Know what you want

Beautiful woman patient having dental treatment at dentist's office. Woman visiting her dentist; Shutterstock ID 409454146

Getting this right is important for success with patients

Inspirational Leadership © point 3: Know what you want

One of the fundamental elements of leadership is clarity. If you are not clear about what you expect someone else to do, they will not have the conviction to follow you. Being clear in your own mind makes it far easier to communicate to others.

Leadership as a dentist
Getting this right is important for success with patient – clarity is a fundamental element of leadership

Tip for you in your role: Think about situations you may find yourself in with patients. What can you do to be completely clear in your own mind, about what you want to happen by the end of a specific consultation, or at the end of a treatment? Once you are clear, what can you do to make that simple for a patient to understand, despite them not having your level of knowledge, or potentially motivation?

It is also important to ensure that your patient has clearly received the message. Always check that the other end has the right understanding. You can do this by asking questions, such as “How do you feel about incorporating that into your oral hygiene routine?” and judging how well they have understood what you are asking them to do from their response.

Author – Alex Selwood

Colgate recently worked with Alex, an inspiring personal development facilitator and coach, to develop a model on how leadership skills can be applied in the dental office.

Other articles in the series:

a) Choose to Lead

b) Do dental professionals need to be emotionally intelligent?

c) How do you give your dental practice an authentic brand?



Dear Reader,
You will need to login if you want to read the comments made by dental professional readers, or to make comments on the articles yourself.

Please enter your e-mail and password:

Please enable JavaScript in order to continue. You can find instruction for your browser here.

Not signed up yet? Click here

Many thanks,
The #ColgateDialogue team