There is a tried and true process called the “Management Circle” that can set you on the path for great leadership. The Management Circle (empower, verify, follow up, adjust) demonstrates how we can approach the day-to-day organization and running of our practices. This management style places emphasis on individual performance and focuses on training our employees to be their absolute best. Here is how it works:
- Empower. After we hire the right employee and train them well, we grant them the trust to go out and perform their responsibilities. Employee empowerment means allowing members of your team to act autonomously (Staff Ownership explained in The Super General Dental Practice book) in their work and make decisions on their own. This level of trust ultimately fosters honest leadership, open communication and employee job satisfaction. It involves trusting your employees so that they feel confident and empowered enough to perform to the best of their abilities.
- Verify. While we trust our staff members by empowering them to do their jobs, we also verify their work through measurement and benchmarks. How you verify an employee’s work is completely up to you, and likely depends on your level of trust in an individual’s abilities. Verification keeps employees on point, engaged, and eager to perform. An added benefit in giving you added peace of mind when it comes to them performing their duties.
- Follow up. It is essential that you follow up with each staff member on a regular basis to ensure clarity and continued success. Following up involves communicating with staff members in order to assess performance and confirm their engagement and competence. The other side of the coin is that this also provides your employees with the opportunity to speak openly about the challenges and successes they face during the performance of their jobs each day.
- Adjust. The next and last crucial step in the management circle is adjusting. This involves taking action in regards to any deficiencies in hiring or training methods. More simply, it means changing anything that isn’t consistently working or giving you the results you need to insure the success of your practice/business.
Keep in mind that this Management Circle never really is complete. You empower, verify, follow up, and adjust and then you start all over. I can’t stress strongly enough that you must craft your vision and systems to compete in today’s Dental Economy. Secondly, I want you to go www.supergeneralpractice.com and get your free digital copy and read it again for the first time. That is how you Summit.
Michael Abernathy, DDS
972-523-4660 cell
[email protected]
PS – If there is a topic or area you would like to hear about be sure and drop me a text or email. Also, I truly appreciate all of the kind words from those of you that have taken time to shop for your supplies, equipment, accounting, tax, and consulting needs at www.bestfordentistry.com. I especially am proud of the emails that detail the thousands of dollars per month doctors are now putting in their own pockets instead of sending their dental supply company reps kids to private schools and expensive vacations. Most of these long tenured reps are getting 25% commissions that elevate the cost of supplies and goods when you buy from them. We still need these supplies, equipment and services. We just don’t need a “middleman” that adds 30%-50% to the cost. If you have not already done it, be sure and join the largest group of independent dentists in the US. We are working to save our profession from corporate America. It is time to stand up, and spend your time and money in places that guarantee the preservation of the independent practice of Dentistry.