Dental Tips |1 min read

Interpersonal Challenges in the Dental Office

Interpersonal ChallengesIn a previous post, I discussed how acknowledging stressors in your dental practice might actually limit their potential to keep you up at night.

In addition to restorative failures and unmet patient expectations, interpersonal challenges can also be a significant cause of stress in the office.

There is no simple solution to problems with team members, but if you accept that occasionally they will happen, then you’re on your way to resolution and decreased stress.

Interpersonal Challenges: When Team Members Don’t Get Along

If your team members are fighting once in awhile and bringing their upset back to you, then you know your dental practice is normal. It’s impossible to avoid personalities clashing, especially in close quarters with a small number of people.

Disagreements shouldn’t last forever though, and ultimately it has to be your call whether a co-worker doesn’t fit with the rest of your team. At this point, you’re dealing with the stress of second-hand upset and anger, as well as the added unpleasantness of considering letting someone go.

Just know that you’re not alone. The chances that you’ll have to go through the frustrating processes of hiring and firing (multiple times) are extremely high. You may hope for a happy team, but reality doesn’t provide that kind of simplicity. It’s your job to give team members the tools they need to become highly-motivated and mostly self-managing.

Over time, you’ll get closer to this goal. And when challenges do occur, you’ll face them with renewed insight.

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