DEBRA MILLER
DIRECTOR OF COACHING
In my role as Director of Coaching, I speak everyday with doctors who connect with Endo Mastery to enquire about how coaching can help their practices. These doctors are curious about coaching, but they are often hesitant to commit right away because coaching is an investment in their practice and team. They want to ensure it will be worthwhile.
Doctors contact Endo Mastery for a variety of reasons. In truth, I’ve yet to meet a doctor who comes to us with just one concern or challenge. Doctors always have multiple desired outcomes for coaching, with some reasons more important or urgent than others. So, while the list of goals for coaching success can be quite extensive and personalized, there are a few that I always take as true signs that the doctor clearly could benefit from coaching and that Endo Mastery could make a big difference for them:
#1 Economic goals
Of all the reasons I’m listing here, this is the most tangible. It’s the numbers game that every practice owner cares about: the bottom-line profitability of a practice. Practice profitability drives take-home income, which drives life outside of the practice. Any doctor who is experiencing financial stress of any kind, either in the practice or in their personal/family life, has an absolute need for a practice coach.
Endodontics is such an abundant profession, but most doctors haven’t tapped into that abundance effectively. Endo Mastery routinely adds hundreds of thousands of dollars to annual practice revenues and we do it in a way that is the easiest growth you will ever experience. Whatever financial objectives you might have, the increased profitability through practice coaching can satisfy those needs and quickly eliminate that stress forever. I have a long list of doctors who are happy to tell you about their financial transformation because of coaching.
#2 Referral growth and marketing
Many doctors are struggling to grow their referral network and increase case referrals. They may be a relatively new endodontic practice. They may be well-established but have stagnated. They may have even lost some referrers in the past few years for various reasons. Feeling limited or weakened by a shallow referral network is something that needs to be worked on right away because your daily productivity is driven primarily by what is referred to you.
It’s more than just the number of cases though. Behind that figure is the number of referral relationships and the nature of those relationships. Some referrers send you cases frequently and others you only hear from when they need you to get them out of trouble with a patient case gone wrong. The difference can be 10 times or more referred cases annually depending on the GP.
Most doctors do some of the marketing basics (usually inconsistently), but they don’t have a proper team-based marketing system, which is what is needed to transform into a practice with a deep and extensive referral network. This is solved through coaching and Endo Mastery has a powerful marketing strategy for practices that generates proven results.
#3 Practice and team management
Every organization requires management, but few if any endodontists graduate with a clear understanding of just how much management a small business requires … or how to deal with the inevitable issues and dramas that arise from employing even a small team. Many doctors never feel truly in control of their practice or team. They often have lists of management tasks and issues to deal with, which are usually carried into evenings or weekends to work on.
Doctors aren’t trained to be managers, and so most doctors don’t have the systems in place for easy and effortless practice and team management. This is where a coach can significantly simplify daily life in the practice for the doctor. Endo Mastery coaches empower your team to take responsibility for practice operations while you keep pinpoint control with clear and effective monitoring. Any doctor who feels overwhelmed or worn down by the grind of practice management can benefit hugely from coaching.
#4 Work/life balance
Often people have trouble enjoying the progress they have made. They’ve worked hard to get where they are, and they’ve created an expectation of how hard they need to continue working to maintain forward momentum. This can lead to the feeling that work always dominates their life, that they are spending too much time at work, and that they don’t have work/life balance.
Issues with work/life balance usually show up about 10 years into practice ownership, often corresponding to growing family needs. It no longer feels good to be working all day, every day, and then taking home charts and reports in the evening or weekends. As the practice gets busier and financial needs grow, it seems harder to take time off. And when you go on vacation, the first few days are just needed to wind down from the work mindset, and a few days before you return, you start winding yourself up again. There are only a few days in the middle where you feel truly relaxed.
Work/life balance is one of the biggest challenges for endodontists, especially because endodontics has so much urgent care. Doctors are reluctant to be away because they believe their referrers expect them to be available as much as possible. One of the best results from coaching is improved balance so that you work the days you want, you can be fully present for your family when you’re not at work, and you can protect (and even grow) your income while working less.
#5 Daily and professional enjoyment
The final concern that indicates a clear need for coaching is a lack of daily enjoyment. When I’m talking to doctors, I am always listening for how much they are enjoying their practice and the profession. Are they having fun? Do they enjoy working with their team? Do they like being in their practice environment? Are they excited and energized by patient care? Over and above the realities of earning an income, is the practice a positive experience and contributor to their life?
Some doctors lose their zest for endodontics and daily life in the practice. It starts to feel routine to them, or de-energizing. This is a great concern because it is an early sign of burn out and can lead to a desire to escape the profession. Some doctors tell me they are thinking of selling their practice and going back to being an associate (or leaving the profession altogether to do something else).
These are red flag situations because endodontics is an amazing and adaptable profession that can be tailored to each doctor’s preferences, vision, and goals. Often though, doctors can’t see beyond their daily reality. That’s where a coach can inject new insights and possibilities into the doctor’s vision that can restore the joy of practicing and save a career from slow decline.
Endo Mastery can help you and your team ignite growth and achieve new levels of stress-free productivity, professional and personal abundance, and daily enjoyment. For more information, give us a call to discuss your goals and priorities.