The Personality of a Good Team

If you do not like everyone on your dental team, is that a bad thing?  It depends on the reasons for your feelings.  If you struggle with the personality types on your team, step back for a moment and consider if the differences are actually a good thing.

For example, you may have a dental assistant who has a warm chair-side presence and who instantly puts patients at ease.  Your assistant enjoys talking with patients and patients frequently compliment her.  But, this same assistant struggles with ordering supplies and organizing the back office.  She is obviously more of a social thinker than an analytical thinker.  Is she an asset or a detriment to the practice?

What if your second assistant is strong on the analytical side—excels at ordering and having everything in place for each procedure—but she is somewhat shy around patients.  Is she an asset or detriment?

Maybe the assistants are good complements for each other.  Despite your frustrations, maybe you have a good mix on your team.

This is certainly a simplified example.  Many elements go into team chemistry and performance, one of which is the blend of personality types.  In the front and back office, you typically need a mix of social and analytical skills for successful performance.

It is important to remember that teams have a range of personality types, and this is usually a good thing.  Therefore, please keep in mind that some of the differences you are experiencing and some of the traits that can cause frustration are actually the personality of a good team.

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