Leadership isn’t always easy, is it? Do you sometimes wish you had a Leadership Guide for Dental Practices to help you find your way?
Being the captain of your own ship is an opportunity not everyone has in their work. The freedom to choose the kind of practice you want to have, the kind of dentistry you want to do, the people with whom you want to surround yourself sounds great. There are aspects of it that are great, and that doesn’t mean Leadership is easy.
Building an organization on your values, your style, and your goals means there is no off- the-shelf model you can follow. No cook book from which to copy a recipe. Your practice is a reflection of you. But that doesn’t mean you have to reinvent the wheel. That doesn’t mean there are no resources from which you can draw, no help to guide you on your journey. click here to download “Improving Case Acceptance.”
The articles that appear here are designed as a guide — with questions to ask, concepts to consider, and skills to learn to help you chart your own course. Each Leadership Guide is an in-depth exploration of issues I have helped dentists work with over the years in their practices, in study clubs, in meetings and classrooms. They are dentists like you who want to lead with intention, instead of just managing the next problem. They are dentists who want to make a difference, not just fix teeth. They helped me question my assumptions about dentistry and they challenged me to see a bigger picture of what is possible through the work we do.
I can’t count the number of times I have gotten a call or email from someone asking for a copy of an article on a particular topic they want to discuss at a team meeting. These articles were written between 1996 and 2005, and they are as relevant now as they were then. I will offer them to you now, one at a time, accompanied by a new Blog Post reflecting my current thinking. The originals will have minimal editing for form, not content. If you discover details that do not fit today’s dentistry, that’s fine. I hope you will have a lively discussion about the impact of change in the past and in the future!
These Leadership Guides are both grounded in values and eminently practical. They offer skills, insights and language you can use in your day to day leadership of your practice. Each article includes a Meeting Guide with discussion questions to help you lead others; your team and your patients. You are welcome to email or download an article to share with your team, or choose a part of it you find particularly relevant for your practice and share that. Use one or more of the questions in the Meeting Guide to generate discussion and create engagement. When participation in meetings is expected and encouraged, it shows up.
I have been a writer for as long as I can remember. When I put thoughts on paper they become clearer to me, and I’m told they help others see with new eyes. I hope you will see with new eyes, and that your responses on this page will help others of us sharpen our vision for the future. These articles are my gift to you with the hope they will broaden your perspective and enliven your interactions!
