What makes a great Leader of a Dental Practice?
A simple exercise to do is to think of a Leader who you admire in business and list that persons’ qualities. When I run this exercise on my programmes, most people select Richard Branson and come up with a list which includes charisma, personable, shows empathy, good listener, outstanding communicator, positive attitude, shows a genuine interest and the list goes on. Very rarely does product knowledge appear on the list. You can be an outstanding clinician, but it does not necessary make you a great Leader. If you look at the above list, then you can safely say they are just as important in a Leader of a Dental Practice as well. A successful leader of a Dental Practice not only needs to have outstanding clinical skills, but also needs to demonstrate World Class Leadership and that is where the problem lies. From my experience of training Dentists over the last 16 years, most training income is spent developing clinical skills, but very rarely is money spent on developing Leadership and the softer skills of communication and managing people.
So what is leadership, and what is the difference between leadership and management?
In a nutshell, the difference between leadership and management is:
• Leadership is setting a new direction or vision for a group that they follow, i.e. a leader is the spearhead for that new direction.
• Management controls or directs people/resources in a group according to principles or values that have already been established.
The difference between Leadership and Management can be illustrated by considering what happens when you have one without the other.
Let’s say we take Leadership without Management. The Leader sets a direction, and creates a powerful vision, but does not consider how the new direction is going to be achieved. Other people then have to work hard in the trail that is left behind, picking up the pieces and trying to make it work.
Management controls resources and manages the status quo, or ensures that things happen according to already-established plans, such as a referee manages a sports game, but does not usually provide “leadership” because there is no new change, no new direction – the referee is controlling resources to ensure that the laws of the game are followed and status quo is maintained.
When you have Leadership combined with Management, then you hit the bulls eye. You get a new direction and vision and you also have the Management of the resources and people to make it happen. One without the other, then you will fail.
Often over dinner with clients, am asked what are the most important attributes a Leader can possess?
In my opinion, one of the most important traits of Leadership is getting the best out of your team. You see, many Leaders think that people come to their work and the most important thing to them is the money. Money is a very important factor, however, once a person has had a pay rise, the benefits only last one month once they have seen the difference in their pay cheque. People come to work for other things as well. For example most people want to be involved in interesting work, being involved in decision making, being part of something special. Of course everyone wants a pat on the back for doing a good job. We all crave for appreciation. You might throw away a salary slip, but you will never throw away a thank you card from the boss. So if this is what people want in their workplace, then if we concentrate on what they want, then you will not only meet the needs of your team, but your needs will also get met as well, as your team will go the extra mile for you to help reach your goals. In 1937 Dale Carnegie wrote a book called How to Win Friends & Influence People and in there are 36 human relations principles on dealing with and getting the best out of your people. Although it was written over 75 years ago it is still as relevant today as it was then. If you follow these principles, you will not go wrong as a Leader.
When I am working with my clients on strategy I strongly suggest that they hold a regular team meeting, listen to their ideas and take them on board. Your team have loads of ideas in their heads; they are just waiting to be asked. A recent example of this was a Specialist client of mine from Glasgow who wanted to make changes in the way the reception answered the telephone and also abandon the idea of having an answer machine in the practice. Rather than telling the team they were going to abandon the answer machine, he arranged a team meeting and asked the team for their thoughts. By the end of the meeting, not only had the team decided that they would not put the answer machine on anymore, but they came up with the staff rota to cover the telephones for the next three months. Because it was all their idea, the new change happened.
That is true leadership in action.
To summarize
1. Develop a powerful vision and share with your team
2. Get them involved in day to day decision making and ensure as much as possible your team are involved in interesting work.
3. Listen attentively to their ideas. People will always run with their own ideas, rather than yours. Nobody likes to be told what to do.
4. Praise your team, people crave appreciation.
5. Arrange on going team meetings and set goals for your practice.
