Dental Tribune Asia Pacific No. 9, 2016

• The manager is excited about the new position. For some, the empowerment, the title and the kudos mean a great deal; for oth- ers, the challenge and the task at hand mean more. When reality hits, so does the realisation that the original motivating factors are no longer as important. • Both practitioner and manager are reticent to discuss what is not working and often brush the issues under the carpet until it is too late. • Resentment grows and what is at stake—the patients, the practice and the staff—outweighs the ac- tual issue, which is poorly man- aged expectations. Of course, there are many practices managed by very capa- ble staff members. However, for all the well-functioning prac- titioner–manager relationships, there are more people in these roles who prefer not to talk about the problems inherent within and who are only too glad for someone else to address the issues. One of my aims is to facilitate management teams to assess where they are at present, to plan for appropriate change and to im- plement that change. The out- come is that a weight is lifted from your shoulders and focus moves to a united partnership working towards the success of the prac- tice. In order to move forward, however, you must recognise where you are now. An alternative approach The ﬁrst step towards achiev- ing a successful management part- nership is to honestly appraise your current situation. If anything I have said so far has touched a nerve, if frustration exists be- tween you and the manager, or if you simply think things could be better, then acknowledge the fact and take action. Knowing what ac- tion to take for the best is probably the most difﬁcult thing to assess. The following are tips on get- ting started: Vocalise your vision, agree that your vision is realistic and share it with your team. Cre- ate a job description with and a training plan for your manager, as well as identify skills gaps and cre- ate smart objectives with and for her or him. Also agree and sched- ule regular one-to-one meetings and plan to assess and review with your manager. Most importantly, however, keep communicating. Drive your success Expectations always exist, even if we do not know what they are and despite them often being unrealistic. Managers have expec- tations of their roles and their employers have expectations of the person given responsibility for managing the practice. The prob- lem is that mismatched expecta- tions can lead to misunderstand- ing, frayed nerves and rufﬂed feathers. More seriously, they often lead to ﬂawed systems, failed projects and a drain on resources. There is nothing wrong with having expectations; the trick is to communicate them and to agree how they might be satisﬁed over time and with the right sup- port. Managed expectations drive your success. 09Dental Tribune Asia Paciﬁc Edition | 9/2016 BUSINESS AD Lina Craven is founder and Di- rector of Dyna- mic Perceptions, an orthodontic management c o nsu l ta n c y and training ﬁrm in Stone in Staffordshire, and has many years of practice-based experience. She can be contacted at info@linacraven.com. Introducing a new qualiﬁcation in leadership and management speciﬁcally for dental managers This course is a Level 5 manage- ment qualiﬁcation awarded by the Institute of Leadership and Management and is ideal for or- thodontic and general dental practice managers or anyone who has direct line manage- ment responsibility. The train- ing covers team leadership, management, coaching, perfor- mance management, as well as employment law and planning. This is a highly practical course enabling you to test out your skills and management styles within the group, with the support and guidance of our highly trained and qualiﬁed management tutors. For more information, please visit www. dp-practiceconsultants.com.

Dental Tribune Asia Pacific No. 9, 2016

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