How to flip your perspective on feedback

As a dental coach and a basketball coach, giving feedback is something that is natural for me, but I realize most people are not accustomed to giving or receiving feedback. Most individuals shy away from the potential conflict of giving or receiving feedback, regardless of the industry. I want to help everyone in our dental industry with this. In fact, I want to flip the premise of feedback in our industry.

What if we define any comment given as feedback? It doesn't just take place during a yearly performance review, but rather is given multiple times per day. Let me explain from a different standpoint.

For example, on the basketball court, my players always know where they stand, what their strengths are, and what they need to work on. During every drill we run in practice, they get feedback. During the game, they get feedback. As we watch game film, they get feedback. See how I am connecting the dots? When you are intentional with giving feedback, there is no stress or anxiety about giving it or receiving it.

What if this became a part of your culture in your dental office? It can be a game-changer because each team member always knows where he or she stands. A yearly performance review is just formal at that point. There will be no surprises because feedback is consistently given. This enables team members to make improvement and growth a part of their everyday thought process.

It also has the extra benefit of your team having more freedom to try new things. In the dental practices I have taught how to do this, staff is much closer and the trust level is much higher as a team. The dentist embraces the role as head coach and each team member has so much clarity that he or she appreciates the workplace environment that much more. True growth has always been the result of this process.

This process of feedback is something I want to teach others, especially those practices that are having a lot of turnover due to COVID-19, in addition to the challenges that are facing our industry. Please reach out to me if I may be of assistance, and please take a moment to hear some more of my thoughts in the video below.

Lynne Leggett is the founder and CEO of Victory Dental Management and the author of You Can't Coach Quit: How to Create a Winning Dental Practice for Your Success. She has more than 25 years of business experience in several industries, including dentistry, medical, pharmacy, sales, transportation, logistics, and project management. Learn more about her and her services, including some free offerings, on the Victory Dental Management website.

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