“We treat others as we would like to be treated ourselves. We do not tolerate abusive or disrespectful treatment. Ruthlessness, callousness, and arrogance don’t belong here.”
That’s a nice sentiment, right? It’s a quote from a values statement of a major US company. Vision and values statements are the bold declarations leaders like to make so that their customers know what their businesses stand for. It’s a means of aligning their employees toward a common purpose. It’s an attempt to create a culture.
Unfortunately, in this case, the major US company was Enron, objectively one of the most fraudulent and corrupt businesses in modern history. The stark difference between Enron’s public goals and how workers actually behaved is an important reminder that the culture of a business is far more complex than just some inspiring words on paper. And it’s seemingly intangible; we can refer to it as team spirit or positive energy, but these descriptions get us no closer to discovering their origins.
What I do know is that the culture of your dental practice is ultimately your responsibility. Whatever your leadership style may be, you must hold yourself accountable for the working environment you’ve created. To help you on your quest, I’ve invited Dr. Amisha Singh to share her playbook for creating a healthy office culture (pg. 20) and Dr. Stacey Gividen to discuss employee feedback (pg. 23), a critical element of culture-building.
A healthy and happy practice environment is more than just some pleasant words in a values statement or on your home page. It’s the result of continual leadership and management. It’s how we guide our team members to be the most professional versions of themselves. It’s probably more art than science.
Cheers,
Chris Salierno, DDS
