Have you ever had a moment of inspiration and it disappeared as quickly as it arrived?
I had one of these moments a year ago this month as I realized the answer to the question that dentists have been asking me for years. This aha moment was so exciting to me that it inspired me to write a book over the next six months!
Here’s the question: “Can’t I just do the dentistry?”
This question is usually accompanied by a sense of frustration over the time that dentists spend away from their clinical joy. Does this sound like you or someone you know?
I know this is the dynamic that causes new dentists and dentists that have been practicing fifty years to agree that their biggest stressor in practice is the team stress and drama.
My aha moment was in realizing that my consulting work over the past twenty years has indeed taught me (and my clients) that “Yes, you can just do the dentistry” after you make a few key leadership pivots.
This is the passion behind my book, “PIVOT: Practice Leadership Redefined How Dentists Adjust Course & Just Do the Dentistry“.
Why PIVOT?
When I think of a pivot I think of basketball. My dad always used sports lessons as metaphors for life, so of course, my mind went to sports as I was trying to come up with the perfect title for my book.
While watching the Villanova Wildcats win the NCAA Championship last year I noticed that the color commentators for the tournament continually talked about Nova’s star Ryan Arcidiacono’s awesome ability to pivot. Aha! I loved the sound of the word and the visual of shifting in place to create a better opportunity.
Turns out that the lean business definition of pivot is to “change strategy without changing vision.”
Perfect!
That’s exactly what I am proposing to you in the book.
Today’s Pivot Point: Leadership
First Step… Shifting Your TEAM Mindset
Shifting your TEAM mindset is the first step. Start with them and you’ll experience radical results. Think about how you would want your team to treat your patients and aspire to treat your team the same way.
STOP DOING THESE 3 THINGS
1. Do not share your financial stressors with the team
If you want to inspire your team to fully engage with head, hands, and heart, you must go first. Share your purpose and passion with your team. One thing I know for sure is that when a team comes together understanding the big why in what they do, the financial success will follow.
2. Do not think that a good paycheck alone will inspire your team
Visa’s inventor, Dee Hock, said it best “Money motivates neither the best people nor the best in people. It can move the body and influence the mind, but it cannot touch the heart or move the spirit; that is reserved for belief, principle, and morality.” You definitely want your team’s hearts to be in it.
3. Do not think that clinical excellence alone will build your practice
Your patients do not judge you by the quality of your work – they simply are not qualified to judge quality. Patients judge you and decide if they will continue to be your patient by the way they feel when they are in your practice. Excellence in care and service is the winning combination.
What SHOULD You Do Instead?
If you’ve been guilty of any one or more of the previous things, I’ve created a simple Do This Not That Guide to PIVOT in a different, more productive direction!
Simple click on the image of the guide to begin shifting your team mindset today.
Did you try the guide to begin shifting your team mindset? Share your experience in the comments section.
