Today, I’m going to talk about the importance and critical nature of doing whatever you can to empower your team – and in doing so, you’ll not only reduce frustration, stress, and inconsistency, but as a result you’ll also gain the power to control your own destiny.
Note that nowhere did I say “motivate the team” – empowerment is all about leadership and more effective, decisive, confident leadership translates into a more effective, decisive, confident team.
The key to empowering your team begins first with understanding the reality it’s your practice and not theirs. Yes, once in a while there will be a team member who will literally go all in with you, as if the practice was their own. That’s certainly wonderful, but it’s just too few and far between to rely on as a foundational strategy.
Fundamentally, your role is critical and it’s to lead the team as its Quarterback. I can’t come up with a better analogy than this one. You chose to be the Quarterback – so be it. Run onto the field, lead the Huddle, call the plays, and orchestrate the action on the field so that you have the very best chance to score and to win.
The Quarterback takes responsibility for knowing how to win because they are the highest paid players on the field. You either step up and own that responsibility, or you put your success and outcomes into the hands of others and be completely at the mercy of the day instead of in control over it.
To do this right, you don’t have to do it all, you don’t have to do everything, you just have to know how to inspire your team to want to own their responsibilities and to go above and beyond with their actions for the day.
This always begins by setting the tone for the day, which means you must set expectations. This is critical because most people want to do well, they just need to know what “well” means. It is seldom defined other than haphazardly and left up to their perception. So make certain expectations are established with total clarity.
And expectation #1 is that YOU own the highest level and most valuable responsibilities there are in your business.
That word is key, by the way, ‘YOUR’ business.
It’s good news because it means that you get to decide what you want it to look like, how you want to operate it, the type of results it produces, and the lifestyle you want it to deliver. But the thing is, all of ‘that’ comes with this – YOUR responsibilities.
The star player on the team wants the ball, wants to win the game, and wants to be the hero. Yes, you want a team of star players around you, but that does not mean you can delegate or abdicate the success that YOU desire.
Here’s the thing, and I know it may be hard to deal with but, you also need to have realistic expectations with your team members. You see, just because someone is paid to work doesn’t mean they have a complete understanding of what ‘quality’ or ‘productive’ or ‘effective’ work is. That’s not just in your practice but in life in general.
Again, total clarity across the entire team is critical. Understand that people only know what they know, what experiences they have had, and what lessons they have learned. Of course, it is easy for us to say a “good person is a hard worker” and that a “person of character will do positive things.” That is all subjective statements and beliefs.
This is only corrected when you have clearly defined, outcome-driven expectations of both what their responsibilities are and what the results of those responsibilities should look like. From there, you also have to build the bridge between the two to make clear what success actually means. It’s also a lot more effective if they too have some reward for winning too.
Here’s what is REALLY IMPORTANT to Understand: Simple Shifts In Leadership Can Produce Outstanding Results.
Providing comprehensive care, inspiring a team, and running a profitable practice is more challenging than ever before. Time, resources, and money are at a premium. Far too many Doctors are working longer hours for less money and their day is filled with constant team frustrations.
In fact, this is the single biggest complaint I get from Doctors day in and day out… that is, other doctors. NOT “my” Doctors because I’ve fixed all of this for them. Dissipated their frustrations, removed their Team Challenges, and fired up their people like never before to take ownership and action for practice growth.
I will, I want to, do the same for you.
That’s why I’ve created a brand new LIVE 4-Hour Masterclass training taking place Friday, September 29th, that will allow you to unlock breakthrough levels of leadership, achievement, autonomy, independence, and prosperity.
Click Here to Learn More About the Live Masterclass…
Remember, it’s your practice and you get to establish your own unique “way of doing things” that doesn’t have to model or mirror or reflect anything another doctor does or something you read somewhere telling you how things should be done.
It’s up to YOU, which means you get to define, create, and cultivate a team composed of specialists who take pride in their shared ownership of a practice culture that goes way beyond and is far MORE THAN “dentistry” – otherwise each will never think of their role as anything more than a job / a position / some tasks I have to do / etc.
Not all people care to do well. We’re not here to judge them. Still, they have no place on your team. People MUST appreciate the opportunity to be in your practice and to be a part of something that is more than just a “job.” Those are the only kind of people that we can accept.
On the flip side, you must create a place that cultivates and nurtures those kinds of people. That means having an environment that is a place they want to be in, feeds professional growth, drives good energy, and inspires them to want to become great and do great things.
This is vitally important. It is always so strange to me why there are not more patients being referred by team members month in and month out. The most obvious and immediate question every person is asked in social settings is, “What do you do?” If Team Members were truly passionate about what was going on in your practice, they would be talking about and proudly referring more patients.
I want to restate the fact that most Team Members thrive and want to be challenged. They want to pursue their own ambitions in their lives outside of dentistry and we want this to be a vehicle for them to do so. This is what ‘leadership’ really is about.
My question to you is: do you know who your team members are? Do you really know them? Do you understand their personalities and what drives them?
Do you know that most team members don’t leave because of things going on in the office but things going on out of the office? In order to reduce turnover, you want to have people who are committed to your practice, not just committed to a job and a paycheck so that you can weather the things that will inevitably go on in their life.
Next question: what are you doing to inspire your team to do well?
Bonuses and incentives are a part of it. Aren’t they for you? If you were capped at what you could earn every month, would you work as hard? Most would meet the goal and stop. How can you expect others to do or act any differently?
On top of that, it’s fun to have contests and to compete against your best records. Having fun can drive performance.
Yes, it’s work, and it should be work. I’m the biggest preacher of reality regarding what it takes to be successful. You are paid for a reason – not to be happy – to perform.
Still, the theme is that winning should be fun, acknowledged, and celebrated.
I have said it before, and I will say it again: your Team Members are your first patients. The more you take care of them, the more they will take care of your Patients. Everyone will thrive and take the initiative to perform at a high level in order to create results.
In fact, here’s just a small list of the powerful points I’ll be covering in my upcoming Masterclass I’ve called…
The 5 Keys to Breakthrough Leadership – Simple Shifts Guaranteed to Empower Your Team, Accelerate Growth and Unleash Your Practice’s Potential for Limitless Prosperity
During this 4-Hour Live, interactive, online Masterclass you can look forward and expect to experience:
Non-Negotiables of the Self-Managed Practice… imagine the relief of knowing that things will “JUST GET DONE” without you ever having to intervene.
The secret to spending fewer hours in the office, while still taking home more income — all without burnout, stress, chaos, or turnover (but it all hinges on private practice ownership).
The ultimate hiring process for reliably getting maximum results and finding the perfect fit for YOUR practice… with EVERY team member a TOP producer you can rely on day in, day out.
3 secrets to keeping the right people for life — how to “invest” in your KEY players so they remain with you forever.
The most effective way to delegate — the right way to get critical tasks off your plate without having to waste a moment micro-managing.
The keys to effective leadership without changing who you really are — you won’t have to play pretend to get things done, you can establish authority naturally and with ease.
The importance of having a Champion… your practice is practically rudderless without this key role getting filled by just the right person.
The absolute best way to transform your private practice into a long-term financial asset that generates wealth for you long after your final day at the office.
The fastest ways to overcome the obstacles holding you back from your greatest potential, prosperity, and peace of mind.
And much more besides…
Click Here to Learn More About the Live Masterclass…
Okay, so let’s review. The first step to motivating your team is having the right people – people that respond to motivation and who want to do well.
Second, you must have clear expectations of the results that they are responsible for and they have to have the tools, understanding, training and resources to be able to achieve them.
Third, you must make it personal for your team by attaching the practice’s success to their success. This requires grasping the reality that they have a life outside of the practice. You can use that to your advantage, or you can let it be the most significant detriment to you.
Fourth, you want to have ways for your team to win (money, holidays, whatever you want). Everyone asks me “what bonus is the best,” and there is no “best bonus.” There is the most appropriate and effective bonus structure for you and your team. This is why I customize everything and don’t believe in cookie-cutter approaches. They simply don’t work.
Fifth, remember the point and the purpose of the Huddle (and any meeting for that matter) is that every person has clarity for how they are going to help your team win. This goes beyond just completing their tasks. They must have awareness of how they are helping each other and working together to achieve the goals for the day.
I could keep going but that’s enough to think about – and the last thing I would say is this…
With your team, you want winners. Winners are people that have it inside of them innately to want to do well, to care about outcomes, to have character, to think beyond just themselves and, most importantly, to have some personal pride of contribution.
So do whatever it takes to become the leader, doctor, owner that your team wants to win for. Nothing will create more total empowerment than you leading by example.
The goal of every business built on the backs of one central person (as is the case for most Doctors reading this), is to use everything and everyone else around you to their highest and best use of their time, skill, potential in order to serve your interests of being at your highest and best use of your time, skill, potential. How well you are at doing that is the ultimate question.
You at your highest and best use of time is the single most important attainment we can possibly have in your practice. Your productivity matters above all others because your responsibilities outweigh (not outnumber) everyone else’s. As it should be.
I challenge you to step up as more than just doctor and business owner by default and move to purposefully leading your team to victory!
I say it’s time to Take Back Control Over Your Future and Start Practicing Dentistry on Your Own Terms…
My 4-hour Masterclass will reveal the simple shifts guaranteed to empower your team, accelerate growth, and unleash your practice’s potential for limitless prosperity.
Don’t miss this opportunity to join me on Friday, September 29th.
“This event has been SPECTACULAR! We’ve taken away things we’ve never imagined before; things we can implement right away that’ll build our practice and make our team so happy.
There’s only one thing that I’m really unhappy about… That I didn’t meet Scott 10 years ago.” – Dr. Brian Handel in Pennsylvania
