New Study Club Modules Focus on the Business of Running a Dental Practice

Juggling clinical precision with the financial goals of an independent practice is a constant challenge. To help, Spear Study Club now offers three new practice management-focused modules by Imtiaz Manji to emphasize team-centered objectives for practice growth and success.

“The Value Roles Approach to Creating Team Self-Accountability" and “Establishing Fair Market-Based Compensation”  modules were recently introduced as part of a Study Club module series that also includes “The Language of Success: Creating a Vocabulary that Inspires Self-Leadership and Team Accountability.”

Mr. Manji's recent releases, in addition to three other modules that will be released this winter, will make up the new “Foundations for a Thriving Practice” Study Club curriculum. This curriculum is designed for the entire interdisciplinary team, including specialists and restorative doctors, and some modules are also intended to be shared with practice team members.

“As with many educational offerings at Spear, this curriculum follows a layered learning approach, meaning that each module builds on insights covered in the previous ones,” said Mr. Manji, a longtime dental practice management educator whose lessons and leadership have informed Spear curricula for more than a decade.

“For that reason, I strongly urge study club leaders to proceed through this curriculum in the order the modules are presented to get the most from the experience,” he said.

Spear Study Club Leaders will find that the first three modules deliver immediate value to their club members by clarifying practice team value roles to increase self-accountability for each team member, including through an examination of competitive compensation and incentives that keep teams engaged.

Spear Study Club is built to facilitate professional development and networking for clinicians within a shared local community. Members collaborate on real-world cases virtually or in person with online learning modules to drive consistently successful case management and shape lasting bonds to complete more interesting and potentially lucrative cases together.

Spear has the most established network of study clubs in the world, with thousands of members and hundreds of active clubs that offer small-group learning supported by prescribed curriculum to shape productive interdisciplinary relationships.

Study Club leaders and members can get additional details about the new “Foundations for a Thriving Practice” curriculum through their Study Club advisor.

Module 1 - ‘The Language of Success: Creating a Vocabulary that Inspires Self-Leadership and Team Accountability’

In this module, Mr. Manji introduces several exercises that stimulate thinking on how to talk about the most fundamental and important areas of alignment for any practice team.

“Shared accountability begins with a shared understanding of what the practice stands for and wants to achieve,” Mr. Manji said. “This makes it vital to establish a culture of self-leadership, where team members have an ingrained understanding of what it takes to be successful in their role.”

The material covered in this module is designed to be viewed and discussed as a study club, and then again back in individual practices with individual teams so they can also understand the process.

View “The Language of Success: Creating a Vocabulary that Inspires Self-Leadership and Team Accountability” now.

Learning objectives:

• Define Great Dentistry in your practice from three perspectives.
• Create a glossary of life value words and definitions and put them in context.
• Draft a meaningful vision statement that draws from your new shared vocabulary.

Module 2 - ‘The Value Roles Approach to Creating Team Self-Accountability’

In this module, Mr. Manji introduces the concept of value roles in the practice, where team members see their contributions not just as a defined set of job tasks, but as a role that plays an integrated part in the practice’s success.

The material covered in this module is also designed to be viewed and discussed as group in a study club, and then again back in the practice with individual teams.

View “The Value Roles Approach to Creating Team Self-Accountability” now.

Learning objectives:

• Discuss how job roles are necessary but limiting when it comes creating team alignment.
• Define the key value roles in every specialist and restorative office.
• How each team member should be able to describe their contribution to the practice’s success in one sentence.

Module 3 - ‘Establishing Fair Market-Based Compensation’

In this module, study club members look at what can often be a difficult and sensitive topic, but one all practice owners must face — providing the right compensation for the practice team. The module, unlike the earlier ones, is not designed to be shared with the practice team. It is for doctors only in a study club meeting setting.

Members ponder questions like what level of pay is a fair level of pay? How much of a practice’s revenue goes toward paying the team? What other components beside salary or hourly pay should factor into base compensation? These are some of the issues every practice must have clarity to create a foundation for a team compensation strategy.

View “Establishing Fair Market-Based Compensation” now.

Learning objectives:

• Address the issue of team expectations to compensation.
• Describe the role that marketplace realities play in determining compensation ranges.
• Identify the importance of intangible factors beyond base pay.

More practice management study club modules coming soon

Keep an eye out this winter for the three additional team-centered Study Club modules from Mr. Manji that will be added to the “Foundations for a Thriving Practice” curriculum:

“Instituting a Team Rewards System”

• How to know you’re ready to institute a rewards system.
• Present a rewards program to the team with the right clarity.
• Discuss key factors in calculating payouts.

“Optimizing Team Meetings”

• Explain how team meetings should drive your vision and agenda.
• Professionalize your meeting protocols for optimal efficiency and accountability.
• Use customizable meeting agenda checklists to guide your focus.

“Conducting One-On-One Staff Reviews”

• Explain how a growth conference differs from a typical performance review.
• Use the Value Role approach as the basis for each team member’s conference.
• Construct each conference a collaborative coaching and feedback session that results in a new agenda of goals going forward.