PERSONAL LEADERSHIP
Managing the the 3 Hats We Wear
to Eliminate Overwhelming Demands
There’s too much to do, and too little time. But the problem is not that we have too much to do, the real problem is that we’re trying to do it all. We’re doing many of the tasks that could and should be performed by others.
We’re wearing too many “Hats”.
As a result, some important things are not getting done and other things are not being done well. And there’s little time to plan significant improvements or explore new opportunities.
To avoid becoming overwhelmed, we must change our view about our essential roles in the practice.
But first, let’s make a clear distinction between working “in” our practice and working “on” our practice. We’re working “in” our practice we are doing the day to day “work” that needs to be done. That includes delivering patient care, paying the payroll, ordering supplies, talking with patients, etc.
We are working “on” our practice when we are focusing on the strategic objectives of the practice and developing better procedures and systems to do what needs to be done.
Working “in” our practice is about what we need to be doing
to get through today.
Working “on” our practice is about what we need to be doing
to have a better tomorrow.
Second, we must understand that there are different rules when we work “inside” our practice and “outside” our practice.
When we are working “outside” the practice, we make our own rules. How much time do I want to spend in the office and which days? Do I want to renovate or open a satellite office? What equipment do I want to purchase?
When we are working “inside” our practice, we must behave as if we’re an employee of the practice, adhering to all of the standards of behavior that we expect of our staff. That includes being on time, not responding to personal texts or calls, and treating them how we want them to be treating each other. Too often, we feel that we’re exempt from these rules because we’re the “boss”, only later discovering that we have compromised the “moral authority” to insist on similar behavior from our staff.
The “Three Hats” Perspective
The “Three Hats” perspective clarifies which roles and responsibilities are exclusively ours, showing us the way out of all these crushing demands. By knowing the indispensable responsibilities of each “Hat”, we can then delegate everything else to competent staff and free ourselves from the overwhelming responsibility of managing our practice.
The guiding rule becomes, “Do only, what only you can do - and delegate the rest”.
So, what are the three essential roles or “Hats” in clinical practice?
Hat #1 - The Master Clinician
We strive to become masters of our craft, exceptional clinicians with the knowledge and skills to achieve excellent results, As a clinician, we work “in” our practice from “inside” the organization as an “employee” of the practice, doing the “Essential Technical Work” that only we can do.
The Master Clinician
So, what is this essential work? What is it that “only we can do” in this role?
“Essential Technical Work”
In the role of Master Clinician, we concentrate on two major areas: our essential clinical responsibilities and our indispensable non-clinical responsibilities.
1. Our essential clinical responsibilities
- improving the delivery of patient care by refining our knowledge and clinical skills and
- coordinating the clinical work of our staff.
These clinical responsibilities include:
- Delivering excellent clinical care
- Diagnosis, treatment planning, & clinical decision-making
- Developing protocols for effective and efficient clinical care
- Consistent continuing education
2. Our indispensable non-clinical responsibilities
- communicating with parents, patients, and other dentists and
- developing protocols to streamline those communications.
“Non-essential Technical Work”
This includes all technical work that can potentially be delegated or outsourced to others. For example, payroll, ordering supplies, inventory, non-clinical paperwork, and other managerial tasks.
How to reallocate our time & commitments
We must begin to focus on Results rather than on Control. When we focus on “Control” we say, “If it’s going to be done well, I have to do it myself.” When we focus on Results, we say, “These are the desired results I want, let’s work out a way to achieve them together.”
Here are the steps to reducing the time we spend on non-essential work:
- Identify the essential and non-essential technical work that we perform
- Identify the daily/weekly non-clinical time commitments that can be easily delegated
- Start small – decide which items can be assigned quickly. (Remember, any non-essential thing that we do only 15 mins/day results in more than 40 hours of our time each year.)
- After we’ve delegated small non-essential tasks to gain momentum, decide which item to relinquish that would have the greatest impact on freeing up our time.
- Spend time working with competent staff to develop written protocols that will free up our most time consuming non-essential time commitments.
- Repeat the process until all of the items are delegated
Hat #2 - The Inspirational Leader
As the Leader, we work “on” our practice from “inside” the organization as the principle manager, someone who is responsible for organizing the day-to-day operations of the office. But leaders shouldn't try to motivate their staff to make these changes; everyone is either self-motivated or not. Instead, successful leaders inspire their team to make the necessary changes.
The Inspirational Leader
As we delegate and train others to do our Non-essential Technical Work, we can spend more time doing the necessary Strategic Work that may have been neglected up to this point.
When we wear this “Hat”, we work with our staff to create efficient, effective and error-resistant procedures which contribute to the smooth operation of our practice.
This Strategic Work includes:
- Designing and implementing better clinical and office systems
- Training members of our staff in additional Non-essential Technical Work
- Fostering great relationships to form a cohesive high-performance team, and
- Developing staff leaders who can take over many of our managerial tasks.
How to develop your staff team and adopt better systems
- For Team Development:
To improve our practice, we must focus on people first and processes second. Our staff is our “best competitive advantage” and foundational for practice improvement. Without teamwork, all our efforts will fall short. With Teamwork, progress will be continuous and rapid.
I’ve devoted a whole section of the website on the critical task of nurturing and developing a harmonious and high-performance Team. Refer to the Team Dynamics section for a reliable way to have a Championship Team. See:
- Understanding the 3 Phases of Team Development
- Moving up to become a Championship Team
- Overcoming the 5 Frustrations of Leading Staff
- Adhering to the Top 6 Principles for Leading a Championship Team
- For better practice systems:
Use the “C.A.S.E. principle” to help develop more efficient and effective systems to do your “technical work”. The C.A.S.E. principle is “Copy And Steal Everything”. Don’t reinvent the wheel. Research how other successful practices are systematizing their clinical and administrative operations and adapt their systems to your unique situation.
Summary of the “5 Steps” to delegate Non-essential Technical Work to competent staff:
- Define the Project – Create the “Vision”
- Allocate the Resources
- Design the System
- Execute the Training
- Lead the People
For more information, see: Following the 5 Steps to Lasting Change & Pursuing the 4 stages of the Improvement Cycle) (coming soon)
#3 - The Visionary Owner
We examine our practice from “outside” the organization – as the Owner of a business - considering it as an independent entity by separating ourselves from all the work we do “inside” the practice and considering the strategic direction of the practice, our Vision for the future.
#3 - The Visionary Owner
Hopefully, now that we aren’t burdened by time-consuming non-essential tasks and our management systems and procedures are being handled by competent staff, we have more time for Strategic Planning.
Strategic Planning includes:
- Making good long-range decisions that determine the overall direction and success of the practice. We ask the question: What do I want my practice to look like 3 - 5 years from now?
- Determining the type of practice that will best suit the dreams and aspirations we have for ourselves and our loved ones.
Each practice has a life of its own. At first, we run it; later, it can run us (if we let it). We must choose between making a living and designing a life. When we wear this “Hat”, we can think deeply about creating a future practice that is successful and fulfilling, one which serves the personal and professional hopes and dreams for ourselves and our loved ones.
For more information on this process, refer to the section of the website (coming soon) on: Mastering the 4 Key Strategic Decisions to improve your practice and Concentrating on 4 Cornerstones to build an Exceptional Practice.
Conclusion
We spend so much time working “IN” our practice that there is precious little time left to work “ON” our practice. By getting clear about our three essential roles and clarifying our primary responsibilities in each, we can become more productive and avoid becoming overwhelmed.
But this transition will take time. There is no quick fix to complex, long-term problems. Significant changes require significant time. With persistence and patience, though, it is possible to have a highly productive, low stress practice by “doing only what only we can do” and delegating the rest.
