Orthotown July/August 2022 - 8

a voice in the arena
fit-team members who are secure and
comfortable enough to be their authentic
selves are able to shine that energy to the
guests in our home.
Team members who are secure and
comfortable enough to be their authentic
selves are able to shine that energy to
the guests in our home.
People are strongly attracted to authenticity;
it's a fascinating, disarming
and highly enviable trait. When team
members believe the office is a place that
encourages and actually depends on the
expression of their own unique best selves,
they're able to let their guards down and
be authentic and genuine with the patients
and guests they interact with.
If our team does not emit the collective
and authentic heart that we have for
one another and our space, no patient will
feel it. There's no faking it. No systems,
scripting or high-dollar consulting firm
can sell it. Give me a team member who
is comfortable shining their own unique
personality through their service over a
team member reciting the best scripting/
programming that money can buy. In my
experience, I've seen this delivered in a
no-frills Medicaid-type clinic better than
a polished, well-funded and systematized
corporate office. It wholly depends on the
people within the space.
Brightness alone
isn't enough
Where can you start if the goal is to
make the office feel like home for your
team,
so you can draw out
their most
genuine and best selves? For me, it starts
simply with openly expressing this as a
priority to the team. Discussing and reflecting
on how we each blend our individual
strengths into our service to each
other and our patients is a wonderful way
to define our culture.
8 JULY/AUGUST 2022 // orthotown.com
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My second recommendation would
be to read Setting the Table by acclaimed
restaurateur Danny Meyer. In the book,
Meyer offers a parable that likens every
business to a light bulb that has a goal of
attracting the most moths-he writes that
the function of the light bulb is to produce
light, which primarily attracts the
moths. However, some light bulbs serving
the equivalent function with a comparable
amount of light seem to attract exponentially
more moths to them. Why?
Meyer explains that the difference is
that some light bulbs give off a greater
amount of warmth. As it turns out, the
warmth, secondary to the light, is also
attractive to the moths; it makes them
return again and again. While all light
bulbs serve their primary function of providing
light, some are also able to emit
greater warmth.
In your practice, I wish you to be the
office that serves its purpose but also emits
that warmth. As it relates to what we do,
I believe it starts with us as owners/orthodontists
being fearless and vulnerable
enough to shine our light, whatever that
might look like. It might take some serious
introspection to find.
From there, and only from there, we
can encourage our team members to each
shine their own light. Collectively, then,
we can transform our space into a warm
home. Your patients will feel it-and beyond
straight teeth and a beautiful smile,
they will likely feel more motivated to
shine their own lights as well. n
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Orthotown July/August 2022

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