“…pilots fly the airplane, they don’t make the airplane fly.” 1
Consider
the implications of those words. I believe you would you agree that
pilots are necessary for the functional capability of an aircraft.
Of course, they’re the hands-on essential for guiding the aircraft into the natural principles that lift it off the ground.
But are pilots also indispensable? Consider their indispensability as it relates to the aircraft itself.
Planes
fly as the direct result of other natural or organic forces at work.
Wind, lift, thrust, and a host of other aerodynamic principles play a
role.
The point?
You lead or are in the process of leading a
mid to large group dentrepreneurial organization. If you’re taking
flight in that direction or trying to stay airborne it’s essential that
you understand your role and that of your team(s).
You (the Dentrepreneur®?) fly the “plane.” But…you don’t make the “plane” fly.
That
idea is either a refreshing lift to your leadership psyche or it feels
diminishing. (Hint: it’s preferable that you guide your thoughts in the
direction of the former.)
The problem of the limited capacity dentist
Leadership challenges have “grounded the flights” of many ambitious dentists.
Why?
You
were trained in certain disciplines appropriate to your field of health
care and related treatment. Then one day you felt the call to expand
your enterprise and BAM!, you needed a new set of skills.
You, as a Dentrepreneur®?, need a unique skill set.
Leading a dental organization of any measurable size requires clinical expertise plus leadership expertise. TWEET THIS
Dentists can lead but not all dentists are leaders. The BIG question: who are you?
Becoming a full-capacity leader-dentist
1-Develop an insatiable capacity for ideas
Your take-flight capacity requires the “lift” of fresh thinking.
You can’t build a thriving dentrepreneurial organization on stale, outdated, culturally irrelevant thinking. TWEET THIS
Think free. Think fresh.
Expose yourself to contrarian ideas. Give yourself permission to try and fail.
Ideas
that transform organizations of any size rarely emerge in the safety of
the status quo. The air is thinner the higher you fly but the
perspective is much better.
2-Create an organization with a discerning capacity for scalable values
Timeless, evergreen values are what you’re after. Like software, occasional updates are required.
Develop and implement your ideas into cultural values that scale. Scalability is the capacity of your values to be easily implemented and aligned throughout your organization.
Scalable
values are fluid. They glide on the lift created by your leadership and
are managed by your team and department leaders.
Test every idea
that galvanizes into a value. Does it have wings to fly for a sustained
period of time throughout your growing organization?
If so, develop it. If not, give it less attention.
3-Empower your team members with a compelling capacity for sustainable energy
It
requires a significant amount of thrust to lift an aircraft off the
ground. Thus the sound you hear as the pilot pushes the throttle forward
at take-off.
Not so much is required when cruising altitude is reached. The plane levels, the pilot’s role changes, and the flight continues.
Energy
sustains both the take-off and the cruising altitude. One type of
energy lifts another guides and sustains necessary altitude.
As a Dentrepreneur®? your energy is essential to the organization. Sometimes it provides lift and other times it’s guidance. TWEET THIS
More important is that you empower your team members to recognize their energy and give them permission to infuse the organization with it. It will create the long term capacity to reach new destinations.
That’s what it’s about, really. And we’re hear to help you “fly” as far as possible.
Stay tuned. There’s more KNOW GROW SCALE insight to come.
In the meantime, contact us about your “flight-plans.”
Source:
1,
George Labovitz and Victor Rosansky, The Power of Alignment-How Great
Companies Stay Centered and Accomplish Extraordinary Things, p. 165