How silence is ruining trust in your dental practice.
My client, Marc, loved dentistry. He was totally focused on taking care of his patients and their health. He created a very thoughtful patient experience with follow up calls and surprises. His practice was booming 
But behind the scenes was another story entirely.
The team dynamic was anything but easy or smooth. Each new hire caused a problem. Two assistants were battling for control, throwing barbs, disparaging others & forcing people to take sides. So much tension and negativity.
Marc told me he was aware of how toxic things had gotten, but thought things would eventually blow over with time.
Wrong 
Our human brains are hardwired for safety. We expect to feel safe, free from threats, at work.
We trust the leaders to deal with threats and create a positive environment.
When the leader is silent or disinterested, trust with the team is broken.
No trust means no or poor collaboration. No slack or grace given. People get focused on protecting themselves instead of helping the team succeed.
I’ll tell you what I told Marc.
Time doesn’t erase poor behavior or hurt feelings. Time allows those feelings to harden into an unmovable block that is very difficult to chip away.
Silence isn’t golden. It’s corrosive, destroying connection and leaving a huge hole for doubt to seep in.
Your team wants you to take action and say something because that’s your responsibility.
The good news is that it’s easier than you imagine with help.
Nobody trained you in dental school to deal with team dynamics but you can learn anyway. Just like you continually improve your clinical skills, you gotta work on your EQ & conflict skills, too.
Specifically, try to work on your EQ, Communication and Conflict skills.
Emotional Intelligence (EQ) will help you know yourself, your needs and limits better so you can create a work life that actually works for you.
Communication skills will help you to say what matters in a way that others can hear your message and respond.
Conflict skills will help you become an effective problem-solver who finds creative, durable solutions.
These are often called 'soft skills'. What a misnomer. Rather, these are ESSENTIAL skills if you hope to succeed without burning out or creating a toxic workplace.
What happened with Marc? I got him set up with a Code of Conduct and a system to surface issues early before they could blow up. With ongoing support, he’s gaining the language and confidence he needed.
He decided to do better and you can, too.
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