Are you struggling to find innovative ideas for your practice and team? Maybe what you need is a little conflict.
This is not the same conflict that keeps you up and night and undermines the success of the practice. Instead, I’m encouraging you to consider how differences of opinion could be the best thing for your long-term success.
If no one on your dental team ever challenges your ideas, then you have a sterile environment. You are left with a team that is either disengaged or too shy to “shake the trees.” Some of the most productive meetings I have ever facilitated consisted of managed conflict where differences of opinion were openly explored.
Here is how this approach can work for you. Let’s assume you want to make your patient experience even better. Challenge your team to come prepared to discuss why patients stay in the practice as well as why they leave. Ask your team to develop at three ideas for how to make some aspect of the patient experience even better. Then before the meeting, check your preconceived notions at the door.
If someone, for example, suggests that you need more of a spa atmosphere at your practice, do not just dismiss this idea as too over-the-top. Consider what creates a spa atmosphere. How can you implement elements of that in your practice? It may be as simple as offering a warm towel for patients to freshen up with after treatment.
When you welcome conflicting ideas, you can learn a lot by considering what is behind the idea. What parts of the idea can you use for your practice? Please keep in mind that innovation breeds more innovation, and you can open the door to new ideas by inviting a little conflict.
Learn more about how our dental consulting can help you and your team generate innovative ideas.