Dental Tribune U.S. Edition

Go ahead, tell ’em what you really think By Sally McKenzie, CEO McKenzie Management tion is a “must.” He learned long ago that it is important to give feedback to employees the moment he sees them doing something incorrectly. Thus, as soon as he witnesses an employee performing a task that is not the way he would perform it, he gives immediate feedback. The scenario typically unfolds something like this: Nicole is setting up instruments when Dr. Roberson walks in. “What are you doing?” Dr. Robert- son says. He doesn’t realize that his query has put Nicole on the defensive. She can sense that Dr. Roberson is upset. “I’m preparing instrument set ups, doctor. Is there something else you would like me to do?” “Why are you doing it like that? They should be set up this way.” Then he brusquely shows her how to do it, and whisks out of the room without another word. Unfortunately, Dr. Roberson has no regard for the impact of his com- munication. His intention is to set the employee straight on how he thinks the task, no matter how trivi- al, should be done. He believes that because his intentions are pure — he must ensure that things are done “just right” in his practice — it’s not important how the message is com- municated. Instead, he has totally disregarded one of the most critical facts for effective communication: “It all comes down to communi- cation.” Those immortal words have been used to describe success or fail- ure in business, on the playing field and the battlefield, in the classroom, the treatment room and virtually every other environment in which information must be effectively con- veyed from one person to another to ensure a desired outcome. In the dental practice, your com- munication with staff and patients has a profound and powerful impact on whether you struggle or sail through your days. Consider the case of “Dr. Rober- son.” He is a truly gifted clinician. His patients are tremendously for- tunate yet, I suspect few have any real understanding of the talent this practitioner brings to the profession of dentistry. His employees, tragical- ly, do not understand Dr. Roberson. Few have lasted more than a year. He doesn’t have a “team” because the non-stop turnover in the office never allows a team to take shape. Thus, Dr. Roberson has employees, mostly temporary ones. He does not understand how other practitioners can keep staff, sometimes for years, and he is on a seemingly perpetual quest to secure just one good worker who will not “find a better opportu- nity” within months. In Dr. Roberson’s mind, perfec- How you say it has far more weight than the actual words you use. In fact, words alone are only 7 percent of the message you convey. Tone, attitude, body language and facial expression have a far greater impact on whether the recipient of your message actually receives it or shuts it out because your delivery of that message made him or her angry, upset or uncomfortable. Dr. Roberson is not only impa- tient, he is also very direct. He has patients to see and doesn’t have time to beat around the bush. As a result, what he believes is edifying feedback comes across as agitated criticism, which in truth is neither helpful nor constructive. Sadly, because Dr. Roberson is a boss whom his employees fear, no one is giving him feedback regard- ing his communication style. Thus, until he seeks to understand why his practice appears to have a revolving door, his productivity will continue Practice Matters DENTAL TRIBUNE | September 20114A AD g DT page 6A How do you respond to suggestions and comments from those around you? Are you defensive? (Photo/Scott Rothstein, www.dreamstime.com)