What separates the great dental practices from the good ones?
Doug Young
The most significant difference between the great and the good dental practices is almost always the strength of their leadership. Good dental practices are everywhere. Great dental practices however are few in number. They are the ones that have endured through good times and bad. They are the ones that have set the standards in the profession. They are the ones that have innovated creatively and implemented effectively, time after time. They are the ones that have successfully learned to embrace change to give them the competitive edge! The difference? Great practices have a great leader! WHAT DO PRACTICES NEED FROM LEADERS? Let's look at six elements that exceptional leaders provide to their dental practices. 1. Deal with the Unknown So much is changing in the world that conventional wisdom and "that's the way we have always done it" thinking often no longer apply. This is a time of pioneering. Leaders must have the courage to go first. Even though the path is not clearly marked, leaders must venture into unexplored territory, search for the new opportunities, and accept the risk of vulnerability.
 The most important question that leaders must answer is what do we believe in? 
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Masterful leaders today must be discoverers. Think of the great discovers of the western world -- the Vikings, Columbus, and Lewis and Clark. They had no maps. They had no guides. All they had were their own abilities and a strong belief that opportunity, in some form, lay just ahead. 2. Define and Model Core Values The most important question that leaders must answer is what do we believe in? The answer defines the three to five core values that become the foundation of the dental practice. They drive everything that the practice does. The tough part comes next. Leaders must act congruently with these values and demonstrate them in everything they say and do. An even tougher moment comes when a practice's values are tested by the market place. The easy short-term solution may be to abandon these values. Doing so however can have a powerfully negative long-term effect. It can erode a practice's heart and soul! Practices that abandon their values often lose their position of prominence in their community. This is a failure of leadership. 3. Set the Tone Tone is the long-term spirit of a practice. It is always set from the top down. Exceptional leaders accept this responsibility. Once again, modeling is the key. Leaders must be passionate examples of the tone they want to instill throughout their practices and with their teams -- things like optimism, commitment, risk taking, ethical behavior, and accountability. Leaders must mirror their message and become teachers. When leaders walk their talk, they establish their credibility, and team members are more likely to choose to follow. After all, leaders cannot function effectively without followers. Leadership and followership are two sides of the same coin. 4. Attract and Retain Employees We have been living in an era of unprecedented full employment. Although this situation has changed somewhat in the past 18 months, the greatest form of competition in dentistry today is not for a share of the market. It is for a share of the pool of exceptional people in the work force who can propel a practice into a leading position. The dental practice that loses the people race stands to lose the market race. This means that leaders must establish a practice climate that attracts and retains the finest people available. Increasingly, it is the worker-friendly practices that create a climate of trust in which employees value their jobs and offer their deepest levels of support and commitment. Worker-friendly however is not just about wages and benefits. It is much more than that. The old-style management days of "command and control" are over. They have been replaced by a style of leadership that places a premium on the leader's ability to "communicate and influence." Of course people want to know how to do their jobs. But today's exceptional employees also want to know why they are doing them. They want their leaders to answer the question why are we in business? The answer to this question energizes a practice and its people with a sense of purpose. With purpose comes fulfillment, and from fulfillment comes commitment. In these circumstances, employees don't just work for a practice. They belong to one. They become members, and with membership comes the most powerful form of ownership, psychological ownership. In effect, the employee becomes a shareholder, and commitment takes on a deeper meaning.
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