I hate the dentist; I hate spending thirty minutes in that chair staring into the eyes of someone I really don’t know as they inflict pain. It reminds me too much like a prisoner-of-war being questioned by the enemy.
But there I was at my six-month cleaning, staring into those eyes once again, wondering when it would all end and trying to think of something else to ease my worried mind. As I sat there hoping that the hygienist would miss all those sensitive spots I took time to reflect on leadership and teams.
Just before being strapped into the chair (okay, I wasn’t strapped-in, but the imagery works), and as I sat pretending to read a magazine in the waiting area, I observed a well-functioning team at work. Two individuals sat behind the desks in the office. One was a receptionist who handled all outgoing patients and insurance billing. I would speak with her after my interrogation. Another greeted me, found my file, and placed it in a bin on a door, a door leading to my assigned interrogation room. I would only interact with this person once, upon entering the office, and she would check to ensure that all my paperwork was readied for the hygienist. When my hygienist completed the current interrogation, she would take a minute or two to take my file from the door bin and review it. She would then call me into her room for questioning. During the interrogation, my hygienist would make notes to the file, and when I was finished she would give it to the receptionist. I would spend but a few moments with the receptionist to complete payment for my interrogation and schedule my next interrogation. I thought to myself, what a well-functioning team. Why? There wasn’t a dentist to be seen; no leader in sight for miles as far as I could see! The it hit me . . .
A good team makes decisions for itself. Self-management is key to effective teams. Decisions on how to complete tasks and projects should be left to the members of the team, not handed down to them from management. This practice allows a sense of empowerment and allows workers to feel they are respected for their competency. Both of these concepts allow greater job satisfaction and more willingness to work. Work teams are much like social groups. They are capable of handling their own minor conflicts and workloads without outside assistance. Teams must be allowed to self govern or they will never be more than side-by-side workers.
Also, this team had specific roles and processes in place. There were clear lines of authority and responsibilities, lines that were not crossed. For the leader (dentist), all that was necessary was to provide the appropriate structure and let the team go to work. The only problem is this: team members must have the ability to self-manage. If a team member is unable to work within the given structure, or perhaps feels it necessary to cross the lines of authority and responsibility, overall team performance will suffer and the leader will find it necessary to make a correction.
My leadership style is similar, that is, I try to provide structure for my team mates to operate within. I will coach those who do not operate well within the structure, or who have difficulties working within the constraints of their given authority. Eventually, if coaching efforts fail a correction is required.
Okay, next time I visit my interrogator I will need to think of something different. Perhaps, I will focus on decision-making within teams, and how certain magazines are selected for the waiting room.
