As DEO – Dentist Entrepreneur Organization, we have been engaged with small and emerging group practices intensively for the last 6 years. During all this time, one of the main problems across the board is finding, recruiting and retaining good associates.
It is usual and customary, for nearly everyone addressing the associate dilemma, to focus on contracting, compensation, expectations, requirements and goals. Listen closely to attorneys, HR specialists, recruiters, managers, senior doctors, administrators, and all the other stakeholders, when they speak about potential associates, it is in the context of an “object” in a “sea of objects”. They don’t speak about them as human beings, nor as professionals. Rather, replaceable parts required to produce a predetermined amount of revenue.
What kind of associate would want to work for a group practice, if this were the way associates are perceived? And, standing in this perception, how would you see, talk and relate to an associate? What kind of associate relationships does this perception set up? What does this perception say about your culture?
The conversations around associates have objectivized them, stereotyped them, labeled them, and pigeonholed them. They are “no good”, money seeking, irresponsible, negligent, immature, and foolish. And this perception leads to: “Here’s what you need to do to box your associates in. Here’s the strategy to keep them pulling their weight. Here’s the tactics that keep their nose to the grindstone. Here’s the incentives that keep them anchored.”
What do those statements say about how most people see associates? Do you realize that this is critical? It is critical because perception determines action, and action determines outcomes. Are you getting the outcomes you want from your associates or not? If not, why not?
When you answer that question, “why not,” rather than faulting the system, dental schools, generational differences, political conditions, the ADA, I would ask you to consider yourself and your enterprise as a major part of this equation. Maybe there is more to it than associates contracting, compensation, defining expectations, requirements, policies, goals and incentives. What else is fundamental and critical to the entire hiring and retaining associate process?
My answer is leadership. Ask yourself, are you a leader worth following or you are a commander in chief giving orders? Are you just the strategist and tactician, or do you really have the depth and passion for creating and then sustaining an enterprise committed to making a real difference? Do you have an authentic vision, a potent purpose, a stand that you’ve taken about your group and who they are in the world, or are you just about the numbers?
You might want to reflect on this brief post, and if you want to get back to me, write to me. You can get in touch via email or on DEO Dental Facebook page. My two cents on this matter is: being a leader worth following is ultimately the one number you must have in the combination to open the lock for associates. Leadership is not about titles, strategy or tactics, leadership is about powerfully influencing others.
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