Happy New Year! I hope your 2024 finished strong and that your plans are in place for a successful 2025. While we cannot achieve our goals without our team, success starts with strong leadership. This month’s focus is on leadership and goal-setting.
I’ve worked with practice owners with a variety of different leadership styles. In one practice, the owner maintained a hands-off approach. He was an excellent businessman, but disengaged from most staff-related issues. In another practice, the owner led by intimidation. While there is a team that can work with virtually any leadership style, some styles lead to challenges in attracting and retaining dynamic, productive employees.
Every aspect of your business can be elevated through exceptional leadership and an unwavering focus on goals.
If I were to generalize, younger team members seek opportunities where they feel valued and able to serve a greater purpose. We may need to modify traditional leadership styles to bring out the best in each team member. Modern leadership involves leading by example, fostering autonomy and collaboration, being flexible, and providing positive reinforcement. There are resources that can help develop leadership skills, and now is an excellent time to invest in yourself for the new year.
Now is also a great time to create a plan that sets you up to realize your goals. One way not to lose sight of a yearly goal is to break that goal down to monthly, weekly, and daily goals. This might involve adding new services, marketing for new patients, building efficiencies, or reducing overhead. Consistency is key, and creating achievable goals each month will encourage you and your team to sustain focus and motivation. This is not a dental New Year’s resolution, this is a business—every aspect of your business can be elevated through exceptional leadership and an unwavering focus on goals.
This year at Dental Economics is sure to be exceptional. You can always rely on sound practice management advice from our trusted experts, and the 2025 editorial lineup is stellar. Our new quarterly CE event, DE Clinical Mastermind, is a virtual, full day of learning from some of the most well-respected educators on a variety of clinical topics. Keep an eye out for our first one in March! We will continue our online evening events, DE Solutions Labs, to help solve a variety of challenges we face in our practices. Learn about these and other events by subscribing to our weekly newsletter, DE Weekend, or by following us on Instagram @dentaleconomicsofficial.
I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season and are experiencing a tremendous start to 2025!
Pamela Maragliano-Muniz, DMD
Editor's note: This article appeared in the January 2025 print edition of Dental Economics magazine. Dentists in North America are eligible for a complimentary print subscription. Sign up here.
