to work today. Vision statements are not accomplished overnight. They are not goals set at rigid 12month intervals. They represent a longer-term direction that you would like to see your practice
take. It is advisable to ask the team for feedback periodically. Ask them how Dr. Levin is chief executhey think you tive officer, Levin Group Inc., 10 New Plant are doing in Court, Owings Mills, terms of Md. 21117, e-mail “rlevin@levingroup. achieving your com”. Address reprint vision or living requests to Dr. Levin. your vision. Getting people involved greatly enhances commitment and fortifies your leadership position. SUMMARY
Leadership is one of the more difficult business skills to develop. Any dentist can be a better leader and should view this as an essential aspect of his or her own personal business development. Dental practices today are more dependent on staff than ever before, and it is well-known that the number of well-trained staff looking for positions has diminished. To overcome this challenge, we have to increase the skill set, knowledge and commitment of our teams. To do this, dentists will need to be better leaders and continually work to improve these same skills in themselves. ■
JADA, Vol. 134, October 2003 Copyright ©2003 American Dental Association. All rights reserved.