Last week, we talked about what you find beneath the surface of the very best teams. In every case, it is their continuous decision and commitment to being successful and accepting the challenge of never-ending improvement. This is brought to life by the daily actions they take and this next requirement we’ll discuss today.
The next divide that separates the dysfunctional teams (who are constantly dealing with same issues over and over resulting in inconsistent and stagnant outcomes) and the high-performing teams (who use a constructive culture and an attitude of winning to deliver ever-increasing results) is…
Communication.
Yes, communication is a choice also. It doesn’t happen on its own as you have to make an intentional effort to engage in effective communication. Most teams are entirely reactive in their communication. It happens with both Doctors and Teams. They either never make time to communicate or only communicate when it’s something negative. This means there is seldom any reflecting and bringing attention to the positive behaviors and outcomes. And as you well know, you get more of what you focus on.
This includes your morning huddles or end of day meeting or weekly check-ins or monthly trainings or quarterly deep dives – ideally all of the above. You have to step back to evaluate your system for communication and determine how effective is it at generating results with your patients.
However, it goes beyond just meetings. It goes deep into the culture of your practice… from your triangles of trust throughout your patient experience to how you help each other out and convey information to one another.
The best teams don’t rely on reading each other’s minds, they have committed to have consistent and constructive communication built into their practice so that they are able to be as future focused as possible and proactive at all times.
Inefficiencies and mistakes mostly come from ineffective communication and breakdown in systems. This results in your duplication of effort by having to do tasks over or fix things that were not done right the first time. I’m sure you are aware, extra work brings extra stress. When we get it done right the first time around you save time, reduce stress, and allows everyone to be at peak performance.
And since you are not working completely in solitude and independent from all other – the one thing that links you together with everyone else around you is communication.
That is the goal of this Monday Huddle, it’s to help you communicate more effectively and keep a focus on the high value functions that will make the greatest difference for you and your patients. Ultimately, it’s about helping you to work smarter not harder.
Dental Success Today is founded on the principle of growing people in order to grow practices. That includes every individual who makes up your practice: you, your team, and your patients.
At the end of the day, the best way to grow people is by improved communication that reinforces positives, increases confidence, eliminates mistakes, and elevates performance.
How effective you are at this is either the anchor holding your back from realizing your full potential or the sail thrusting you forward as you achieve results you never thought were possible.
When you follow these philosophies and embrace our approach, you will find that not only are you saving time, reducing stress, and improving outcomes (in terms of your ability to diagnose, educate patients, get case acceptance, increase collections, and everything else), but you are creating a positive and rewarding environment for everyone you serve – which leads us into our discussion next week. Stay Tuned…
