Building a strong team can make or break your practice. That's why building and supporting your team is one of the core principles of Delivering WOW.

We establish a vision and core values for our practice and build a team around us that shares our vision and values. We create systems and KPIs to help our team perform. We create office manuals, invest in training, and use technology to create consistency. We do everything we can to ensure our entire team is working together to change lives.

Even with all those things in place, it’s important to continue to look for additional ways to support our team and improve our practices. That’s why I’m always testing new things in my practice. Sometimes of those things don’t work. Others are nothing short of amazing.

A while back, I started something at our weekly meetings that has been incredible. It worked so well, I started doing it with my Delivering WOW team and shared it with my Inner Circle members, too.

The best part about it is how simple it is. In fact, all you need to do is ask your team two questions. These two questions will make your team more productive than ever. I’m not only talking about financial productivity, either. I’m talking about workday productivity. I'm talking about getting all the little things that go into running your practice done.

Here are the two questions you can ask your team to immediately boost productivity.

1. What are you most proud of this week?

With all we have on our plates, we can sometimes miss all the great things our team is doing. That’s why asking each team member what they’re most proud of is so important.

Asking your team members to share something they’re proud of gives each person an opportunity to be acknowledged. It also gives you the opportunity to publicly thank them for their hard work. Finally, talking about these things gives team members a chance to reflect on their efforts and how their efforts contribute to the business as a whole. They get to see how their contributions help your practice change lives.

This motivates each team member to go the extra mile to serve your patients in a manner consistent with your culture and core values.

For example, one week, my treatment coordinator shared how she helped a patient get financing for much-needed treatment. The patient didn’t think she’d be able to get her treatment but my treatment coordinator went the extra mile and got her financing.

Another team member shared how proud she was about helping an anxious patient. Because of her efforts, our patient felt special and her anxiety eased.

My team members got to reflect on how their efforts helped our patients improve their smiles and boost their confidence. I also got an opportunity to acknowledge and thank them in front of the rest of the team.

2. Where do you need additional support?

For many reasons, one of the hardest things for team members to do is ask us for additional support. Some want to please us so much they’re afraid to ask for help. Others might feel insecure about saying they can’t get all their tasks done or don’t know how to do something.

If they don’t ask for help, however, important tasks can be incomplete or incorrect. That’s why it’s so important to ask your team members where they need support.

One time I asked this question, a team member said she was struggling to keep up with making phone calls. One of the things we do in my practice is call each patient on their birthday. It’s a big part of our culture and really important to me that every patient gets a birthday call.

This particular week, a team member had been out sick and her work had to be done by other team members. That left my team member who normally made the calls struggling to keep up.

Before I could offer a suggestion, one of my dental assistants said she had extra time and volunteered to make the calls. This was a great moment in my practice. It was also a great moment for me to see my team members support each other that way.

Get ready to get more done.

Running a practice is a lot of work. Sometimes, even the hardest-working team members need help and encouragement. These two questions will help you put a focus on getting them the help and encouragement they need. I highly encourage you to ask your team these two questions on a regular basis. Tasks will be completed like never before. Your team will work together better than ever. And you will start to see incredible practice growth and productivity as a result.

If you want help growing, running, and marketing your practice, sign up for your 14-day trial to Delivering WOW U, where you will find my best training, systems, and strategies for building, growing, and marketing a dental practice.

You can also join my free Dental Marketing and Profits Facebook group, where thousands of dentists and I help each other build better practices. Finally, if you want even more personalized help, sign up for the next business bootcamp session, where I work with you and a small group of other dentists to implement these and more strategies into your practice.

This article originally appeared on DeliveringWow.com.