What is in a word? Attitude means approach, bearing, behaviour, demeanour, disposition, mood or frame of mind, according to the Oxford English Dictionary.Attitude is not a negative word, as so many people believe it to be. It is a word that describes you and your outlook on life in general. I once did an inspirational talk for Dental Arts Studio at a seminar day we had with a dental resource company. The host asked me what I was going to call my event, and I answered by saying ‘Attitude’. He told me that this was an insulting title with which to approach a group of academics. I took on board what he said, as it was never my intention to insult anyone. However the funniest thing was that during his introduction and seminar, he used the word so many times that I lost count. Yes – I counted the times he said it; it amused me that he had criticized me for using the word positively before using it himself negatively.
My attitude was a healthy one as I changed the title of my talk to ‘Seasons of Change’. Did it affect me as a person? No – it showed me that I was responsive to change. If I invest time in me, I will grow as a person. This healthy attitude is my strongest asset. I apply the same rule to my staff; I will spend time investing in them to get the best out of them, as my practice and my patients will benefit from this self-development.
Attitude is a lot about who you are and what kind of a person you want to be. In my line of work as a Practice Manager I have to have a good attitude every day towards my position and what is expected of me even though on some days it is very hard to stay positive and focused. Some days I feel as if I have to wear a breastplate to work to shield myself from all the fiery darts that are thrown at me – even the best of us make mistakes; we all fall short of perfection.
In my mind, I know how to carry out each task to the best of my ability. This is not what makes me good at what I do – it is my attitude towards the outcome of my task which does this. I never accept second best – there is almost always a solution to a problem. We just need to take a step back and look at any given situation analytically. This is called problem-solving.
Too often, I stumble upon situations where I feel the person in charge has not taken enough action in controlling certain situations. Over time, I have learnt that the more quickly you deal with any issues, the more quickly they are resolved, making more time available to you to get on with the more serious issues that need your attention.
I am well-known for running our group on discipline. This is a burden that I am happy to carry. Whether I do well or whether I do badly, someone is going to try and undermine me. My attitude is that as long as I’m ethical and law-abiding, I don’t really care about the opinions of my staff – this may sound harsh, but it is the truth.
I had a member of staff who left me at the beginning of the year due to personal reasons. However, she stays in regular contact, which I enjoy, as she is a lovely person. She went off to work in a big well-known group in the City. She lasted there two months, and called to tell me that she left because she felt lost on a daily basis. She never knew what she was supposed to do on any given day, as it was a specialist centre – there were lots of different dentists coming in weekly. Apparently, the Practice Manager was always out on the high street, either shopping or having botox done. What my ex-staff member missed the most was the structure of her day with me at London Bridge. Due to the discipline I apply by introducing practice procedures, policies and routine, each member of my staff always know what their job description and their daily routine is.
So my belief is that if you have a good attitude, self-discipline, routine and structure, and you lead by example, you, as a person of responsibility, won’t go far wrong.
Practice management is sometimes a hard and lonely position, as you belong neither here nor there. The nurses have their own ‘clique’ and belong to another world. I say keep your head high and soldier on. I love my job and enjoy every minute that I work for Dr Malhan and Dr Solanki. Their support means the difference between me developing as a manager or running!
Since winning the British Dental Practice Managers’ Association Award, I have signed up to do the DRC NVQ 4 Practice Managers’ course. I am so excited about my development that I can’t wait to see what I will achieve in the next five years, which is harsh as I’ll be forty-six!
I stumbled across these words some time back when I first started out with Dental Arts Studio. They led me to reflect on how to deal with difficult situations. I am going to share them with you and I hope that they will do the same for you. Enjoy!
Closing statement by Winston Churchill:
‘Continuous effort – not strength or intelligence – is the key to unlocking our potential’.