An Aha! Moment About Teams as a System

[Anonymous]

I work almost exclusively with dental practice teams. In a practice there are 3 categories of professions, along with the dentist; the assistants, the hygienists, and the administrative staff. Often these groups work in “silos”. Their tasks are very different from each other’s. Yet, they are all interdependent on each other and are all part of the common purpose of a positive patient experience and growth of the practice.

As I think back over 30 years of working with dentists and their teams, it hit me like a brick this morning; so many of the challenges and problems and frustrations that arise to sabotage the smooth operation of a practice are due in part to the WHOLE team not functioning as a system!! The more a team operates within their silos, the more the edges of those silos become jagged and sharp and thick-walled. Communication breaks down and every ‘silo’ is in it for themselves. The result is a culture fraught with tension, diminished patient experience (business results!) and an unhealthy work environment.

Find the pain? I think I just did!

[Author]

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