Daily coaching for success for your team: Review

May 7, 2010

By Rhonda R. Savage, DDS

Here is the final of five techniques to implement that will allow you to give your team the kind of feedback they not only want, but also deserve.

1. If you have been clear about your expectations, trained and coached, yet an employee is not on board, it is time for a corrective review. Do not let problems continue or one of two things will happen: morale will drop, or the other team members will model the bad behavior. A corrective review is a formal session with the issue documented on paper, clear steps written for the employee to take, and a timeline by which the employee must accomplish the task or change a behavior. Both the doctor and employee should sign the form. The corrective review is followed by another formal review to discuss progress or lack of progress. You will need clearly defined consequences to the behavior, and you must follow through if your instructions are not carried out.

There are times that staff will say, “But what if the problem is the doctor?” “What if the problem is my co-worker?” “I don’t want to be negative, but patients are complaining.” Using the feel-felt-found method, approach the doctor and ask if this is a good time, then clearly explain your motive, which normally involves doing the best for the patients and practice.

We can build confidence through daily coaching and improve the climate of our practice by creating clear expectations, then following through. Remember that people will remember you, unfortunately, not by what you do right, but by what you do wrong. With a daily focus on both positive and negative feedback, you’ll be remembered as a great leader with really good listening skills, and you’ll certainly develop the team that you deserve!

Rhonda Savage, DDS, has been in private practice for 16 years, and is the CEO for Linda L. Miles and Associates, an internationally known practice management and consulting business. Dr. Savage is a noted speaker who lectures on practice management, esthetic dentistry, women's health issues, periodontal disease, communication and marketing, and zoo dentistry. You may reach Dr. Savage at [email protected].