Why Teams Fail – Part 1 of 3

I’d say “fail” is all a matter of perspective.

For the sake of our time here today, I’ll define “fail” as…

anything less than optimal performance
falling short of daily goals
losing or missing patient opportunities
having drama, miscommunication, lack of focus
not taking initiative, caring as if it were their own type of mentality
Let’s get three things straight right up front.

The bad news…

You get what you expect, so pretty much, whatever the status is within the office…it’s your fault. You’re the boss, leader, owner, if you hired them it’s all on you, if you had someone else hire them it’s all on you.

If you are negligent or they are, it’s all you.

If you accept, ignore, or live in denial about the potential versus reality it does come back to the leader.

A great coach once said…”If the teams wins, we have awesome players…great job, they worked hard and deserve it…if the team loses, it comes down to the coach not doing an effective job.”

Here’s my point.

You don’t have to dwell on it – you just have to make it worth it.

You want to be the leader because the leader makes the biggest impact, the most money, has the brightest most autonomous and independent future.

Without your team…you’re a slave to your practice…with your team, sometimes you might still be a slave to your practice.

Okay. Enough negativity, though I don’t consider it negative, I consider it accurate thinking.

Here’s the good news…

They are people. It can be better. They are predictable. They want to be led.

It’s a Dental Practice we’re talking about…no offense, but, it’s like not that complicated compared to other businesses in healthcare or outside of healthcare.

You are there, they are there, that’s a step in the right direction, under one roof, can’t be that difficult.

This is the best part – THEY WANT TO WIN or they will leave. It usually isn’t their lack of desire it’s their lack of focused, accountable, performance-based direction and follow-through.

We can fix that.

Today…will be the first of a 3 part series.

We start with WHY TEAMS FAIL then we go to HOW TO FIX THEM and then finally I’m going to share with you how to make them great, get them driving your practice forward relentlessly and performing at levels you’ve only dreamed of or heard others brag about.

In all the situations and every single practice I’ve ever seen the team dynamic and effectiveness or lack thereof usually comes down to a combination of these 4 things.

1. They lack direction, a vision

This is the biggest one, it really is. If your team can’t say “where the practice is going” what it’s goals are, why it exists, and sell YOU as a Dentist you are in trouble.

Think about it, would you get on an airplane whose destination you did not know. Well they aren’t going to be able to focus on doing anything really powerful if they aren’t buying into or aware of what exactly they are suppose to be focusing on and where they are going.

Mission, Vision, Direction, Passion – these things matter…it’s what they do for a living but it should not just be a JOB.

Here’s the secret that no Dentist wants to admit, their motivation and passion will be about as great as yours, so, maybe just maybe, check yourself before you check them and then gather everyone up and let’s make sure we’re all moving the same direction going to the same place and get everyone excited about it.

2. They have no performance standard and reward or punishment

Look, this is why practices underperform. Plain and simple because no one is asked or expected to perform. I mean really, what numbers do you look at – ones from the past I would imagine.

When is the last time you sat down and took each person one at a time and said…

Here is how I judge your level of success.
Here is why that is.
On a daily basis we’re going to look at these one, two, three things.
And then if you don’t get them this is what happens and if you do this happens.
Okay.

You aren’t going to just wake up and have TEAM VICTORIES – sorry – get over it.

You get INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCE added up to the Team’s Victory.

And very few people focus on this.

If they do, maybe it’s quarterly or 2x a year – they must know how they can be successful, be given benchmarks, reasons, tools and then accountability.

They will succeed or they will go into free agency and maybe or maybe not be picked up by someone else. Not your problem.

You owe it to yourself, your patients, your team members that want to win to follow this critical piece.

3. Sabotage, distraction, disagreement

One line, one statement, one person.

Usually that’s what it is…one person who is negative, doesn’t fit, too controlling, old school, selfish, vindictive or whatever and they sabotage everything and everyone. They don’t always know they are doing it – but they do.

And then it gets worse because someone will find safe haven becoming their friend and then you will have two.

When this happens you have two choices…confront it, call them out, give them an ultimatum and a chance for change, controlled, time bound, performance based.

Or you fire them on the spot.

Stop being held hostage, it’s stupid, immature, and lacks professional responsibility and fortitude. It’s not just you they are affecting, your family, your health, your patients, your most valuable asset you have ever created.

4. Communication and relationship

Yes. This is the secret sauce. I’m going to tell you all about it next week. Here’s the thing. Just know this. You treat your patients like humans…how about your staff. You have two sets of customers in your life (well actually 3 but that’s a topic for another time), one who pays you and one who you pay. They all need nurturing and communication and relationship.

Imagine if you did nothing but walk around the office grunting all day and never speaking. Well that’s about what clinical chatter and patient talk is like not much better – you have to connect with your people personally.

Or you have to have someone who will and they do it for you. If you don’t want it to just be a job, show up, go home, get it over with, do just enough to get by kind of a thing then you have to get them engaged, show them you care and appreciate them, and make it mean something to them.

Please think through these assess yourself and get ready for next week.