Five Pillars of Dental Leadership:
Featured Article
A Four-Part Series by Eric J. Morin, MBA
I’ve had the pleasure and opportunity to work with hundreds of dentists all over the country, as well as starting a thriving multi-doctor practice for my own family. Through my experiences, I have realized there truly are five things that all great dental offices have in common. Regardless of your success so far, these Five Pillars of Dental Leadership can help you build the practice you have always imagined. I will discuss these recommendations over a four-part series.
Pillar One:
Become the Dental Practice CEO
In the dental industry, the market is changing and the level of business acumen required to thrive and compete has increased. Therefore, it is time to adopt the Chief
Executive title. This should be exciting, and definitely something I would encourage you to embrace. As the CEO, you will be able to take your practice to the nex t level. Your team and systems will be in place, your revenue and profitability will increase, and you will have the ability to impact your family, patients, team, and community.
Implement Systems for Efficient Business Practices
Often, when an individual starts a business, they are able to hire labor to perform the majority of the production necessary. Therefore, their full-time job is to focus on business grow th and profitability. However, since a dentist is most of ten the producer and the business owner, there is limited time to implement all that goes into running Dental Explorer | First Quar ter 2018
9
Featured Article a successful practice. This puts you at a disadvantage. Therefore, it’s ex tremely important to build systems that will allow you to run the business efficiently.
Be a Positive Example to Your Team and Community
I was recently talking about practice management with a successful client of mine. His comment to me was, “Intentional leadership is dif ficult, but worth it”. As the CEO, you want to be an example, both in character and in presence. Remember, your team will mirror the way that you talk to (and about) patients. If you are optimistic and inspiring, you will at tract positive team members to your practice. It’s not always easy, and we all have dif ficult days. However, it’s important to remember that the entire organization – no mat ter how big or small – is looking to you for guidance. This will also af fect the way you handle stress and tense situations. As a business owner, you will take on a tremendous amount of pressure. I
would encourage you to refrain from sharing all levels of stress with your team. Remember, they are looking to you for encouragement and leadership. By being positive, you can help them feel confident about the future.
Using your practice to impact your community can be incredibly fulfilling. I have a client who served 100 veterans at no charge over Veterans Day Weekend. What an amazing show of leadership! Excellent CEOs lead the way, and become an example the rest of the team wants to follow.
The Importance of Your Personal Brand
When I coach doctors about their role as chief executive of ficer, their mind of ten goes to financial statements and production metrics. While these are important functions, I recommend starting with your personal brand and appearance. I commonly visit dental practices where the only way to distinguish the doctor from the rest of the team is the
“It’s extremely important to build systems that will allow you to run the business efficiently.”
10 Dental Explorer | Firstcall Quar ter 2018 2 To order 800.218.5412 or contact your Atlanta Dental Representative.
Featured Article monogrammed name on their scrubs. As the leader of your business, members of your community – including your team and your patients – make judgments based on the way you present yourself. I would encourage you to invest in your appearance. Make sure that first-time visitors know exactly who the dentist and CEO is, whether it be a new patient, a potential employee, or an individual in the community.
Understanding Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
The level of sophistication in dentistry is changing, especially with the rise of Dental Service Organizations (DSOs). As the CEO, you must know your numbers. It is ex tremely important to understand Key Performance Indicators, including new patients, referrals, production, revenue, acquisition costs, and average revenue per new patient. These are not the only KPI’s to measure, but they are an excellent place to start. A business scorecard – just a simple list of these indicators – can be helpful in this endeavor for tracking weekly or monthly goals. If that feels like a daunting task, start with one number and measure it daily. Once you have built a routine, add the nex t KPI to your list, and so on.
You Get What You Measure
Anyone who has been around me for any length of time will hear me say, “you get what you measure”. If you want grow th, measure grow th. If you want profitability, measure profitability. If you want to improve team morale, measure team morale. It is important, however, to be cognizant of all aspects of your practice. If you focus solely on a single area, other elements can
become neglected. As the Dental Practice CEO, it is important that you empower others to lead. When you do this, you will be amazed at the ideas they generate. The key to becoming an outstanding organization is to have dif ferent people measure dif ferent things. As you embolden others, it is helpful to implement a team of leaders that meets weekly to discuss key projects and metrics.
In Conclusion
In the nex t part of this series, I will discuss how to build a world class team that can assist you with the practice goals and leadership processes described above. However, it begins with you becoming the Dental Practice CEO. By fulfilling this role, you can create the leadership and vision your practice needs. True, systems and processes are important. However, without the proper leadership and team in place, it will be dif ficult for systems and processes to remain. Start working on becoming the Dental Practice CEO and embrace the role. By doing so, you will be well on your way to having the practice, quality of life, impact, and wealth you have always desired. Eric J. Morin, MBA, specializes in business and financial consulting for dentists. He has been in the industry for over a decade and also assisted his wife in establishing a thriving multi-doctor practice.
Dental Explorer | First Quar ter 2018
11