Two Kinds of Dental Practices ... And Which You Should Strive to Be

Anyone who has had kids is well acquainted with that wonderful stage of life where toddlers feel confident that they are the fastest, the strongest and the best at whatever they do. That is one reason kids learn so much in such a short time – they are simply not afraid to try.

But then what happens? As they progress through the higher grades at school, where testing and grading become more important, they develop a sense of self-consciousness. They come to learn that there some skills that come more easily to them than others. And since it feels better to succeed, they start to focus on those things. The rest they write off as just “something I’m not good at,” and they use that as an excuse to not really try.

(Click here to learn about the courage to try.)

It’s an attitude that carries into adulthood for many people – and once you’re out of school and away from the grading system and required assignments, it gets even easier to stay focused on what you know you can do. We all want to feel successful and feel good about our abilities, and we tend to settle into patterns that allow us to do that.

That is an important human trait to keep in mind when thinking about yourself and your team. You can be surrounded by people who sincerely want to succeed, but when their self-image and sense of self-worth is tied up in how well they do their jobs, you can also end up with at team that is highly competent and motivated in its own way, but reluctant to venture outside of their established areas of proven expertise. It’s what I call a capabilities-based practice. A capabilities-based practice will take you fairly far, but there are some places it won’t go. It instinctively resists any route where it might encounter some turbulence. And if you’re not ready to endure some turbulence, you won’t be able to make real breakthroughs.

A possibilities-based practice, on the other hand, realizes that it doesn’t have to just be about improving your game; it can be about re-inventing the game. They can still have that pride in their capabilities (in fact, it’s a foundation that is absolutely necessary), but at the same time they also cultivate a passion for what’s next. They want to recapture the spirit of that exciting time early in life when you aren’t concerned with looking foolish and aren’t afraid to fail. And if you do fail, you just pick yourself up and keep going. No judgments. No regrets. You just want to keep learning and keep finding new things to get excited about.

And that’s your role as a team leader: to create that culture where innovation is rewarded, where disturbances are welcomed as opportunities and everyone is free to make mistakes in the service of progress.  As I said, everyone likes to be good at what they do, and when you’re doing something for the first time, chances are you’re not going to be good at it right away. But that’s the mark of the possibilities-based practice: letting go of the security of being good so you can fully embrace the opportunity to be great.