by Ginny | Mar 13, 2014 | Communication, General, HR Compliance, Practice Leadership
Here is an excerpt from my article Prior To The Hire from The Progressive Dentist Magazine.
There are 6 common biases that create bad hires. Let’s take a closer look to see if you can recognize these behaviors in yourself or your hiring process:
- Stereotyping: forming a generalized opinion about how people will think, act, or respond, i.e.: Judging applicants by their physical characteristics such as hair color, body type, or gender, for example, thinking men wouldn’t do well working in the front office or being the only male member of a team.
- Inconsistent Questions: Asking different questions of different applicants, i.e.: if you’re not grading on responses to the same questions, how can you truly make comparisons? You must be able to do some quantitative analysis.
- First Impression Error: Allowing a snap judgment to cloud the entire interview, i.e.: thinking poorly of an applicant because of the school they attended or because you don’t like their fashion sense.
- Halo / Horn Effect: Allowing one strong or weak point to overshadow everything else, i.e.: learning that an applicant is from your hometown or school or conversely, has a tattoo or piercing visible. Often this occurs based on an answer to one question that is different than you expected.
- Contrast Effect: Believing good candidates who interview right after weak candidates are stronger by comparison than they truly are. Let’s face it, after a few disappointing interviews, it’s easy for an average applicant to make a big impression.
- Cultural Noise: Failure to recognize when an applicant is being politically correct and/or telling you what you want to hear rather than the actual truth. Don’t take answers at face value, dig deeper. One of the best replies to a first response is simply “tell me more.” Get very comfortable with a silent pause… give the applicant time to think and chances are you will gain valuable insight. Also be certain to keep your eyes on the candidate as they answer your questions, otherwise you risk missing the visual, the body language clues that they are making things up as they go along.
The full text of article is available for a limited time at TheProDentist.com along with full access to the current issue of this leading subscription-based magazine about the business of dentistry.
by Ginny | Feb 24, 2014 | Communication, General, Innovation, Practice Leadership, Strategic Planning, Team Development
As I visit dental practices I believe we’ve all been reaping the benefits of a kinder, smarter, more collaborative female perspective. It would seem women have realized the power and influence we have to create a healthier workplace and we are stepping up to the opportunities at hand. Read the full text of this article from the Spring 2014 Excellence in Dentistry Magazine Breakthrough Communication Success is both my passion and the title of my presentation at the 2014 Excellence in Dentistry Annual Spring Break Seminar Opening Day, Thursday April 10, 2014 in Destin, Florida . Please join me as it’s now up to us as leaders to embrace this new perspective and recognize the opportunities at hand. Forget follow the leader, let’s “Be the Jones” and lead our teams on purpose.
by Ginny | Aug 29, 2013 | Communication, General, Practice Leadership, Practice Resources, Team Development
Employee drama, left unchecked is like a dust storm stirring up trouble as it blows through the office. Stick to the facts at hand to avoid being blinded and losing your way. Miscommunication and gossip create the whirlwind of drama. Drama is expensive in terms of time, talent and bottom-line success. Stick to the facts and clear the air.
Here’s an example a team member submitted to Dentistry IQ along with Ginny Hegarty’s answer as published in an August 2013 Thursday Troubleshooter.
Q: Our office manager has been in our practice for 30 years and she has a very overpowering personality. She can be quite abrasive and acts very disrespectful at times. She comes and goes as she pleases and has even gotten to the point of having us do a lot of her work. I know she is valuable to the practice, but some of team members are leaving because of her actions. I really like my job and the dentist, and I would like to know the best way to handle this. Our entire team feels the same way as I do.
A: From Ginny Hegarty SPHR, President, Dental Practice Development, Inc., and current president of the Academy of Dental Management Consultants:
It’s very brave of you to want to step up and take this on, and I commend you for your courage. I think my response will give you the very best opportunity to create a positive outcome for everyone. I offer it with all due respect as I’ve been where you are.
There’s a lot going on in your question. Let’s start here. One thing that jumps out at me is that you’re making some judgments that I suggest you revisit. I say this because of your statement, “Our entire team feels the same way I do.” This tells me that rather than each of you talking directly with your office manager, you are all talking “about” your office manager. This is counterproductive and won’t help any of you.
I realize that it’s very difficult to approach someone that you see as “abrasive and disrespectful,” but have you given any thought to how the office manager may feel she is perceived or treated? Is it possible the office manager could be responding in kind to the negativity and tension in the relationship?
Here’s something I have confirmed over and over again with teams I work with. When asked, “If you were personally doing something that was holding the team back, would you want, a) a coworker to tell you directly b) coworkers to talk amongst themselves about the issue or c) coworkers go to the dentist/owner with the issue,” I consistently hear that team members overwhelmingly prefer that someone come to them directly. This kind of leadership and accountability involves constructive confrontation of the issues rather than involving others in your issues.
Once we involve others, we discuss our opinions and we start judging. By definition, judging is forming an opinion of somebody or something. If this is done before speaking directly with the person, these opinions are made without all the relevant facts.
These opinions then become the story we tell ourselves about what is going on, rather than what is actually happening. The story takes on a life of its own, drama ensues, and many well-intentioned people get hurt. This can be overwhelming for everyone on the team, including the office manager.
As time goes on, there can be so many layers and twists to the plot and so many hurt feelings, that people forget where the line between fact and fiction is. In my experience, everyone soon has a well rehearsed part to play and the practice moves further away from the truth into a soap opera of its own creation. It’s time to stop this insanity.
I have two recommendations for you:
First, I’d ask you to take a deep breath and revisit your story. Take your question apart line by line and remove your opinions so that you have only the facts at hand.
I think you’ll be left with:
* The office manager has been there 30 years
* You like your job and your dentist
* There is a situation that needs to be handled
* You want to help
Second, I would consider “how can you help?” You might consider one last behind the scenes meeting with your coworkers to discuss taking personal accountability to focus on solutions rather than blame.
Then, begin by addressing your own responsibilities or concerns with your office manager. Start with one pressing issue, not a list of past issues. Your goal is to change the dynamic and make it more positive and productive. This is a process. When others come to you to discuss their issues, do not get involved; encourage them to also take their concerns directly to the office manager.
I’m not blaming you or your coworkers, your office manager, or your doctor. You’ll notice that I haven’t addressed the issue of blame at all. I don’t know enough to even begin to, and it would be counterproductive. It’s far more effective to discuss shared purpose and positive change with a forward focus. You all deserve better. Hopefully this is a good first step for all of you.
You might also want to address the bigger team issue, and realize that when this type of drama thrives, profitability generally suffers. What’s the best way to support the entire team to start over with new intention? What are your shared goals? How can you bring everyone together to work toward solutions and avoid blame? Often, this is best done in a practice retreat with an outside, objective facilitator guiding the group. Please feel free to contact me atginny@ginnyhegarty.com.
http://www.dentistryiq.com/articles/2013/08/thursday-troubleshooter2.html
by Ginny | Aug 15, 2013 | Announcements, Communication, General, Innovation, Inspiration, Practice Leadership, Practice Resources, Team Development
THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION IS OVER. The world has changed. We see this change at every turn as technology influences all aspects of our lives. For those of us whose parents raised us on the value of a great work ethic, it’s important to recognize and respond to the fact that the Industrial Revolution is over. With all due respect to our well-intentioned parents, a great work ethic is no longer enough. Today you must engage both your employee and your client’s hearts and heads to effectively connect and create practice growth and success.
After all the cutting edge education and sexy technology is in place, the magic doesn’t happen until your people engage. A Blessings White study done in 2011 reveals that only two of every six employees is truly engaged in the vision and mission of the business. Engagement then is the single biggest leadership challenge that business owners and managers face these days.
A recent INC Magazine article spotlighted the most effective leaders today realize that the workforce no longer responds to the Oz model of leadership; the all knowing, all powerful doesn’t play anymore. We’ve moved from The Age of Autocracy and leaders like Jack Welch in the 80s through The Age of Empowerment with leaders like Meg Whitman in the 90s and we’re now firmly in The Age of Nurture with leaders like Tony Hsieh of Zappos and Whole Food’s John Mackey.
We hear a lot about Culture these days, especially some very famous companies that differentiate themselves with their culture. For example, Apple has a culture of innovation. Zappos’ culture is to “Deliver Happiness.” Fed Ex and Southwest Airlines are companies that have very strong cultures. It’s important to remember 3 things regarding your culture:
- Culture is not a program, it’s a core belief that has staying power and could last forever
- Culture is your differentiator; it’s why your team and your patients will choose you over another practice.
- Culture cannot be bought; it develops from the inside out, with habits over time.
In my upcoming webinar as part of the Patterson Dental Practicing With the Masters Series, I am challenging attendees to ‘BE the Joneses.” The challenge is to stop playing follow the leader and instead to lead on purpose. My intent is that you lead both deliberately (on purpose) and meaningfully (with a focus on your own unique purpose). Once you’ve come together to fully understanding Why You Do What You Do & Who You Are Being When You Do It, your systems, protocols will create structure around your culture.
Please join me on Thursday, August 22, 2013 at 11:00am Central
The T
by Ginny | May 13, 2013 | Communication, General, Innovation, Practice Leadership, Team Development
Ginny Hegarty Morning Huddle Video
About 10 years ago I saw a pattern developing around team meetings. One practice after another seemed to be having what I called “Team Meeting Déjà Vu.” The team and doctors would joke and say “Can’t we just shuffle last year’s meeting agendas and reuse them again this year? After all, it seems like we just keep revisiting the same problems, we never really solve anything. I’ll bet many of you can relate to that feeling.
To be clear, these were not mediocre or even average practice, they were highly successful practices like many of you, trying to figure out how to get to that next level of success. They were basically putting band-aids on problems, quick fixes that would last for a couple of weeks or months and then old habits would reemerge. This “déjà vu” or inability to come together to create long-term solutions creates roadblocks that will affect morale and profitability & hold you back.
This is the first of my Morning Huddle Videos for Dental Products Report. View the video for a few quick ideas to shake things up and avoid Team Meeting Deja Vu
