By: Mark Kleive DDS
This article originally appeared on Pankey.org. Dr. Kleive granted permission for igniteDDS to share it with our readers.
Keeping your team members motivated and actively participating throughout the year is no small feat. Without a solid communication-based framework, things can easily fall apart, undermining the cohesion and productivity of your practice.
During a recent course, I received many questions about how I get my team members engaged. This left me reflecting on lessons I’ve learned over the years from research by the Gallup organization.
Read on to learn what causes disengagement and how you can avoid the downfalls of a disgruntled team in your practice.
3 Types of Team Members Who Make or Break Success
In the book, “12: The Elements of Great Managing,” Rodd Wagner and James K. Harter use research from Gallup to describe the three types of team members that exist in corporate America.
I believe these types apply to dentistry as well:
- Engaged: They have the magical ingredient of passion.
- Not Engaged: Pretty much checked out. They put in time but there’s no energy in their work.
- Actively Disengaged: They’re not only unhappy, they actually undermine what engaged team members try to accomplish.
How Engagement Determines Business Success
What the authors found is that the ratio of engaged to actively disengaged employees is quite different in highly productive corporations versus average corporate America.
- Engaged team members in average corporate America were 30% versus 63% in highly productive organizations.
- Similarly, not engaged team members was 29% in the highly productive versus 50% in the average.
- Most shockingly, the actively disengaged employees were more than twice as high in the average corporate office: 8% versus 20%.
This had me thinking of the analogy of a 10-person bicycle. Three people are pedaling really hard at the front. Five people have their hands on the handlebars but their feet are up in the air and they’re not pedaling. Then there are two people way in the back who are actively holding onto the break. This either means a stalling ride or one that could be much faster if everyone were like the first three.
The 12 questions in the book and their corresponding need categories are useful for sussing out what matters most to promote engagement. They show us what can we do about low morale in our dental offices.
Questions That Will Improve Team Engagement
Employees in a dental practice need to feel valued on multiple levels to do their best work.
Knowing the importance of team engagement and how it affects the business success, can help you change your team’s satisfaction and your employees to have a more fulfilling work experience.
Understanding the 4 Team Needs That Will Change Your Practice
Wagner and Harter’s framework, from “12: The Elements of Great Managing” rooted in Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs, categorizes the elements of great management into four key needs:
- Basic Needs
- Individual Needs
- Teamwork Needs
- Growth Needs
By addressing these foundational pillars, you can create an environment where team members feel empowered, supported, and inspired to excel.
From clarity of expectations to opportunities for growth and development, each element plays a crucial role in shaping the employee experience and driving overall engagement. By embracing these concepts for team management and prioritizing the fulfillment of these needs, you can lay the groundwork for a successful and high-performing team.
Basic Needs
💡 Example: The first element that must have ‘yes’ as an answer is, ‘I know what is expected of me at work.’
This is the most important category. When people know what’s expected of them, their basic needs are met and it’s easier to move on to their individual needs.
Individual Needs
💡 Example: Element four is, ‘In the last 7 days, I have received praise for doing good work.’
This is about recognition for team members that do good work. You must make sure they’re in an environment where that type of response is supported.
Teamwork Needs
The next need is teamwork. I find it interesting that Gallup asks about best friends. Certainly, something I see with my own team is that when team members are actively engaged in relationships with each other, they come to work engaged because of those friendships. They don’t call in sick because they want to spend time with their friends at work.
💡 Example: Element seven is, ‘At work, my opinion seems to count.’
I’m a fantastic micromanager and I always think I have the best ideas. The more I’ve given up on that, the more I’ve noticed my team members are happier with what they’re doing.
Growth Needs
And lastly, but not less important is growth opportunities.
💡 Example: The final element is, ‘In the last year, I have had opportunities to learn and grow.’
Employees need to feel challenged in their tasks, not bored or stuck in stasis.
My encouragement is to look through the Gallup Q12 Index questions and consider whether you have had similar conversations with your team members individually. Ultimately, if your team members can respond affirmatively to these questions in your practice, then I’m sure you will discover that they are ‘pulling on the rope.’
Key Takeaways
Are you seeking advanced education opportunities for both yourself and your team members? Look no further than The Pankey Institute, where we provide Team Courses tailored to every member of your team.
Join me at Pankey, where I serve as a Visiting Faculty member, conducting numerous lectures and webinars aimed at assisting you in shaping the practice of your dreams and achieving financial independence.
