Knowing when to delegate is critical to avoiding burnout. As part of her comprehensive dental coaching services, Jennifer Pearce will teach you when it is appropriate to delegate certain tasks within your practice. Letting go can be hard, but your business can never grow until you allow trusted staff members to take on new responsibilities.
Delegating Is Not Simply About “Letting Go”
When we think of ideal leadership values, micromanagement is usually not on the list. Great leaders know how and when to delegate. Building a dental practice from the ground up may leave you feeling anxious about leaving certain aspects of running your business in someone else’s hands. That is completely understandable. When you delegate in a strategic manner, though, you are helping members of your team grow.
If you have grown your business in a healthy manner, then you have brought on skilled team members who can help your business grow. By selectively allowing individuals from your team to oversee a growing number of tasks, you are communicating that you have faith in their abilities. That step alone builds loyalty, a key quality of any thriving dental clinic team.
Delegating tasks frees dentists and administrators to focus on other critical areas, such as hiring and business growth.
Tips for Effectively Delegating
- Explain the task fully: The first step to successfully delegating is to explain every step involved in performing the task. This goes beyond the mundane how-to details. Describe why the task is important and why you have chosen the employee for the role. This is a great opportunity to boost the staffer’s moral. Let the staff member know how to handle potential emergencies and when reporting back to you is appropriate.
- Evaluate progress: Delegating shouldn’t be thought of as blindly handing off the reigns of some important task. When you delegate, you are entrusting an employee with the opportunity to prove himself or herself at some appointed task. That staff member is now accountable for fulfilling that job. Every few weeks, take time to give feedback on their work based on his or her performance. Point out ways they can improve, for example.
- Provide resources: Don’t halfway delegate or delegate with certain restrictions. If you allow an employee to oversee purchasing supplies, for example, then that employee needs to have the resources to fulfill that task. Fully enable your staff members to fulfill their delegated tasks, whether that means giving them online passwords, additional training, or access to previously secure information. Only when a nurse or dental hygienist has all the tools to fulfill a new task can he or she be accurately evaluated on his or her performance.
- Be open-minded: Once you delegate a task, don’t be surprised if your employee has his or own way of doing it. For the most part, what matters here is that the task is fulfilled. There is usually more than one way to perform any given task. Giving responsibility for accomplishing a task while letting them sort out the best way to accomplish it is a great way to never be accused of micromanaging.
Seek Expert Consulting Help
If you are looking to explore new leadership styles, we can provide expert advice. Jennifer Pearce has more than 24 years of experience as a dental office administrator. She has also co-owned multiple dental practices. Her dental consulting services can help your dental practice become less stressful and more profitable.
You’re reading this blog, you care about your business. For expert help, call Prosperity Dental Solutions at 817-975-4576 or email jennifer@prosperitydentalsolutions.com.
