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February 1, 2015

Slaying Stress Monsters

February 2015

Slaying Stress Monsters!

Many of us feel stressed on a daily basis and for some of us even hourly! Stress affects our health, happiness and our success in life. Our level of success in life is defined by our level of happiness and our level of happiness is driven by the level of stress we feel in our day to day routines. This month’s focus is on learning how to remove stress to get happier and more successful!

Let’s start with the myths about stress…that stress is something that happens to us …or that someone made us feel stressed. The reality is that stress does not happen to us it is manifested by us. It is not what is happening or not happening or who does what that causes our stress. It is how we think and respond to the situation that causes our stress. We often talk about stress as if it is a physical thing like a monster that seeks us out. Stress does not come looking for us. We manifest it from within. Whether we feel stress is always subject to our mindset.

“Our mindset creates our stress level!”

There are four common stress monsters that we most often manifest. We can remove the stress in our life by identifying and overcoming these monsters.

The first stress monster is the WHAT IF monster! We worry and agonize about what if this happens or what if that happens.   What if they don’t like us or don’t accept us. What if I am not good enough? What if I do this and I end up opening a can of worms or the biggest what if…what if I fail! The stress of what if weighs heavy on many of us ad keeps us playing ourselves small. When you start to feel yourself spin into the WHAT IF cycle:

  • Stop ruminating
  • Breathe deep and count to 10 slowly for 30 seconds
  • Observe emotion than let it go!
  • Start thinking & processing!
  • Make a plan!
    • What is the worst case scenario
    • What is the best case scenario
    • What is most likely to happen
    • Will I live? If the answer is yes…take the next step

The second stress monster is the SHOULDS monster. We constantly stress ourselves out with negative self-talk. We become critical and think I should do this I shouldn’t have done that. The more we do it the more we start to doubt our worth and what we can accomplish. When we get into the comparison trap someone always ends up losing, usually it is us. Others are doing this or have this…I should…! When you start to SHOULD on yourself:

  • Stop being a Wallower
    • Wallowers – complain ,criticize, blame, gossip and compare
  • Be a creator
  • Focus on what is positive in your life
  • Identify what isn’t
  • Go after what you want
  • Replace the word Should with Could

The third stress monster is the PERFECTION monster. We stress about doing everything perfect. It paralyzes us and can stop us from taking even the first step. We start to procrastinate and stress out of fear of not doing it perfect. We start to feel petty and insignificant. The reality is none of us can start from perfect. Success comes only after mistakes. We will never become the person we could become if we limit ourselves to perfection. Success happens when we keep trying until you persevere. When the PERFECTION monster starts judging you:

  • Strive for excellence not perfection
  • Set high standards not impossible standards
  • Value who you are not what you do
  • Learn from failure instead of being devastated
  • Correct mistakes instead of dwelling on them
  • Appreciate instead of detest critical feedback
  • Don’t base your self-esteem on winning
  • Focus on the process as well as the results

The fourth stress monster is the DOOM & GLOOM monster. You know like Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh! We become pessimistic and stress about life. We see the glass as half empty. We believe life is full of adversities that happen just to us. We believe the bad things will continue to happen throughout our entire life and they will affect everything we do. Our beliefs generate our feelings and our feelings determine our outcome. It becomes a negative self-prophesizing cycle. When the DOOM & GLOOM monster hangs over your head:

  • Dispute the negative limiting beliefs
  • Verify accuracy
  • Identify 3 potential positives
  • Take action steps to support the positive

When we identify the monster we our manifesting we can take action steps to remove it. I like to visualize the monster sitting on my shoulder and remove it by saying I see you and physically flicking it off my shoulder! Slay the stress monsters in your life and get happier and more successful! TA-DAH!

Contact Judy Kay today if you would like to learn more about how she can help your team WORK together better to build a happy healthy and high performing service culture!

January 1, 2015

Leadership Matters

Leadership Matters Regardless of our position in life we all lead. The problem for many of us is we don’t necessarily know what it takes to be a great leader or even a good one. This newsletter is dedicated to the leadership skills that can make a difference in the things that matter most in life!

I would like to tell you a story about a woman who was a great leader! Her name is Ione Miller and she just happens to be my mom. Mom was a city girl who at the age of 19 married a country boy (my dad Clem) and moved to a farm in ND! She raised 7 kids, ran the household and was my dad’s best farmhand. She was a very busy lady! Yet regardless of how busy she was…even as kids we knew that when mom thought something mattered, come hell or high water, (one of her favorite sayings) she would make it happen.

Ione Miller - High School

Our little Post office in St. Anthony was one of those things that mattered! Mom heard they were planning on closing the post office and instead of just complaining about it she took action. She called the powers that be to find out what she needed to do make stop it from happening. She was informed she would need a minimum of one hundred signatures on a petition from the St. Anthony and surrounding area residents. St. Anthony has a population of maybe all of 21 including pets which meant the majority of signatures would need to come from the surrounding farms. Mom drafted a petition and drove from farm to farm until she had secured all 100 signatures.   She happily handed over the petition over only to find out that it was no longer good enough. They had changed the rules and in order for the post office to stay open every family that signed needed to come to the post office and sign again in front of state representatives. They chose a day in the middle of harvest season with a tiny window of time from 10am and 2pm. Mom asked for extended hours explaining that farmers worked from sun up to sun down in the field during harvest season. They declined with a response of, “If it is so important they should just make time”. Mom reassured them that it was indeed important and they would be there. Once again she went from farm to farm to rally support. The day arrived and mom waited anxiously with the representatives. Over two hours had passed and not even one person had come to sign. One of the representatives snidely remarked, “We should just wrap it up now! There is no way you’re going to get enough signatures.”   With confidence (I can imagine it was starting to dwindle) mom responded. “We shall see!” and demanded they wait until 2pm. One by one the farmers started to trickle in. Most came right from their tractors in the field still wearing their stained and dirty overalls.   Mom greeted each one with a big smile while handing them the petition to sign. They had enough signatures by 2pm to keep the St. Anthony Post Office open! Way to go mom! In this story my mom exemplifies four core competencies that helped her succeed! They are clarity, confidence, perseverance and passion!

  • Clarity was displayed by having a clear end goal of keeping the post office open.
  • Confidence in herself and her community was demonstrated when she stood up to the state representatives even when things weren’t looking favorable.
  • Perseverance was portrayed by her willingness to do whatever it took to make it happen even when it became discouraging and overwhelming.
  • Passion was what she presented with to her community to incite them enough to leave their work in the middle of the day.

Mom was an awesome leader and I miss her every day! Great Leaders have clarity of who they are, the direction they want to go and the results they want to accomplish. Great Leaders are confident in their decisions and leadership. Self-confident leaders also recognize the value of building self-confidence in others. Great Leaders have perseverance to do what needs to be done regardless of the difficulty. They keep on keeping on. They continue look for ways to succeed when they hit a road block. Leaders with Perseverance ask, what can I do now? Great Leaders have passion for what they do in life and inspire others to follow. Passion is what ignites the heart and soul. No matter how difficult, hectic, or crazy life gets…It’s always up to each one of us to decide how we will lead in our life. We have a choice in every moment of every day regardless of the situation or circumstances. I challenge you to lead your life with clarity, confidence, perseverance and passion so that you can make a difference in the things that matter most to you! Contact Judy Kay today if you would like to learn more about how she can help your team WORK together better to build a happy, healthy and high performing service culture!

December 1, 2014

Practice Time!

Practice Time!

Imagine an athletic team not scheduling practice time! No time to discuss and practice strategies, obstacles or who’s going to do what. How good would they be? Team meetings are your team’s practice time. This month is dedicated to creating effective practice time!

If your practice is like many practices I observe, the scheduled team meeting time (practice time) is often lowest on the scale of importance. Emergency patients, add ons, running behind and even lunches take priority over team meeting time. Many offices start out scheduling an hour but often end up with 30 to 45 minutes by the time everyone is in attendance and ready to participate. There are often many items on the agenda and the pace is very rushed. There never seems to be enough time to go deep enough to clearly understand the what, who, when, where, why, and how. Which means the team ends up talking about the same topics over and over again. Does this sound familiar?

It is necessary to have effective practice time to nurture a successful team culture! However, practice time can also be a source of frustration if you’re the only person facilitating or participating in the effort. There are many ways to encourage team participation and have others lead.

Often times team members stop participating because they fear retaliation or have been criticized or shut down with words or body language. You know the rolling of the eyes or the big sighs! You can create a safe and sharing environment by establishing communication guidelines for your practice time. Ask the entire team to work together to create Communication Guidelines. What is it that they need to feel safe to participate? Some examples of guidelines might be:

  • Listen
  • No judgment or criticism
  • Have a thicker skin
  • Believe in positive intent
  • Give the benefit of the doubt
  • Avoid sarcasm
  • Be respectful
  • Support a no-gossip culture
  • Project positive tone and body language
  • Be open minded
  • Be understanding
  • No retaliation

Once you have completed your guidelines, print them out, frame them and put them on display to refer to as needed. I suggest starting each meeting by reviewing the guidelines as well as whenever you hire someone new or someone’s behavior deems it necessary. Because we are human and old habits die hard we will need reminders! It can be as simple as, “remember we said we weren’t going to ______!

Here are some additional suggestions to inspire effective, efficient and engaging practice time:

  • Schedule practice time when most team members can attend.
  • Allocate appropriate time and space for your practice time.
  • Utilize a large easel pad and bright markers to write down the ideas being shared by the team. Ask team members to rotate writing.
    • Address the fear and worry of spelling…make it a part of your communication guidelines…no judgment or criticism for misspelling.
  • Address issues concerning patients and the practice.
  • Create an agenda and have the team members rotate leading the meeting.
  • Ask multiple choice or essay questions instead of yes and no questions.
  • Ask team members to write down their responses. When everyone has finished, have them share these responses with the group.
  • Break the team into groups of two or three, depending on the size of your team. Have them come up with solutions to share with the team.
  • Allow time for exercises and fun.
  • Practice verbal skills, role playing and the physical walk through before implementing anything new.

The more you empower the entire team to participate in decision-making, the more engaged they will be. When team members feel they’re involved in decisions, they take greater ownership for the outcomes. What we create, we own.

Contact Judy Kay today if you would like to learn more about how she can help your team WORK together to build a happy healthy and high performing culture!

November 1, 2014

Fear of the Unknown!

Fear of the Unknown!

Fear often paralyzes and sometimes even stops us from living a happier life. Yet fear is really only a negative prediction of the future and not reality. The fear I am going to address today is the fear of the unknown. Many of us choose to stay right where we are at because we feel safer when we know what to expect. Even if it is a negative, toxic or even a dangerous relationship or environment! For example, staying in a work environment that you dread going to everyday or choosing to keep a negative or toxic employee. Or worst case scenario staying in an abusive or dangerous relationship. I have found more often than not that the times where life my life seemed difficult or scary were actually just what I needed to push me to live a happier and juicier life!

This month is dedicated to overcoming the fear of the unknown!

http://youtu.be/-aDc7wCh-yY

 

My Orange Fish Fable!

Every spring my awesome hubby Steve meticulously sets up our pond in our back yard with a fountain! We call it our fountain pond! It takes two full days to complete but it is well worth it. LOL, that is easy for me to say as I am not the one doing the work. The second day includes a trip to Terra Garden Shop to purchase water Lilly’s and other aquatic plants…followed by a visit to the local Pet Smart Store to purchase 25 to 30 assorted colors of goldfish! Of course the majority are bright orange!!! I think they really should be called orange fish as they are not gold they are really orange and orange is a much happier color! So being as it is my article I will refer to them as orange fish!

They live a happy life all summer long swimming, eating and growing in their fountain pond! They have even found the perfect places to hide when they feel threatened by raccoons, birds and the occasional otter! Their pond is a sanctuary of underwater crevices between the rocks! I can imagine them paddling around thinking life is good!

 

Ahhh…but here comes the unknown! Time to cue the scary music….

We live in MN where any ponds that aren’t very deep freeze solid during the winter. Every fall we need to either rescue the orange fish from freezing or it will mean imminent death. We take them to the lake across the street that doesn’t freeze so they can live and flourish! Of course they don’t know this! This is their unknown! All they see is a woman (me) with a big net chasing them around in their pond! LOL, I have one responsibility when it come to our fountain pond…catch the fish in the fall! I am the net lady! These poor little orange fish fear for their lives because they don’t understand that I am really trying to save them and give them a better and longer life. So out of fear of the unknown they hide in their safe sanctuary! What they don’t realize is that what they believe is their salvation will actually lead to their demise!

I thought this was a great analogy for human life! We can’t see what’s over the hill or around the bend or in our future so we are afraid to step forward! We would rather stay where we believe we are safe because we fear the unknown. Yet the fear we feel is only a negative prediction of the future…it’s not reality. Whereas the situation we are currently living in is reality and in some cases a very dangerous reality. But we stay right where we are at and pretend, avoid and hide from things with excuses (excuses are human crevices) to feel safe!

Action Steps:

  • Come from a mindset of positive expectation instead of fear.
  • When things seem difficult see it as an opportunity to learn and grow.
  • Let it go! Seriously, let it go!
  • Decide on your next step.
  • Listen to your gut instead of other people.
  • If feels scary but exciting go for it…if it feels heavy walk away.
  • Take the next step no matter how scary…you will be happy you did!

There really is a bigger pond waiting for all of us! We in essence all live in our own little pond where we feel comfortable and safe because we think we know what we can expect in life…or so we think…that is until the net lady comes our way! The universe is our net lady trying to provide us with ample opportunities to live a happier, healthier and higher performing life!  Don’t let the fear of the unknown stop you from swimming in a bigger pond!!!

Contact Judy Kay today if you would like to learn more about how she can help your team WORK together to build a happy healthy and high performing culture!

October 1, 2014

Assumptions!

ASSUMPTIONS!

HOW CAN WE STOP MAKING ASSUMPTIONS?

WE MAKE ASSUMPTIONS EVERY MINUTE OF EVERY DAY.

SOMETHING HAPPENS AND WE INSTANTLY ASSIGN MEANING TO IT.

THAT IS AN ASSUMPTION.

 

We start imagining what other people are doing, what they’re thinking, what they’re saying about us. We invent an entire story based on assumptions and we believe it. One assumption leads to another assumption; we jump to conclusions and we take it personally. Then we point the finger and blame other people. We usually start gossiping to try to justify our assumptions. Almost all conflicts are based on false assumptions. Assumptions are nothing more than false stories that we are telling ourselves. This creates a big drama for nothing because we don’t know if it is really true.

For example, when we haven’t heard from a close friend in a while we start to wonder if anything is wrong. The more we worry about it the more reasons we find to support our belief that something is wrong. And instead of picking up the phone and calling to ask if everything is okay we justify why we shouldn’t and put the blame on them. We continue to build our story and stress. Then our friend finally calls and we find out they have just been swamped in the busyness of life! All that negative energy and drama for a story we made up from assumptions.

It may be correct or it may be incorrect. We won’t know unless we take the next step. That step is a simple three letter word. ASK! Sounds easy but it’s not. We often fear that if we ask, we may open ourselves up to an emotional reaction. I call that emotional reaction an eggshell. Eggshells spawn many of the assumptions in our lives and in our dental practices today. It’s the fear of these potential eggshells that stop us from asking and allow us to start assuming.

Some of the eggshells I am referring to are:

  • Anger
  • Judgment/Criticism
  • Retaliation
  • Hurt feelings

We can’t let fear stop us from asking if we want to avoid assumptions. We don’t know what someone meant by their actions or words or the way they said something. Sometimes even what they say or the words they use can mean something different than what we believe them to mean. And just because someone felt a certain way in the past doesn’t mean they still feel the same. Stop making assumptions and start asking questions regardless of potential eggshells.

When you get that twinge in your gut and you think “Hmmm – I wonder what they meant by that, or I wonder why they haven’t…?” Or you find yourself saying “I think they meant this” – you don’t know! Stop yourself immediately from wondering and speculating and ASK! You will be surprised how many of your initial assumptions are incorrect once you hear their intent.

Ask with care, concern and respect. Some simple questions to ask are:

  • I am not quite sure what you meant, please tell me more?
  • I am not quite sure what happened. Can we talk about it?
  • Is everything okay?
  • Are you okay?

Continue to respectfully ask questions until you understand the other person’s true intent. If you are still thinking “I think they meant…” you are assuming. It is important to continue to ask more questions to achieve a deeper understanding!

September 1, 2014

Engaging Success! Part III

September 2014

Engaging Success Part III!

This month we will cover the final three strategies to help you get your team engaged and bridge the gap between potential and performance! Just in case you missed the last two newsletters… here are the statistics to support why getting your team engaged is not fluff stuff! It’s how I help teams nationwide create a happy, healthy and high performing culture!

2013 Gallup Polls show 70% of Americans are not engaged at work! Which equals about 2/3rds of the team in an average dental practice. The downfall of not engaging your team:

  •  22% Loss of Profitability
  • 21% Loss of Productivity
  • 45% More Turnover
  • 48% More Team Safety Incidents
  • 37% More Absenteeism
  • 41% More Patient Safety Incidents
  • 41% Less Quality of Care

 

Open to Opinions

We encourage open communication to allow everyone to voice their opinions pertaining to the patients and the practice.   Doctors, managers and team members are often surprised when a co-worker who never participates starts speaking up at our workshop.  I have often found that when a team member doesn’t speak up it’s because they feel they have been shot down in the past.  They believe their opinion didn’t count so they stopped sharing.  When team members feel their opinion is welcomed and valuable they become more engaged.


 

Everyone on the team has the right to express their opinion and be heard without being criticized or made to feel stupid.  Instead share constructive feedback with the team member why you feel it may or may not work.  Being open to opinions means we at least consider the idea.  Considering a team member’s input can often lead to better decision-making.  This is because the team members are often the ones directly doing the task, process or service and understand the limitations as well as the possibilities.  When team members feel they are involved in decisions, they take greater ownership for the outcomes.  Ownership is a sign they are engaged!       

 

Constructive Feedback

We actually schedule feedback time with team members. If we don’t schedule the time chances are it won’t happen. Many offices schedule annual employee performance reviews. Meeting and discussing progress, achievements and goals on an annual basis is not enough to get engagement. How engaged or involved would you be in a relationship where you only had a deeper conversation once a year?

What works well is a quick (5 to 10 minute) monthly or quarterly Checkup with the manager or doctor touching base on their progress, achievements and goals. Questions to ask are:

  • What where your goals for this period?
  • What accomplishments would you like to celebrate?
  • What are your goals or projects for the next period?
  • How can I best support you?

We also establish an open door meeting policy where team members can request to schedule time as needed.  Scheduling time helps avoid constant interruptions and creates a more focused agenda.  Giving timely constructive feedback will help keep your team engaged.

 

http://youtu.be/GvoLvQtF0c8

Opportunity for Personal and Professional Growth

We create opportunities for every team member to continue to challenge themselves to learn and grow both in their personal and professional life.  We ask them to create a list of topics they would like to learn more about in the next year at their annual review.  The doctor/manager also add topics to the list based on what they feel will benefit the team member most.  Together the team member and doctor/manager prioritize the list and agree on completion dates.  The progress is reviewed at their monthly or quarterly Checkup meeting.     


 

We also start a monthly book club in the practice focused on personal growth.  Everyone on the team is asked to participate in suggesting books.  Great books for team meeting discussions are the Simple Truths books at www.simpletruths.comOr my book Rise & Shine and soon my next book Ta-Dah, www.practicesolutionsinc.net/book.html!  The book is discussed at the team meeting.  Lengthier books can be discussed in chapters.  There is open dialogue on the benefits and how it can be applied in the practice as well as their personal life.  Creating the opportunity to learn and grow will help to keep your team excited and engaged.


 

Engage your team by being open to opinions, giving timely constructive feedback and creating an opportunity to learn and grow!

Contact Judy Kay today if you would like to learn more about how she can help you get your team ENGAGED and WORKING together to build a happy healthy and high performing culture!

August 1, 2014

Engaging Success, Part II

August 2014

Engaging Success Part II!

I felt it was important to do a quick review just in case you missed last month’s newsletter.  I help dental teams nationwide bridge the gap between potential and performance to create a happy, healthy and high performing culture…which all depends on getting them engaged!

2013 Gallup Polls show 70% of Americans are not engaged at work! Which equals about 2/3rds of the team in an average dental practice. The downfall of not engaging your team:

 

  • 22% Loss of Profitability
  • 21% Loss of Productivity
  • 45% More Turnover
  • 48% More Team Safety Incidents
  • 37% More Absenteeism
  • 41% More Patient Safety Incidents
  • 41% Less Quality of Care

 

Just a few awesome reasons to invest time and focus on engaging your team!

This month we will cover three additional employee engagement strategies to help you raise job satisfaction, patient service and the bottom line. It really is a win for the practice owner, the patients and the team!

Purpose

I help teams clearly define their purpose. The purpose is their why behind what they do in their practice. It is important for the team to believe in the purpose of the practice. It would be next to impossible to get the team engaged if the doctor/manager’s only purpose was the bottom line or retiring. Team members also need to understand their individual purpose. Great leaders, (doctors/managers) help their team members see how their individual work connects and supports the purpose and the outcome. People are willing to roll up their sleeves and work hard together for the greater good when they feel they belong. They decide whether they belong based on how aligned they are with the purpose of the practice. Purpose helps them feel they are a part of something bigger than themselves. Reminding the team of the purpose of what they do each day helps nurture a sense of belonging and fulfillment.

Appreciation

We create a culture of appreciation and celebration in their practice. Team members get engaged when they know they are being seen and feel appreciated on daily basis. They began to feel recognized, important and cared about. It is natural for us to want to work with people who care enough to take the time to show us appreciation. The old saying, “They don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care” is true. Lack of appreciation is the number one reason Americans quit their job.

Establish an appreciation strategy that recognizes how each person prefers to be shown appreciation. I highly recommend reading the book on appreciation titled, “The Five Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace”. It covers the 5 different ways to show appreciation and would be an awesome book to discuss at your team meeting. Practice showing appreciation daily that is timely, specific and authentic. Never give a fake compliment or you will instantly lose trust and respect. Look for fun and creative ways such as an appreciation board, employee of the month, even Ta-dahs!   Showing appreciation is not just from doctor to manager to team member. It also includes team member to team member and team member to manager or doctor. Please email me at Judykay@PracticeSolutionsInc.net if you would like to receive my white pages on appreciation.

Encouragement

We lead, manage and train by utilizing encouragement instead of judgment or criticism. Encouragement goes hand in hand with appreciation and is key in helping to nurture employee engagement. When team members know their co-workers, manager and doctor(s) believe in them, they feel empowered to face their fears, look forward to challenges and continue to strive to raise the bar! I think back to when I started my business. I knew I had my husband Steve rooting for me and believing in me even during the times I doubted myself. His consistent encouragement allowed me to take more chances and not cave to the fear of failing. Encouragement instead of judgment and criticism will help the entire team feel confident to think outside the box and challenge themselves to continue to learn and grow.

Tune in again next month to Part III of Engaging Success and more employee engagement strategies!

Contact Judy Kay today if you would like to learn more about how she can help you get your team ENGAGED and WORKING together to build a happy healthy and high performing culture!

July 1, 2014

Engaging Success! July 2014

July 2014

Engaging Success!

I coach dental teams nationwide on attitude, communication, relationships and performance to improve the patient experience and the bottom line.  Which all starts by getting the team engaged to bridge the gap between potential and performance!

2013 Gallup Polls show 70% of Americans are not engaged at work! Which equals about 2/3rds of the team in an average dental practice. You may think, how big of a deal is it really? You can count on then to show up most days and get their tasks done. You decide! The difference in not engaging your team:

  • 22% Loss of Profitability
  • 21% Loss of Productivity
  • 45% More Turnover
  • 48% More Team Safety Incidents
  • 37% More Absenteeism
  • 41% More Patient Safety Incidents
  • 41% Less Quality of Care

An engaged employee out produces and is more profitable than their non-engaged colleague by 22%…in essence you could have 4 engaged employees instead of 5 not engaged and cut your overhead by an entire salary! A $20 per hour employee working 32 hours per week would save you $32,000 per year.   That number does not include taxes and benefits. Realistically you would save more like $40,000 per year.

Even better…focus on engaging your team and get all 5 employees engaged to produce 21% more. Let’s say for simple math you produce $100,000 per month…you would now produce $121,000 per month ($21,000 more per month) equaling an annual increase of $252,000! Imagine what you could do with an additional $252,000! Not fluff stuff!

My newsletters over the next few months will focus on developing an employee engagement strategy to help you raise job satisfaction, patient service and the bottom line. It’s a win for the practice owner, the patients and the team!

Ta-Dah!

It is important to understand and be able to identify the different levels of engagement. There are three levels of engagement; Engaged, Not Engaged and Actively Disengaged.

Engaged Employees – are passionate about their work and feel very connected and loyal to the practice. They are always looking for ways to improve performance and patient care. They are focused on the big picture of helping the practice succeed. They base their success on the practice’s success!

Not Engaged Employees – are essentially checked out. They can be difficult to spot. They are just coasting through their day by putting in time without energy or passion. They are thinking about lunch, who just called on their cell phone, or what they are going to do when they get off work.

Actively Disengaged Employees – are unhappy at work and demonstrate it in their words and actions. They monopolize the doctor/manager’s time (always having to issues that need addressing), have more on-the-job accidents, create more quality concerns, are sicker and miss more days. They undermine what their engaged coworkers accomplish and sabotage the practice.

In this blog I will focus on three strategies I use to help get teams engaged!

Clear Expectations

We start with an open and candid conversation clarifying expectations and the results desired. Go deep enough to explain what, who, when, where, why and how. So often time’s things are left unsaid and assumptions are made resulting in frustration for the doctor, the manager and the employee! If the employee is not clear on expectations they can’t possibly deliver.   If you are thinking, they should just know that, or I already told them once…so I don’t need to tell them again…you are setting the employee up to disengage!

“If you don’t ask for what you want don’t be angry when you don’t get it.”

 

Appropriate Equipment and Supplies

Next is making sure the team has the appropriate equipment and supplies to maximize efficiency and get better results.  It also demonstrates to the employee that their work is valued because you were willing to give them the support they need to do their job. For example, a specific instrument to aid your hygienist in safely cleaning around dental implants. It is important to ask employees if they have what they need to be able to do their job efficiently and effectively. The initial cost is outweighed by the ROI of increased performance, service and productivity.

I have found men are usually much better at getting the right equipment and supplies whereas women will try to make do. This summer my husband Steve and I went a little crazy with filling our deck with pots of flowers, succulents and evergreens! Needless to say it became huge watering chore for me because we did not have a hose up on the deck. I have been traveling a lot more for business…which means Steve has become the water boy! Surprise! I came home to find a faucet and short hose up on the deck. Watering is now so easy it is actually fun! What used to take me 1/2 hour or more now takes under 10 minutes! We have just tripled my productivity and increased job satisfaction by having the appropriate equipment and supplies!

 

Strength Focused

We focus on identifying and building on each team member’s strengths. This one step alone can change productivity by as much as 12.5%. The best opportunity for people to grow and develop is to help them discover their innate talents. It just naturally creates a feeling of wellbeing when we can do something well. We enjoy our work more. Focusing on a team member’s strengths is a far more effective and positive approach than constantly focusing on their weaknesses.   When employees know and use their strengths, they are more engaged, have higher performance, and are less likely to leave the practice.

Research shows that the management style of focusing on the positive strengths reduces active disengagement to 1%. Whereas a negative focus management style produces 22% disengagement. Surprisingly, being ignored causes the most damage at 40% disengagement! The old saying, “If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all!” is not a successful management style. It delivers to the most negative outcome of all.

Which response would your employees say best reflects the management style in your practice? It’s time to ask!

  • My manager/doctor focuses on my strengths or positive characteristics.
  • My manager/doctor focuses on my weaknesses or negative characteristics.
  • My manager/doctor doesn’t say anything at all and I feel ignored and invisible.

Engaging success starts by asking questions!

Tune in again next month for more employee engagement strategies!

 

Contact Judy Kay today if you would like to learn more about how she can help you get your team ENGAGED and WORKING together to build a happy healthy and high performing culture!

June 1, 2014

Team WORK!

 “Team WORK – It is the fuel that allows common people to obtain uncommon results

Team work!  A phrase so often used with so many different assumptions of its meaning!  The dictionary defines team work as cooperative or coordinated effort on the part of a group of persons acting together as a team or in the interests of a common cause.

The team part happens pretty easy.  Once we belong to a group or organization we automatically become a part of the team.  The WORK part of team work is not so easy!  It takes work to build happy, healthy and high performing team relationships.

This month’s newsletter is dedicated to the WORK part of team work.  BTW…this message works for your marriage as well.

I have spent years coaching dental teams on how to create happy, healthy and high performing relationships.  Successful team relationships don’t just happen by accident.  They take work just like any relationship.  Yet the assumption is that we should all just naturally get along.  If that were true I wouldn’t be so busy.

Communication is the first core fundamental in team work. It would be very difficult to work together as a team for a common purpose without it! The right hand would never know what the left hand was doing nor what was needed or expected. The team’s success would be limited to only what each person could accomplish individually.

It is important for the team to create standards on how the team would like to communicate with each other and patients to build successful relationships. The work part is the ongoing focus and commitment to support the standards even when we may not feel like it.

Successful team communication includes:

  • Communicate Clearly – Clarify expectations by defining who, what, when, where, why and how.
  • Communicate Positively – Smile at each other and speak in a warm and friendly tone.
    • Avoid negative sarcasm and gossip.
  • Communicate Respectfully – Always consider how your words may impact the other person. Ask yourself; how can I say what I need to say and be respectful of how they may feel?
  • Communicate Professionally – Use words such as yes, no, please and thank you.

Collaboration is the second core fundamental needed to enable the team to successfully work together. It is important to remember that there is more than one way (our way) to do things. Collaboration means:

  • Sharing thoughts and ideas about what works and what does not.
  • Being open (think outside the box creativity) and willing to listen to new and different ideas from others.
  • Agreeing on a solution that serves the best interests of the patients and the practice instead do any individual.
  • Trying again and again and continue to be flexible and to adjust until it does work.

Celebration is the third core fundamental to successful team work. It is important to celebrate daily. Even the little things. If our focus is always on the next patient or task we will miss the good in the present moment and eventually we will lose our joy for our work.

Celebrate by:

  • Looking for and becoming aware of what is positive in the present moment. Right here right now what is good?
  • Being grateful for what is instead of complaining about what isn’t.
  • Showing appreciation for your coworkers and your patients. Celebrating in the moment with a physical gesture for example a big smile, thumbs up, high five or even a Ta-Dah!

Implementing these three core fundamentals will empower your team to WORK together to build happy, healthy and high performing team relationships.

Contact Judy Kay today if you would like to learn more about how she can help your team WORK together to build a happy healthy and high performing culture!

May 1, 2014

Gossip – The Poison Triangle of Mistrust!

The Poison Triangle of Mistrust is toxic and can destroy the team and the practice culture!  What is The Poison Triangle of Mistrust?  In simple terms it is gossip. I refer to it as The Poison Triangle of Mistrust because it often involves two people talking negatively about a third person behind their back.  When the third person learns about it they no longer trust the two people involved.

This month is dedicated to learning how to create a culture that no longer tolerates Gossip – The Poison Triangle of Mistrust. 

I often hear the following statements regarding gossip:  It’s a woman thing, women just have to gossip, it’s really not a big deal because everybody does it, and you can’t stop it even if you try.

Gossip is not just a woman thing…men do it to they just call it something else.  It is a big deal and you can stop it if you are serious about having a no gossip office culture.  The reality is that gossip will continue to exist in our dental practices as long as we allow it to exist.  If we truly comprehended the negative impact from gossip it would no longer be tolerated.

 Gossip affects:

  • Trust
  • Communication
  • Team Performance
  • Morale
  • Patient Experience
  • Bottom Line

That’s just to name a few.  Gossip is not fluff stuff.  It is really big stuff!  Why would we continue to allow anything this poison to be a part of our culture?

Isn’t it time to add No-Gossip Culture to our Communication Standards?  You can read more about implementing Communication Standards in April’s Newsletter on Drama.

I teach my clients the 5 following steps to create a No-Gossip Culture and end The Poison Triangle of Mistrust!

Step One – Start with a team meeting with the entire team including the doctors.  Share with the team the impact gossip has on the team and the practice and that in the future it will no longer be tolerated.  Ask everyone individually to verbally agree to support a No-Gossip Culture in the practice.  For example, I agree to support a No-Gossip Culture.  Once they verbally agree they can’t say I didn’t agree.  I just didn’t say anything.

Step Two – Define what gossip means in your practice.   I define gossip as anything that is negative or private about another person that they do not want others to know.  As a team agree on a word or phrase to use if someone starts to gossip about another team member to them.  It could be something as simple as peace (as in keep the peace), please take it to the source, please stop, or remember we said we weren’t going to gossip anymore.   It doesn’t really matter what word(s) you use.  What is important is that everyone knows what it is and agrees to use that specific word or phrase.

Step Three – Establish consequences for gossip.  I suggest the same consequences as any other behavior that sabotages instead of supports the standards of the practice.  Establish consequences that you know you will be willing to carry out.  It is very important that the entire team understand what the consequences will be for gossip.  If you would like to receive a complimentary copy of my white pages on consequences please email me at Judykay@PracticeSolutionsInc.net.

Step Four – It’s time to actually stop the gossip.  This will take doing a few times before it becomes more comfortable.  FYI if you are on the receiving end of gossip you are just as responsible as the initiator. You play 50-50 role because if they have no one to tell the gossip stops. If a team member starts to gossip to you or you over hear two people gossiping about another team member say the word or phrase.  Please be mindful of your tone of voice and attitude.  Always speak from a place of care and concern not judgment and criticism.  If they continue to gossip remind them once more by saying remember we agreed as a team we would not gossip about each other.  Old habits die hard and we want to be supportive and help each other to stop the gossip.  If they are gossiping to you and they refuse to stop physically remove yourself from the conversation.  If they continue to gossip to another team member inform them that if they do not stop you will inform the doctor or manager (whoever handles conflict resolution in the practice).

Step Five – The doctor or manager holds the team member accountable by following through with the consequences.  It is important the entire team understands the consequences for participating in gossiping.  Yes you can terminate a team member for participating in gossiping.  It is very important to make it crystal clear what the consequences are for gossip and include as a part of your written communication standards.  Following through with consequences is where the line is drawn in the sand.  It will determine whether you succeed or fail at creating a No-Gossip Culture.  Gossip is really big stuff!  It affects trust, communication, team performance, morale, patient experience and your bottom line.  Isn’t it time to create a No-Gossip Culture and end The Poison Triangle of Mistrust?

 Contact Judy Kay today if you would like to learn more about how she can help you end The Poison Triangle of Mistrust in your practice!

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