As a private practice Dentist, you are a Business Owner. You are also a Coach (managing your staff) and Player (providing clinical care to your patients). Naturally, you want a team you enjoy coaching. You also want players with the "right stuff" who can deliver a winning performance to your patients.

The question before you is: How do I pick the best players for my team?

The world of sports offers wonderful insights into the how’s and why’s of top performing teams. One of my favorite coaches is John Wooden, who led the UCLA basketball team to 10 National Championships, 7 of them in a row. In the 20 years since his retirement, Coach Wooden’s collegiate achievements remain unmatched.

What can we learn from Coach Wooden about finding the right players for your team?

Wooden knew what qualities were needed for success within his system. He kept two ideas in the forefront: Quickness under control and team attitude. With quickness under control he was after the player who was quick and who could play under control, at all times. With team attitude he sought the player who wanted to play TEAM basketball, not the player seeking how many points he could put on the scoreboard.

When Coach Wooden considered a potential player, he held these two standards up as the bar over which any player must pass. Now ask yourself the same question: What are my critical standards? I suggest they might be very close to Coach Wooden’s.

Drafting the Players

For a dental practice, you need front desk staff, assistants and hygienists who can perform very well under all types of conditions. They need to be consistent from patient to patient, accurate and productive, throughout the ups and down’s of daily practice life. Being quick, yet under control, applies equally to your own team as it does to the team on the basketball court.

Beyond individual skill, each of your staff members must possess a true team spirit. A dental practice team works in close quarters and in direct physical and emotional contact with patients.

If your team is in synch, the day will flow and end commonly with smiles and satisfaction. And when the day has offered tough challenges with perhaps a difficult patient or equipment problem, your team will remain positive, knowing they did their best despite the circumstances. Team attitude makes the difference between a truly bad day with lingering negative emotions and a tough day that is now over and forgotten.

When the time comes to replace or add a new member to your team, how do you make the best decision? Let’s say you have interviewed six candidates, invited three to each spend a few hours observing in your practice and now have narrowed the field down to two you think would be a great choice. Since you only need one person, who do you choose?

Here is where the investment of a few dollars today can save you many thousands in future. The last thing you want is to hire a person who proves problematic and potentially destructive to your team. The use of an in-depth personality assessment will give you a clear, objective perspective on an individual’s strength, motivations and limitations, along with solid suggestions for how to improve performance.

A Reliable Profile Ensures Success

For the last five years, we have used the services of Caliper Corporation. I wish we had known about Caliper 10 or 20 years ago. Through the use of the Caliper Profile we have become proficient at identifying individuals with the greatest chance of success. By using Caliper, we are able to set aside the glow of enthusiasm we feel for a prospective associate and obtain an objective, third-party view of the individual.

The insights from Caliper can be critical in avoiding a bad hire decision. This is not to say that every person you hire with the aid of a Caliper profile will be a winner. While no one can guarantee a person’s performance, the odds of success are more in your favor by using Caliper than not.

There is an added benefit to using Caliper Profiles in your practice. The profile will give you an insight into the new teammate’s behavioral traits and work style. We have found it helpful to re-read the Caliper after a new associate has joined us. The information is useful in understanding how to best communicate your message and what you can expect from the individual when they are faced with challenges or changes in your office.

If you would like to learn more about Caliper, you can view further information and a special offer or call them at 609-524-1200. As a courtesy to our LabNotes readers, Caliper has extended a 10% discount off their standard fees. The Caliper “First Step for Service” profile is just $90.00 when you give them this code: CAL0137.

When Coach Wooden was asked who he thought were the best coaches he faced, he said without hesitation, "the ones with the best players." His answer was an indirect compliment to the coaches who assembled the right mix of players and created very competitive teams. These coaches knew what they wanted and put the pieces together for the right fit.

As a Dentist, Coach and Player a key part of your success is to know what talents will work for your style of practice. Then with the support of selection tools like the Caliper Profile, you can do your best to carefully select the best players for your team.

Mike Kulwiec, CDT
45 Years Old – Born in Chicago, IL
President and General Manager

Mike Kulwiec attended the University of Southern California, graduating Summa Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa in 1979, with a major in Business Administration and Social Science. He grew up the in the dental lab field as his father, Len, was also a technician and lab owner. Mike earned his CDT in 1982.

Mike is the founder and owner of Dental Masters Laboratory. He has published and lectured internationally on the subjects of management and dental technology. He has successfully developed two other dental businesses, both sold to NASDAQ listed companies. Mike now directs Dental Masters’ development as a premier quality, service-focused laboratory.