Focus on the team as well as the patient – the importance of leadership in a practice

Where there is no vision, the people perish - Proverbs 29:18

As a practice owner do you update your team regularly on how the business is going? Can you remember the last time you attended a team meeting? If you answered ‘no’ to those questions, then maybe it’s time you reflected on whether you’re fulfilling your role as a leader within the practice. Practice Plan Area Manager, Suki Singh, explains the importance of leaders being more accessible and sharing their vision with their team.

I have noticed a growing trend among practices of absent leaders. During my time spent visiting practices I am seeing evidence of the effect this is having on the team. And it’s not positive.

Team morale is one of the first casualties of absent leadership. To be able to do their job properly, team members need to know what’s expected of them. They need to understand where their role fits into the bigger picture. Without clear expectations being set, they are being set up to fail, which is more than likely what they’ll do!

Share your vision

As the owner of the business, you are (or should be!) the person with the vision for your practice. Anyone who works with you should be following the path set out by you. That’s why it’s essential to share your vision with your team and to update them regularly on progress.

You may well have a Practice Manager or a Business Manager in post who takes care of the day-to-day running of the practice. However, the vision for the business is yours, and yours alone. They can only do their job if they understand your vision. They can only do that if you articulate it to them clearly.

Many of the problems I see can be attributed to poor communication of the practice’s vision. There is a widely held belief that if information has been shared once, then there’s no need for further communication. As American columnist and author, Sydney J. Harris said: “The two words 'information' and 'communication' are often used interchangeably, but they signify quite different things. Information is giving out; communication is getting through.”

It’s been shown that hearing something once is not enough for someone to retain it. According to internal communications specialist, David Grossman of The Grossman Group, employees need to hear something three to five times before a message will sink in. That’s why regular updates are essential to have a smooth-running practice. As Winston Churchill says: “If you have an important point to make, don't try to be subtle or clever. Use a pile driver. Hit the point once. Then come back and hit it again. Then hit it a third time - a tremendous whack.”

Delegate, don’t abdicate

Too many of the practices I have visited over recent months have had principals who are ‘head down, doing the doing’. What I mean by that is they are spending most of their time on their clinical work and little or none on the team and the business. Total responsibility for the running and development of the practice is being handed to the Practice Manager or Business Manager.

Hiding away in surgery is counterproductive. It distances you from the team and makes you unapproachable. Too few principals are attending morning huddles, and regular practice meetings seem to be waning in popularity too. These gatherings are perfect opportunities for leaders to engage with their teams and update them on the progress of the business. Not attending or failing to hold them is a missed opportunity. Having an engaged team who are aware of the practice’s goals and aims makes achieving them more likely.

There seems to be a perception that it’s not appropriate for business owners to share with the team how the business is faring financially or what progress is being made towards reaching practice goals. Withholding this type of information only serves to build a culture of suspicion and fear. Team members feel excluded and unable to see what contribution they are able to make.

Being open and transparent with the team helps to develop a more inclusive atmosphere where colleagues feel able to talk to each other about things they may notice need fixing in the business. Team members feel empowered to raise issues and help to find solutions, because they know what goal they are working towards. Knowing which path you’re supposed to be following helps keep everyone moving together in the right direction.

Practice owners need to be leaders. It’s fine to delegate the management tasks to others, but the leadership role needs to remain in their possession. Cultures come from the top, so setting the tone of the business lies squarely with the leader. Contrary to popular belief, leaders are not born, leadership can be learned. If you need help to become a better leader, then there are plenty of books, articles, courses and consultants out there that can help do just that.

By being more present, you’ll be able to build the right cultures and behaviours which will result in   happier more productive team members who will want to stay working with you.

If you are interested in finding out more about how we help practices to become more profitable, call 01691 684165 or visit switch.practiceplan.co.uk/

About Suki

Suki Singh is an Area Sales Manager who has been at Practice Plan for 15 years and has 18 years’ experience in the dental industry. Practice Plan is the UK’s leading provider of practice-branded patient membership plans, partnering with over 1,800 dental practices and offering a wide range of business support services.