Hope For Dental Practice

Tuesday Tip from Pride Institute: Helping your dental team hope

March 11, 2014
Lead your dental team to hope and you will succeed

By Dr. Wayne Pernell, Senior Consultant at Pride Institute

Team members get disenchanted with certain aspects of the job. Team leaders do too.

Getting through this disenchantment is critical for business success. While some people might cling to the old because that’s all they know, most people look for some sense that there’s a better way and a new way that both challenges and supports us, and that there’s a reward for following that path.

When you hit the wall and it’s just too haaaaard (and you hear that whining voice in your head), you know it’s time to inject some hope — for yourself, your team, and those around you. Think about the times that you found yourself stuck. Then, in a flash, you found hope and worked your way out of your funk. Do you remember how you did it? If you remember, you can be the one to lead your team to new heights.

Analyze the process and you’ll discover a few key components:

First, you need to be very, very clear about what you want. I call this your envisioned positive outcome. What are you really burning to get to? Defining your end-point is essential.
Second, you need to know that you have a way there. It’s better to know that you have two or three ways to get to the outcome you set. Then, select your best option.
Third, before you begin, you have to have personal “agency.” Agency is your abilities, and more important, your belief in your abilities.

To lead a team away from hitting the wall, shoot for an outcome. Make it worthy and challenging. Make it within the scope of people’s abilities and remind all of the players how capable they really are. Set a strategy for attaining the goal, and be clear about the goal and how to achieve it.

That’s the formula for hope. It’s a learned response, not innate. We’re teased with opportunities and seek to figure out the way to retrieve the rewards that await us. Do this as a group effort, bring the team together, and you’ve instilled hope and truly served to inspire.

Well done, leader. Well done!

Dr. Wayne Pernell is not only a senior consultant at Pride Institute, he’s also the author of the book “Choosing Your Power,” available at Barnes & Noble and Amazon in hardcover, paperback, and Kindle editions.

-----------------------------------------------------------
PAST TUESDAY TIPS:
Involve the whole dental team in marketing efforts
Dental pros CAN achieve a work-life balance
What to know before hiring an SEO pro for your dental practice
----------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday Tips from Pride Institute are provided weekly on their Facebook page as well as in this column in DentistryIQ. To ensure you don’t miss any of Pride Institute’s proven methods to take your practice to the next level, visit prideinstitute.com, and like them on Facebook.