by Ginny | Mar 5, 2017 | Team Development, Uncategorized
What would 202% mean to you?
How does engagement impact productivity? First, we have to ask, what it is that inspires team members to go above and beyond? What is it that takes work ethic to the next level and has your team offering their head, hands, and hearts in support of your vision for the practice? And, why does this matter?
More Productivity
The Dale Carnegie organization did an assessment that showed businesses with employees that could be identified as “engaged” outperformed their counterparts with “disengaged” employees by up to 202%. Take a moment and do the math, what would 202% improvement in productivity and revenue mean to you and your practice?
Let’s be very conservative and make it easy, what would 10% of that look like?
At 10% a practice currently collecting $100,000 per month would see an increase of $10,000 per month translating into $120,000 annually. Do you think your team could produce and collect $10,000 more per month? That’s $625 per day if you work 16 days per month; an increase of $78 per hour in an 8-hour day.
Now give those numbers faces and imagine the good work you’d be doing to improve your patients’ dental and overall health… this is what having impact is all about…and this is something that people can get their heads around. Your team’s effort could be fueled by a goal of doing well by doing good. The key is to take good care of your people if you want them to take good care of your patients.
What is the impact of YOUR engagement?
Several years ago, I witnessed a team member making a point that she didn’t believe her doctor really cared about her as a person, instead she thought he saw everyone as “a replaceable pawn in his business.” Shocked, the doctor insisted, “Of course I care about you.” The team member responded, “Ok, so what’s my last name?”
Silence. Red-faced, the doctor admitted he didn’t know. This isn’t conclusive evidence, but when we realize that each person’s perception is their reality, this supported the team member’s feelings.
What can YOU do?
Get a list of all team members, their contact information and families’ and pets’ names, study it and connect on a personal level.
Hint: people love to share photos of their kids and pets.
Take a few minutes each week to have a personal conversation with a couple team members to learn what they like to do for fun. Do they enjoy sports or the arts? Share the fun by starting a team meeting by having everyone take a few minutes to share where they grew up if they had any siblings, what was their favorite pastime as a kid, what brought them to dentistry.
Once you learn someone’s story you naturally feel like you understand them better and set yourself up to improve your communication with them. Once someone has shared some of their story they feel more invested too.
Feel like having some fun at next team meeting? Try playing “Getting to Know You” Bingo” with your team! This is a fast-paced and fun activity to use to set the energy for a meeting!
This is an easy pivot for this week and I’d love to hear how this went in your practice. Please share your experience in the comments section below.
by Ginny | Feb 26, 2017 | Team Development
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.
by Ginny | Oct 3, 2014 | General, Innovation, Inspiration, Practice Leadership, Strategic Planning, Team Development
ADA Newsletter Hegarty Fall 2014
“We make money the old fashioned way… we earn it!” Oscar Winner, John Houseman’s bounding voice created this memorable catchphrase for an EF Hutton Investment Firm commercial over 30 years ago.The message struck a chord then… and still does. While we can absolutely shorten the learning curve to success, there are no shortcuts to the basic principles of success…not even in the digital world we now live in.
A study of the online reviews of multiple dental practices in a major metropolitan area revealed that for all the changes we’ve seen in how a business presents itself to the world, the bottom line of what makes a lasting positive impression remains the same. Read the full text of my article Score a Great Online Review and Earn Patient Loyalty (more…)
by Ginny | Sep 23, 2014 | Communication, General, HR Compliance, Innovation, Inspiration, Practice Leadership, Practice Resources, Team Development
My favorite team meeting, the one I want to attend is “The Meeting After The Meeting”; the one that takes place in the hallway, sterilization area or at the front desk when the team separates into groups and has a no-holds barred discussion of exactly what should have been said at “The Official Meeting”. It’s in this raw honesty that change is possible and we can create an agenda that fuels Team Meetings That Work!
The trouble is that “The Meeting After The Meeting” is private, by invitation-only and it’s a tough ticket to get.
Click on this link to read the full text of this article as published in The Progressive Dentist Magazine to learn the surprising 4 steps to set yourself up for Team Meetings That Work
by Ginny | Sep 8, 2014 | Communication, General, Inspiration, Practice Leadership, Strategic Planning, Team Development
Offensive Coordinator Pat Shurmur was talking long & reflectively about young quarterbacks & learning curves… Not their learning curves… His. “your quarterback needs to know that you believe in him. That no matter what is happening out there, you’re going to Help Make It Right.”
Your team is counting on you to believe in them. In my experience most dental team members will live up to your expectations. While most doctors would prefer to focus on patient care and avoid the team drama, you’ll find that you & your team will be happier and more effective if you take the lead. Instead of blaming, judging, or resigning yourself to the status quo… start helping. Don’t think you have the time? You’re already spending time putting out fires that never should have gotten started. This approach will actually save you time as well as stomach lining. It’s easier than you think: How to Manage People Well Without Becoming A Therapist
The team is counting on your leadership. Here’s to a new season full of hope for you & your team. #flyeaglesfly
Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/eagles/20140908_Foles__play_of_the_day__Not_folding.html#l2yPfmlm5dMzZg12.99
