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Seven Qualities to Being an Outstanding Team Player: How Do You Show Up?
by Tara L. Menard, RDH
Do you find your team is focused on being team players or do they exhibit feelings of entitlement and a"what's in it for me?" attitude?
Many office managers are finding it challenging to build a team of peak performers. What qualities create a culture of hospitality? What does it take to be an outstanding team player? Is there a secret quality of a peak performer? Outstanding team players exhibit a combination of qualities and set extremely high standards for themselves. They expect more from themselves than anyone else could ever expect of them in return.
Following are seven qualities found in outstanding team players. Rate yourself on a scale of 1-10 for each.
Provide Outstanding Hospitality
Yes, we are answering the phone, collecting payments, scheduling appointments, calling patients, dealing with insurance, etc. That is customer service that’s expected. What does it mean to give customer service at the next level? The next level is hospitality! Now, you may be asking what does hospitality look like? It is more than doing your job. It’s about making your patients feel like guests in your practice and your whole team is honored that they have chosen your practice to provide them with care. Do you give them a warm welcome and smile all the time? Do you rectify any and all concerns immediately with a follow up call the same day? It is where you deepen your understanding of patients’ needs and wants. When you provide outstanding hospitality, you create raving fans!
Winning Attitude
What is attitude? Attitude is your thoughts, feelings, and actions all rolled into one. Your thoughts ultimately dictate whether your feelings are positive or negative, and this will be displayed in your actions and behaviors. These actions and behaviors produce results in your office and life. Do you love what you do? Do you love to go to the office each day? Are you a mover and shaker in the office? You can choose your thoughts each day, so be aware of what you focus on. By actively choosing winning thoughts you will allow other positive people and cir-cumstances into your daily work. Show up with a “whatever it takes” attitude to make it an outstanding day.
Doing More Than You’re Paid For
“If you’re willing to do more than you’re paid to do, eventually you will be paid to do more than you do." (Source unknown). Do you go the extra mile for your employer, coworkers, or patients? Do you give more than your employer expects? Why should you do more? In order to really excel and be indispensable, you must trust that at some point in your career you will reap the rewards. When a receptionist calls in sick, do you volunteer to stay late or work through lunch to get through the workload? Instead of focusing on how you can get more compensation, focus on how you can give more to the team, patients and the practice.
Be an Astute Business Partner
Develop the attitude that you’re a business partner with your doctor and everything will change. Remember that it is a business and the decisions made by the doctor ultimately affect the practice, patients and team. Ask yourself these key questions: "If this were my business, what qualities would I like to see in my staff?" "How can I bring more patients to our office?" "How can I help my practice stand out?" You will need to understand the doctor’s financial pressures and primary frustrations and be willing to reach goals. Be a leader by guiding and leading the rest of the team to grow and contribute to the practice's mission.
Commitment to CANI
CANI is an acronym coined by Tony Robbins and stands for Constant And Never-ending Improvement. Adopt this word and make it your personal mantra. Ask yourself, "How can I do this better?" "How can I add more value?" The world of dentistry is continuously changing and evolving with new evidence-based research, technologies, and techniques. In order for a every team member to remain valuable within the practice, constant improvement is essential. In order to thrive in the modern-day dental practice, you must be dedicated to improve constantly. Personal and professional growth is a MUST!
Be a Team Player
What does it really mean to be a team player? This occurs when we contribute and make a difference in each other’s lives. Deep down we all want to be part of a team. Find a team of people you love and care about that constantly challenge you to be more than you ever thought you could be. True happiness at work and in life is finding something bigger than yourself. When you add value to your teammates by inspiring them to be more successful, it will come back to you tenfold. Support your team by supporting the purpose, vision and goals of the practice. Have pure motives without hidden agendas. Build relationships with integrity and believe in and take care of your team.
Living the Golden Rule
What is the Golden Rule? It simply states: Treat others as you want to be treated. In other words, take a walk in others’ shoes. Ultimately, this leads to your own happiness. Consider going the extra mile for your coworkers. Obviously, those actions will be good for those you help and are kind to, but you’ll notice something else happening. People will treat you better too. You will also notice a greater satisfaction within yourself.
In conclusion, evaluate where you are by reflecting on each area and rating yourself, with 1 being mediocre and 10 being outstanding. Be honest with yourself. In order to know where you’re going, you must know where you are. Once identified, ask yourself how you can you improve, and start taking small steps to close the gap of where you are and where you want to be by writing short-term goals and monitoring your results. Do you want to be a paycheck collector or a peak performer? Strive to be above 10, which is extraordinary!
A score of 1 to 3 means you’re simply collecting a paycheck. You clock in and out and don’t necessarily add great value to your day in the office. You may even find it hard to go into work each day. You’re in the office to put in your time until retirement.
A score of 4 to 7 means you have the potential to be outstanding or a peak performer, but you think you’re entitled to be paid more to do more. Some days you’re motivated to raise your standards, but many times you find yourself complaining about the way things are instead of finding a way to make things better.
A score of 7 to 10 means you’re a peak performer and team player. You bring more value to the office every day than what you expect in return. You have the “I will do it and how can I help make this better?” attitude. Your reward is knowing that you did the best you could today.
Tara L. Menard, RDH, is a member of AADOM, a life coach, educator and consultant with Dental Management 360. Tara assists dentists and teams as they grow their practices by creating outstanding team cultures. With over 30 years of experience in dentistry, she speaks at programs and a variety of workshops, offers one-on-one coaching programs, in-office consulting and at Dental 360 Mastermind Groups. Contact Tara at [email protected] or (401) 413-0465. Visit her at https://www.dentalmgmt360.com/
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