A common mistake that many people new to dental office management make is focusing on the wrong things. Spend too much time pursuing the wrong goals and objectives and you wind up going backwards, then working late trying to make up lost ground. There are a couple of quick tips you can use to help get yourself on firmer footing though.
The 80/20 Principle If you're not familiar with the 80/20 Principle, it's based on the idea that 80% of your productivity is going to come from 20% of your efforts. Focusing that 20% on the things that will see you make the most progress in your day-to-day tasks will take you quite some distance toward getting a better handle on your day and the office in general.
Principles of Leadership: this is more than just theory, although there is a healthy dose of that here. The bottom line though, is that being a leader is much more than simply barking orders at subordinates and expecting that things will get done as a consequence. The leadership role is as much servant and guide as it is leader, an important aspect that too many who lack formal training miss.
Team Unification: It is much easier to lead a group of people who are united in a common purpose than it is to lead a collection of individuals, each with their own agenda. As the owner of the practice, you have the opportunity to establish that common purpose by clearly defining the core values of your practice.
The benefits are manifold, but among them are the fact that you'll more consistently get favorable reviews on social media, which you can use to further your own marketing efforts, and the fact that you'll begin to see an increasing number of referrals - and why not? Once your new patients see how painless it is to become a new patient of yours, of course they'll be inclined to recommend you to friends and family.
Empowerment: Finally, by definition, a leader has to lead. That means empowering those under him to make decisions, guided and directed by the will of the leader, as described by the core values of your practice. The most common outcome for doctors who don't empower their employees is that they get backed into the corner of micromanagement. From here, they try (and inevitably fail) to do everything that keeps the office running, in addition to performing procedures. A fully empowered team of employees needs only periodic feedback and clarification from you, along with your trust in them that they'll do a good job acting on your behalf. An office of disempowered employees is a miserable place to work, and is almost certainly doomed to fail. The two-day team development course covers all of these topics, and more. These are not difficult skills to learn, though you can spend a lifetime mastering them. Do an honest assessment of yourself as a leader? If you find that you are lacking in this area, then the Team Building course can dramatically improve the overall performance of your practice. For complete details, see our page here: http://schustercenter.com/courses/people-system/
The 80/20 Principle If you're not familiar with the 80/20 Principle, it's based on the idea that 80% of your productivity is going to come from 20% of your efforts. Focusing that 20% on the things that will see you make the most progress in your day-to-day tasks will take you quite some distance toward getting a better handle on your day and the office in general.
Principles of Leadership: this is more than just theory, although there is a healthy dose of that here. The bottom line though, is that being a leader is much more than simply barking orders at subordinates and expecting that things will get done as a consequence. The leadership role is as much servant and guide as it is leader, an important aspect that too many who lack formal training miss.
Team Unification: It is much easier to lead a group of people who are united in a common purpose than it is to lead a collection of individuals, each with their own agenda. As the owner of the practice, you have the opportunity to establish that common purpose by clearly defining the core values of your practice.
The benefits are manifold, but among them are the fact that you'll more consistently get favorable reviews on social media, which you can use to further your own marketing efforts, and the fact that you'll begin to see an increasing number of referrals - and why not? Once your new patients see how painless it is to become a new patient of yours, of course they'll be inclined to recommend you to friends and family.
Empowerment: Finally, by definition, a leader has to lead. That means empowering those under him to make decisions, guided and directed by the will of the leader, as described by the core values of your practice. The most common outcome for doctors who don't empower their employees is that they get backed into the corner of micromanagement. From here, they try (and inevitably fail) to do everything that keeps the office running, in addition to performing procedures. A fully empowered team of employees needs only periodic feedback and clarification from you, along with your trust in them that they'll do a good job acting on your behalf. An office of disempowered employees is a miserable place to work, and is almost certainly doomed to fail. The two-day team development course covers all of these topics, and more. These are not difficult skills to learn, though you can spend a lifetime mastering them. Do an honest assessment of yourself as a leader? If you find that you are lacking in this area, then the Team Building course can dramatically improve the overall performance of your practice. For complete details, see our page here: http://schustercenter.com/courses/people-system/
About the Author:
Get the soft skills needed for office management and team building from the Schuster Center.