This weekend, I had the dual pleasure of spending personal time with, as well as taking a course given by, Paul Goodman, DMD. For those of you who are familiar with Paul, for many, he has taken on the moniker of Dr. Nacho. His Facebook group, Dental Nachos, is chock- full of dentists and dental team members from around the world who share, uplift and have some fun along the way. Back in October, I was a guest on the Dental Amigos podcast he hosts with Robert Montgomery, Esquire, an attorney who specializes in practice transitions. (Listen to the podcast episode here.)
While Paul is known for his witticisms, more importantly, in my opinion, is his desire to be positive, helpful and a resource for others to succeed. In fact, quite a bit of the podcast we did centered, as you can imagine, on keeping a positive attitude as a leader of people and developing a worthy company culture. In his work and teachings, one of the acronyms Paul uses is JBN for Just Be Nice. A good lesson for life in general, don’t you think?
Today’s Course
One of the FIRST things Paul spoke about in the course today was also led in with an acronym- ABME for Always Be Managing Expectations. I wrote it down. It struck me as important in any capacity. I’ve spoken at length about setting realistic expectations, as well as making expectations known, quantifiable and measurable. Managing expectations, when applied to patient care can mean the difference between a happy patient or a dissatisfied one. But what about your team? Doesn’t it make just as much sense to do the same with them?
Always Be Managing Expectations with Your Team-Expectation Alignment
A recent article in Entrepreneur magazine took a new spin on managing expectations and changed the term to expectation alignment. Employees have many more opportunities for jobs today as our economy and work space has become global and social media often sways people by showing them where the grass may be greener. Employee satisfaction is where it’s at: provide an environment where they feel useful, appreciated and challenged and you’ll find turnovers diminishing. While that sounds simple, if you’re not practiced at aligning and managing their expectations, you may, instead, find it challenging.
Research has shown that one of the greatest deterrents in setting, maintaining and achieving expectations lay in the lack of communication. While it’s own “category”, communication is the thread that binds each of the following items in leading and managing people:
- Communication: how your team communicates- indeed, the preferred method of communication is just as important as what they communicate. Are important issues required to be in writing? Email? Company-wide memo? Is it on a need-to-know basis? What about less sensitive issues? Breakdown in methodology is oftentimes the root cause of complete dysfunction when too many know too much or the right people aren’t circled in.
- Work Product/Job Duties: while you may hire someone on with a rudimentary job description, a level of ambiguity can leave everyone at a loss. When people have clear, realistic expectations that outline what is required of them, they are not only able to do their job well, they can also be fairly evaluated on their performance. A leader/manager who leaves many shades of grey may find themselves frustrated when they don’t feel an employee is performing well, but the onus is on them: they never clearly defined it.
- Company Culture: every employee brings their own unique talents and baggage to the workplace. I’ve written many articles on the subject matter. The takeaway in this instance is that it falls to the leader to make known the values, beliefs and core expectations that support and define the culture and to uphold them.
Evaluate Expectations
Internationally known executive coach John Baldoni suggests that the best way to evaluate how expectations are being communicated is with a simple, 3 item checklist:
- Does your team know exactly what is expected of them? An effective leader discusses them regularly, has employees paraphrase them back and makes corrections, as needed, immediately;
- Does your team know what they can expect from you? People don’t like to be in the dark, and they want to feel supported in their endeavors. Let your team know what they can expect from you, whether in developing them, holding them accountable and, if necessary, any actions they can expect if they are not performing;
- Do employees know what to expect from one another? This last area is the one most overlooked. Knowing how what one does affects another is huge! Too often, people are locked into their silos- and when interpersonal issues arise, look to the frustrations employees are feeling when co-workers are negatively impacting their duties.
Finding the Balance
In dentistry, leaders are usually the dentist, sometimes the office manager. 
For many in that position, the pervading misconception is that treating patients leaves little time for actually managing and developing the team charged with caring for the patients. I challenge you to think about the team you have in place today and take the temperature of your company by using the above checklist. What is your employee turn-over rate? How often are you fielding employee conflicts (or hiding from them)? What’s the general vibe running through the office on a day to day, week to week basis? If you find that you, like so many of your colleagues are plagued with issues, it’s time to take a deeper dive and learn how better to lead, manage and develop your employees. A small investment made developing yourself as a leader will pay off in dividends: increased overall employee satisfaction, superior job performance, lower turnover (which, let’s face it, is a cost savings when one considers the financial outlay finding, on-boarding and maintaining someone) and ultimately better patient care. Oh, and YOU are happier, as well!
Until next time, Peace, Joy and Success to you all!
