When it comes to your dental practice, you are the person in charge. Leadership has its own unique set of challenges. How would you describe your leadership style? If that description does not involve the word “influence,” you may need to revisit how you are leading your team. Read on to see why influence plays such an important role in leadership.
As a leader, you naturally will influence the people you lead—whether your influence is good or bad
Your words and deeds impact each member of your team and their behaviors. Whether the influence is positive or negative, it has an effect on the individual relationships with your employees and produces tangible results. For example, if you strive to be a positive influence in your role as a leader, it has a cascading effect. The person you are influencing will feel more confident when performing their daily tasks. They will believe that whatever they are doing, they will be able to accomplish it. Why? Quite simply, because your positive influence leads them to believe they are capable of doing it, even if it means going above and beyond the normal expectations for their job.
Negative influence arguably can have an even greater impact. If you have a pessimistic outlook or a cynical demeanor when interacting with the members of your team, this attitude can affect your team and even transfer over to the patients who are visiting your office to receive care. A staff member who has this point of view can have a similar effect. If you are detecting this within your practice, it is important to go to the source of the negative energy—and try to replace it by being a positive influence.
Influence and leadership are linked
Leadership is obvious; you can see it and its effects reverberate through every task that is performed at your practice. Leadership serves as the conscious focal point of the culture of your practice. It shows in your daily words and actions.
Influence is subtle. It may not be visible and even may serve as an unconscious factor that impacts the workings of your practice. If leadership inspires the culture of your office, influence serves as the guiding force that moves that culture—either in a positive or negative direction. This influence shows outside of the staff meetings, in conversations that occur on breaks or in the parking lot after business is done for the day.
Being a leader means you serve as a role model for your employees, whether you know it or not. However, influence may have a greater impact through those unspoken words and deeds. Maybe you want to make sure you are being a positive guiding influence on your employees, but have no idea where to begin. Bryant Consultants offers leadership consulting that can help fine-tune your skills as a leader and make sure you are setting the right tone for your team. It all starts by scheduling a free leadership evaluation with one of our experts. Our services can help you realize your vision, establish goals, and set processes in place to evolve your practice. Contact us by calling (877) 768-4799.
We provide consultation, training, and coaching to help improve the operations of your practice so that you can provide exceptional results to your patients. No office is out of reach for us; we will even come to you!
