1. Team leadership. Dentists are tasked with managing and leading their staff and associates. “Most dentists loving working chair side. They love the intricacy and precision of creating a close to perfect product, but often get frustrated when dealing with team issues,” says Mr. Spiel. However, lack of leadership negatively impacts a dental practice more than any single element.
“If you want an ‘A’ team you must be an ‘A’ leader, not a ‘B’ or ‘C’ leader,” says Mr. Spiel. “A” leaders learn to effectively:
• Establish a crystal clear vision, direction and pace.
• Provide consistent training and coaching.
• Set expectations with appropriate and frequent accountability.
• Create ownership of results by establishing a culture of participation in problem solving and training.
• Show frequent and clear appreciation.
Though much of leadership is about taking control, an equally important component is delegation because the ultimate goal is to turn employees into a team, and a team into colleagues. “If they truly want to spend more time doing what they love the most, dentists have to learn to lead and manage,” says Mr. Spiel. “Delegation is enormous. A team can become an extension of the dentist and help a practice become more successful, profitable and efficient.” Delegation becomes possible when dentists create the desired culture at their practices and hold all team members accountable to those standards.
2. Establishing systems. “Establish systems. Systems create predictability and reinforce values and vision,” says Mr. Spiel. Day-to-day care in a dental office should be based on a strong foundation of predictable and reliable processes. These processes will allow a practice to function at its highest level and form a strong, loyal patient base.
3. Preparing for the effects of the PPACA. Though dentistry has not been as radically altered by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act as general healthcare, changes have already been felt and more are coming.. Dental benefits are being squeezed as many businesses are cutting back on their total benefit structure in response to healthcare reform. However, effectively managed practices will adjust effectively to those changes “More than ever, communication and presentation skills must be at their highest level for all team members to overcome the initial objection of ‘Will my insurance cover that?’ says Mr. Spiel. “Providers and their teams need to professionally educate patients regarding the risk of doing nothing and explain that their dental needs will never be more affordable than they are now — or practices will become self-limiting.”
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