Ever wonder why some organizations run like well-oiled machines, and others face problem after problem?

It all comes down to one thing: leadership.

Leadership creates the culture.

Everything trickles down from the top. I have worked in several different offices during my time in dentistry, and they were all different.

One of the offices had okay systems in place but also got by without systems. The boss was more of a dictator-type leader. He was always right, and what he said went. We rarely challenged him, but I learned over time that if I could suggest an idea in a way that he thought it was his idea, it might actually fly. There was a lot of that type of manipulation by the entire staff. We were often trying to make things run more smoothly, but we had to do it on the sly.

We didn’t really feel safe in his environment. In his stark honesty, he would confront problems in a way that it would offend us or pit employees against each other. There was a lot of gossip in the office, and he even participated in it, thinking it was fun. While we had some really wonderful team members, and I am still friends with some of them to this day; we had a ton of office turnover, and someone was calling in “sick” on a weekly basis. It was a tough place to work.

Teams can see and feel what is really going on.

Another office had much better systems in place. Overall, it was run well, but you could see some holes in the more democratic style of leadership. He made the management think they were in charge by giving them heavy-duty responsibilities like hiring and firing. But if you saw behind the scenes, you could see occasions where the team didn’t have as much control as it seemed. I can relate to this style more than the first. It comes with good intentions, and many dentists want to be liked by their teams and patients. We don’t really like conflict, so we’ll do what we can to avoid it. Eventually employees see through that too, and while things weren’t perfect, it was a generally positive environment.

Then there was the office that finally gave me an understanding of what it must be like to work in politics. It was a group practice with about 6 owners and 4 associates. Everyone had good intentions, but no one could ever agree on the execution. It left us constantly at a stalemate, never able to put any ideas into action. When we tried to do a massive and expensive strategic planning overhaul, the staff was skeptical. They felt hopeless about it and believed it would just lead to a bunch of busy work for them while the doctors would do nothing, all with no results… like always. I remember hopefully trying to pep them up saying, “No, I think this time is different.” It wasn’t different. They were right. Although individuals tried to do their best, as a whole, the group felt jaded and hopeless about the organization.

No matter what, the energy of an organization always comes from the leadership.

When we see practices where the front office is pitted against the back office, gossip (whether true or false,) is flying, and the culture is unfriendly; that comes from the top. That is the sole responsibility of the leaders.

If you find yourself saying, “It’s impossible to find good help,” or, “My employees are so unreliable,” that may be true. Of course, not everyone is the right fit for your practice. But what if you could pause and ask yourself how your leadership might be creating an environment where employees don’t feel valued or inspired? What if your energy or attitude is why they aren’t loyal?

What if there were actually something you could do about it?

I recently had a conversation with an amazing dentist who struggled with her leadership. Her employees thought she was mean, she had a lot of staff turnover, and she felt angry most of the time. People were quitting and leaving her high and dry, creating massive stress in her life. She was pretty unhappy in practice.

Then something opened her eyes, and she realized the problem was… her.

She couldn’t control her team, but with leadership coaching, she was able to change herself and the way she was leading. Now she has a loyal team, and she knows her own boundaries. Knowing what stresses her out allows her to draw boundaries, so she can set herself and her working relationships up for success.

We see how important leadership is all the time. Whether it’s in a small business like your dental practice, a large corporation like Zappos, or even in, ahem, our government; the values and energy that comes from the top permeates into all levels.

What kind of leader do you want to be? You get to choose, and the rest will follow.