“Henry Ford was a genius when it came to automobiles and the methods of mass production, but I believe his understanding of the worker was limited when he asked, ‘Why is it that I always get the whole person, when what I really want is a pair of hands?’” 1
Ford’s comment illustrates a common problem. Guard your growing dental enterprise from being a victim of it.
It’s about protecting the “soul” of your dental group’s culture. Soul defines your attitude about your vision, your team, how you lead and manage it, and most important - how you function as the CEO.
Again, it would be easy to default to clinician. This is the safe zone of your “former life.”
As a Dentrepreneur®?you’re still clinically invested. But your mindset is that of CEO. TWEET THIS
We’ve discussed this delicate balance in previous posts. I recommend you process through this at the earliest stages of dentrepreneurial growth.
Why “soul” is worth protecting
Soul implies a renewed sense of ownership. It’s personal to you and everyone you invite into it.
Soul drives what you do more than worn-out, dated management and leadership practices.
Your team will respond with greater allegiance if you keep a soulful balance in your leadership as a Dentrepreneur®?. TWEET THIS
And…don’t miss this…
Soul is scalable. You can’t always scale certain processes and systems.
In fact, I recommend you narrow yours down to those that are most easy to scale and jettison the rest.
But soul scales because you can compel the hearts of your group and their individual teams. You do this by valuing their contribution to the vision you’ve established.
It also helps that you value different expressions of their energy. Instead of a checklist mindset you monitor a team member’s personal ownership of your culture.
“People are playing different instruments with different parts, but when they perform together from the same musical score, they produce beautiful music. They produce value.” 2
Two Values that Re-energize, Restore, and Renew the “Soul” of Your Dental Group Culture
1-Patient Value
Remember why you do what you do. It’s about those you and your dental group treat day in day out.
Avoid patient-entropy. This means not taking them for granted or as merely a means to your corporate “end” (bottom-line).
I realize that technically a patient is perceived as “production.” Yet, prevent this from defining your treatment protocols.
Keep it soulful by keeping the humanity in every chair side conversation, every treatment plan, and certainly every procedure and related follow-up (including financials).
Never allow production goals to drive how you treat a patient. Stay extremely self-aware about this.
The true-north of patient value must often be re-calibrated into yours and your team’s mindset. Otherwise, you’ll entropy into a production-minded machine that does dentistry instead of giving people value through dentistry.
2-Ownership Value
Ultimately, your team(s) will thrive as they understand how each team member’s individual role contributes to empowering the entire organization. It’s the difference in being (or feeling like) an employee verses a stakeholder.
A stakeholder mindset is empowering. A mere employee mindset can be diminishing with little if any empowerment.
Make it a priority to improve the ownership stake that each team member holds in your dental enterprise.
As a Dentrepreneur®?, be as vigilant to value an individual’s contribution to the vision as you do your personal role in the vision. TWEET THIS
A tall order no doubt. But the returns will outlast and outdistance the employee-like culture of many dental group cultures (who by their lack of soulfulness, in this instance, have a revolving door of team member turnover).
Remember: soul scales and it’s worth protecting. Join our growing community of soulful Dentrepreneurs®?.
Source:
1, C. William Pollard, The Soul of the Firm, p. 25
2, p. 33