5 minute read
Letter From The Editor
now, such as: • A partnership with ERC (Employee Retention
Credit) Specialists who have helped to facilitate more than $4 million
to be refunded to over
44 of our members; • Strengthening our
TDA Concierge App to include programs from the Pankey Institute, and the PACE Center of UTHealth Houston
School of Dentistry; and, • A tentative legislative agenda to include insurance reform and increased Medicaid reimbursement.
Lastly, you may have noticed that the Association recently sent out an email highlighting the staffing shortages many dentists are facing in their hygiene departments. This email included links to 20-plus hygiene programs in the state with the intent to connect dentists with program coordinators and eventually, to their muchneeded graduates. Although we are keenly aware that the most ideal solution is increased enrollment in educational programs, our role is to simply support you.
So, know with confidence that the Association will continue to listen, continue to think outside the box, and continue to work tirelessly on your behalf.
JacquelinePlemons
Letter From the Editor
Hello! It’s been said that there’s a season for everything, and I’m very excited as we enter a time of opportunity for the Texas Dental Journal. At the House of Delegates in May, I became the newly elected editor of the TDJ. Following in the footsteps of Dr Dan Jones will be no easy task, and I am incredibly grateful for his very successful 8-year service to the Texas Dental Association.
As many of you know, I’m a periodontist from Dallas and recently served as immediate past president of the TDA. I own a small private practice and teach part-time at Texas A&M College of Dentistry. As a faculty member, I published several articles in peerreviewed journals and wrote a few chapters in textbooks. I learned a lot about how authors, reviewers, and editors interact. I served as a reviewer for journals like the TDJ, Quintessence International, and the Journal of Contact Dermatitis, guest editor for the TDJ, and as editor of Dateline, the newsletter for the Dallas County Dental Society.
I believe that now is a great time to take a purposeful look at our Journal—its strengths, weakness, opportunities, and threats (SWOT). In this targeted effort, a Task Force was appointed by TDA President Dr Duc Ho to perform a thorough review of the TDJ. You should have recently
DDS, MS
received an email with a very short survey attached—please fill it out (it takes just a minute or so) and tell us what YOU would like regarding the TDJ. This innovative and forwardthinking Task Force, composed of both young dentists and more “mature” members, is reimagining the TDJ through exercises such as designing their most ideal “mock” journal and in-depth discussions regarding content relevancy, member-centered highlights, frequency and manner of publication, and new efforts possible through our new “sales team.” Change is coming and it will be exciting!
I am very honored to serve as your new editor! We have an opportunity to make the Journal what our members want it to be! Thank you to those who completed our recent survey! The information will be extremely valuable as the Task Force works to reimagine a new version of the Texas Dental Journal. Let your voice be heard—we are www.tda.org | July 2022 listening! 343
Joel C. Small, DDS, MBA, PCC, FICD Edwin (Mac) McDonald, DDS, FAGD, FICD Certified Executive Leadership Coaches, Line of Sight Coaching
There are 5 important skill sets necessary to coach a healthcare team for peak performance. If you ever played a team sport, you likely appreciate the necessity of coaching. A coach is that person who, like an orchestra’s conductor, keeps the team synchronized and harmonized.
A coach is the person that understands everyone’s individual and necessary contribution to a desired result. They are also the person who sees the big picture and yet understands the many subtle nuances that move their team from average to peak performance.
HOW TO COACH YOUR TEAM TO PEAK PERFORMANCE
Coaching a healthcare team for peak performance is similar in many ways to coaching a team sport.
We can all become more “coach-like” by learning simple skill sets that have been proven to be very effective in creating and sustaining high performing teams.
The following are 5 of the most important skill sets necessary for coaching your team to peak performance:
LEADERSHIP
All good coaches are good leaders. The very act of coaching requires leadership skills. Leaders are realists that can provide unfiltered, honest assessments of their organization’s current status.
They are also visionaries who see beyond the short term and communicate a long-term vision that is both compelling and motivating for the team. They provide the resources and support necessary for the team to move beyond the status quo and toward a preferred future.
AWARENESS
When 75 members of the Stanford Graduate Business School’s Advisory Council were asked to recommend the most important capability for leaders to develop, their answer was nearly unanimous: SELF-AWARENESS. The same is true for coaches.
Effective coaches have a high degree of self-awareness and emotional intelligence. They understand how their words and actions are perceived by their team. Armed with this vital knowledge, they are capable of “self-regulating” their interactions with their team to create an environment conducive to peak performance.
VISION
What does peak performance look like? How will you know when you have achieved peak performance? These are critical questions that must be answered prior to initiating a peak performance initiative.
Like any goal-oriented initiative, having a clear picture of what you are trying to achieve is critical to achieving the goal. Collaborate with your team when creating the vision. The more input they have, the more buy in you will receive.
PEOPLE DEVELOPERS
One of the most critical tasks for any leader/coach is the development of human capital. Research has shown that the very best and most profitable businesses are those that have made significant investments in their people.
There are 2 effective ways to develop your team. The most obvious way is to improve their technical skill set. This is often referred to as “horizontal development” and is an important step in creating highperforming teams.
