Take Your Shot by Dave Striegel

Author:Dave Striegel
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: BookBaby
Published: 2021-06-28T00:00:00+00:00

Want A Stronger Culture? Raise Your Expectations

When I met Dr. Jeff the first time, I was impressed. His physical stature was strikingly tall and athletic. He had owned his dental practice for five years. His father had been a successful dentist, so he was familiar with the practice ownership gig.

By all accounts, his practice was in a rut, having plateaued in production and collections for the past three years.

Dr. Jeff was frustrated with the practice’s lack of growth. As is often the case with small businesses, what appears to be the issue on the surface is really a symptom of a more fundamental problem. In Dr. Jeff’s case, he did not realize the biggest barrier to his practice growing was him.

On one of our early conference calls, Dr. Jeff said, “I don’t know what to do. It’s just so frustrating. The practice isn’t growing, and cash is tight every month. I’m so tired of it!”

He had attended a full-day program I had given to his implant study club and gravitated toward my coaching approach to working with dentists and their teams born from my experience in sports.

Dr. Jeff was a highly competitive basketball player in his high school years, was a big sports fan, and was still athletic and active. He liked the fact that I treat dental clients who enjoy sports like athletes—the more competitive, the better.

Dr. Jeff inherited his entire team from the previous owner and had kept everyone on board. Anyone who works for him likes him. He is youthful, energetic, and kind. He is a leader by example more than words.

As we initially discussed his practice, two things became abundantly clear. First, Dr. Jeff lacked clear expectations for his team. All he knew was that he was not happy with the practice’s overall performance.

“What do you expect from your team in terms of their performance?” I asked.

“I expect them to do their jobs,” Dr. Jeff replied.

“Have you ever had a conversation with them about the quality with which you want them to do their jobs?” I asked.

“What do you mean?” Dr. Jeff asked.

“Is it okay with you if your team is just going through the motions of their jobs?” I asked.

“No, of course not. I want them to do their jobs at a high level,” Dr. Jeff replied.

“Have you told them that and what you mean by ‘high level’?” I asked.

“No, I guess I assumed they knew,” Dr. Jeff said.

“That’s the problem. Think of it in basketball terms. If a new coaching staff took over your team, would you expect them to assume you knew how they wanted you to play defense, which, as we both know, depends more on effort and attitude than anything else?” I asked.

“No chance. They would explain to us and then show us exactly what they wanted each of us to do and how they wanted us to do it to play their style of defense,” Dr. Jeff said.

“And if you weren’t playing the defense they wanted?” I asked.

“They wouldn’t be happy,” Dr.

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