A Meeting Full of Collaboration and Connection

We started the meeting with breakfast. Two of our staff members made a beautiful spread, including French toast, eggs, sausage, and coffee. It was a great way to kick off the session. Then, we dove into discussing our office culture. I’ve made a series of videos about culture, and even though I’ve been in the same practice for 40 years, and many of our team members have been with me for 20+ years, I still make it a point to revisit these core ideas regularly. I talk about things like “Be the gift,” “Be great to your patients,” and “Give them a wow experience.” These are the values we live by, and it’s important to reinforce them.

During this particular meeting, I showed a 15-minute video I created about hospitality and providing an exceptional customer service experience. This video covers concepts we talk about regularly in the practice, and I’m happy to share these videos with others if you’d like access to them. The video helped set the stage for the meeting and served as a reminder of why we do what we do. After the video, I had the team go around and share one “wow experience” they’ve provided to a patient or something unique we’ve done in the past few months. We also discussed what we could improve moving forward.

Meeting Patients Where They Are

One of the key takeaways from our discussion was the importance of meeting patients where they are emotionally. We talked about how important it is not to let a patient’s energy affect us. Instead, we need to meet them where they’re at, even if they’re feeling negative, and turn that energy into something positive. As one of my team members, Alex, put it: "It’s that simple, and it’s that hard." This quote, from hospitality expert Danny Meyer, sums up the challenge we face every day in making patient interactions positive and memorable.

Team Building and Goal Setting

What makes our practice successful is the strength of our team and how we continuously nurture that strength through meetings. A friend of mine, Justin Zeleski, works with a company called Referral Lab. They help practices monitor the number of new patients they’re seeing, track the amount of treatment that’s being presented, and measure how much treatment is accepted. Justin shared that the key to success in any office is the number of meetings a team has. It’s not just about having meetings for the sake of having them—it’s about holding productive meetings with clear goals, where everyone feels comfortable sharing their thoughts in a safe environment.

During the quarterly meeting, we also talked about our goals for the next quarter. We set an intention for who we want to be as a team and discussed how we can improve in the upcoming months. Even though this wasn’t a designated goal-setting session, it turned into a discussion about what we can do better. One of the goals I shared was to help every team member become better at who they are in their role. I also offered to coach anyone one-on-one if they were facing challenges.

Creating a Culture of Improvement

One of the challenges we face is that sometimes people assume I’m too busy to give them attention, and they hesitate to bring up problems. In our meeting, I made it clear that this is not the case. I encouraged everyone to bring up any issues they were facing, as I’m not focused on the problem but rather the solution. This conversation alone was worth the 90 minutes of the meeting.

After the meeting, I checked in with one of my administrative staff members, Chelsea, to see how she felt about the meeting. She told me it was exactly what she wanted to hear because she’s always striving to improve. Chelsea has been with me for about four or five years, and she runs our Study Club now. She came to us from a retail background, and her focus on customer service is why we hired her.

Acknowledging the Importance of Every Team Member

During our quarterly meeting, I also made sure to acknowledge every team member’s value. For example, Jason, our newest employee who runs the lab, is doing an exceptional job. He came to us from a large lab in California, and his work is meticulous—he keeps the lab spotless. If Jason’s reading this, I want to thank him for his hard work. Acknowledging the contributions of each team member is crucial to maintaining a healthy, motivated work environment.

The Power of Meetings in Building a Stronger Team

Meetings—whether quarterly, daily, or yearly—are essential for building a strong, cohesive team. They create an environment where everyone feels comfortable sharing ideas and challenges. While it might seem like a waste of time, especially if you’re focused on patient care or treatment, the reality is that the more time you invest in your team, the better prepared you’ll be when a crisis arises.

In conclusion, regular meetings are key to fostering a positive and productive team culture. If you’re not already holding quarterly or team meetings, I encourage you to implement them. The time invested in building a stronger team will pay off in better patient care and a healthier, more efficient practice.

Thank you for reading, and remember—by giving your team the gift of regular, productive meetings, you’re also giving the gift of better care to your patients and improving the culture of your entire practice.