Who helped you get where you are? Think of your best accomplishments, your proudest moments and where you are now. When you think of these things, you probably imagine a consistent leader or mentor who helped you achieve your goals. Like other parts of life, when it comes to better dental practice management, great leadership is a necessity.
While self-determination and other factors definitely play strong roles in success, it’s hard for institutions or individuals to reach their full potential without a bit of help from a good leader.
To get the most from your practice, you need to lead your team through both good times and bad.
Let’s take a look at why a strong and organized leadership is so important.
Better Dental Practice Management Means Handling Stress
One reason good leadership is so important is because it helps control the atmosphere of your practice.
For example, good leaders can reduce stress within the workplace. Now, a little bit of stress isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It can motivate workers, or push them towards reaching higher goals, depending on the scenario.
This doesn’t mean stress you should ever intentionally cause stress, but gently pushing your team further doesn’t directly correlate with bad leadership.
However, in times of crisis or important procedures, stress takes on a more negative role. It can cause workers to make mistakes they wouldn’t usually make, and generally takes a toll on everyone’s well-being.
This sort of stress can spread like a cancer until it feels like an unsolvable problem.
Good leaders help prevent and alleviate that sort stress. When you demonstrate a calm demeanor during stressful times, your team will likely follow suit.
“My shift lead is calm, so things must be okay,” is the message you want your employees to feel. It’s a comforting thought, and helps people relax and focus on the task at hand.
Organization and delegation also remain critical for better dental practice management.
When employees constantly spend time wondering who should be doing what task and when, frustration, confusion, and chaos creeps into your operations. A leader who can kindly provide answers to these questions eliminates the stress of uncertainty many workers may experience.
Good leadership can also prevent conflict (or at least its escalation) in the workplace.
Good leaders quickly address conflict, and reinforce shared goals among the team.
By demonstrating these abilities, you workers will feel more inclined to go to you with concerns or to ask questions – before real problems arise.
When workers don’t feel comfortable doing this, drama becomes much more likely.
Achieving Common Goals
Better dental practice management also entails creating an atmosphere of shared goals.
And, strong leaders know how to achieve this ideal.
First, consider some traits of an ideal leader. They’re probably success-driven and productive, right? When the person managing your office demonstrates these traits, they tend to encourage those around them towards a similar work ethic.
For better dental practice management, offer mentorship, and set an example for the people around you. If everyone in your office picks up on these habits, you’ll have a unified team, all pushing for success.
This, in turn, leads to better patient care, more financial success, and prevents your office from growing stagnant.
Stronger Leaders Help Relax Patients
Your employees aren’t the only ones who benefit from stronger leadership qualities. Your patients do, too.
It’s a common stereotype that people get nervous when they visit the dentist. Like it or not, your chairside manners play a huge role in their view of your practice, and dentists overall.
Just like a good leader can reduce the stress of their teammates, a good leader in the dental industry helps instill a comfortable feeling in their patients.
Present yourself as cool and collected, maintain a professional, but friendly demeanor. When combined with a well-organized office, patients react much more favorably.
The patient who visits your office, feels comfortable, and recognizes they’re visiting a place where people truly care, is the patient who gladly returns.
Keep these factors in mind. (click image for article)
Better Dental Practice management takes true effort
There are countless reasons it’s important to enforce good leadership in your office and to focus on either hiring them, or being one yourself. These are just a few.
Keep them in mind as you continue to set goals for yourself and your office. If you’re instilling leadership skills in yourself and your team, the benefits will keep pouring in.
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About First Choice Dental Lab
First Choice Dental Lab is a full-service dental lab with locations in Downers Grove, Il. & Wauwatosa, Wi.
We manufacture & customize quality dental restorations for general dentists. We create smiles based on your needs and budget.
We’re here to help you give your patients a reason to smile!
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