I believe that COVID-19 has taught us all many lessons. With that in mind, I would like to share my top three.
1. Why can't people drive?
Around me, it seems that people's driving skills have gotten much worse than normal. What's up with that? I am at a loss to explain this, but it is irritating to say the least.
2. Relationships have never been more important
This is true in our personal lives, as well as with our team members in the practice. When something as stressful as COVID-19 occurs, it strengthens our ties with one another, and it forces us to see our lives from a different perspective. When stressed like this, we strip away our wants and concentrate on our needs. This is basic human behavior, and you can Google "Maslow's hierarchy of needs" for more information.
3. Communication is the key
In your practice, your patients and team members are under stress, whether they realize it or not. Due to that stress, they may not communicate as clearly as they should. Their reactions to things may also be more dramatic or different than usual.
This was the case last week when I was onsite at a client's office. When the treatment plan was presented to a patient, the patient went off on the coordinator. She did not do anything to warrant that reaction, but the patient was not acting like she normally had in the past. I involved myself in the conversation, and after we openly discussed her fears, we discovered her reaction had nothing to do with her dental needs, but rather with the stress of the unknown.
During lunch, I shared this conversation with the team and asked them about how they were handling their stress. Much to the surprise of the doctor, everyone opened up and started sharing their personal thoughts and feelings. Now they have added some time during their morning huddle to check on everyone and encourage one another, even more than they did before. This team is using their stress and this time to become even stronger.
Those are my three thoughts. Please reach out if you would like to chat about this or other issues. You are not alone in facing all the challenges of owning or managing a practice.
Also, you can hear some more of my thoughts on these three reflections in the video below.
Lynne Leggett is the founder and CEO of Victory Dental Management. She has more than 25 years of business experience in several industries, including dentistry, medical, pharmacy, sales, transportation, logistics, and project management. Learn more about her and her services, including some free offerings, on the Victory Dental Management website.
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