Which would you rather have, a skilled employee or an employee with a great attitude? Based on all of my years working with dental practice teams, I give the nod to a great attitude. And I like what Ralph Marston had to say on the subject: “Excellence is not a skill. It is an attitude.”
You build a practice based on the right attitude. Rarely do patients stay in your practice because your crown margins are exquisite or your assistants take excellent alginate impressions or your front office team can manage a multi-line phone. And when neighbors gather to compare notes about various experiences, rarely do they brag about you by saying, “My dentist has more CE than your dentist.”
Patients stay in your practice because of how you make them feel. You have to come from the heart to make a patient feel comfortable, and you have to have the right attitude to find the motivation to go above and beyond for someone.
How about when you need to offer corrective feedback to a team member: isn’t it much more productive when the team member has a great attitude?
If you are considering how to make your practice and team even stronger, pay close attention to attitude. Yours and your team’s. Great teams have at their core a great attitude. Do not settle for less in your practice.