Is Your Dental Team Telling You Something You're Not Hearing? Why the Healthiest Dental Practices Learn to Listen Before They Lead
- Sarah Beth Herman
- 6 hours ago
- 10 min read
By Sarah Beth Herman, MBA, Founder & CEO, Dentistry Support®
Abstract
Dental practice leaders spend much of their day solving problems. Whether addressing insurance delays, patient scheduling, staffing concerns, accounts receivable, production goals, or operational inefficiencies, leaders are constantly making decisions that influence both patient care and business performance. Yet many operational challenges begin long before they become visible on financial reports or production dashboards. They often begin with subtle shifts in communication, team engagement, and organizational culture.
This free training examines the importance of intentional leadership observation within dental practices, explores how communication influences organizational performance, and provides practical strategies for conducting meaningful leadership check-ins that strengthen teams before problems become crises. Throughout the article, readers will discover how operational consistency, healthy communication, and intentional leadership contribute to sustainable practice growth while supporting exceptional patient experiences.
Introduction
One of the greatest privileges of my career has been the opportunity to spend time inside dental practices of every size. Some have one provider. Others have multiple locations. Some are just beginning their journey. Others have served their communities for decades. While every practice is different, I continue noticing something remarkably consistent. The healthiest practices rarely become healthy by accident. They become healthy because someone is paying attention long before problems become visible.
That observation has stayed with me throughout more than twenty-five years in dentistry. As the Founder and CEO of Dentistry Support®, I've had the opportunity to work alongside hundreds of dental practices throughout the United States. My teams have supported offices through periods of rapid growth, staffing transitions, insurance challenges, leadership changes, and operational expansion. During those years, I've also built multiple businesses and hired more than 700 employees across nine countries.
People occasionally ask me what the biggest lesson has been. It isn't a leadership framework. It isn't a management philosophy. It isn't a software platform. It's this: People usually tell us what they need long before they ever say the words out loud. The question is whether we're paying attention.
Leadership is often described as making difficult decisions. I certainly believe that's part of the responsibility. But I also believe leadership is becoming increasingly aware of the conversations happening underneath the conversations. Sometimes a frustrated employee isn't frustrated at all. They're exhausted. Sometimes declining treatment acceptance isn't primarily about fees. It's about trust. Sometimes increasing accounts receivable isn't simply an insurance problem. It's a communication problem. Sometimes a practice believes it needs more people when what it truly needs is greater operational clarity.
Those distinctions matter because they determine which solutions we pursue. The strongest leaders I've worked with share one characteristic that often goes unnoticed. They remain curious.
The Conversations That Never Make the Agenda
Dental leadership meetings often revolve around measurable data: Production, Collections, Accounts receivable, Case acceptance, Scheduling, Overhead, Marketing. Those conversations are important.
In fact, they're essential. However, some of the most influential conversations never appear on meeting agendas.
Questions like: "How is our team really doing?" "Where are people becoming overwhelmed?" "What frustrations continue showing up?" "Where are communication breakdowns occurring?" "What has quietly become more difficult over the last six months?" These questions rarely produce immediate numerical answers. Yet they often explain the numbers we eventually see.
I've learned not to dismiss what cannot yet be measured. Every challenge begins somewhere. Long before turnover increases, Communication often changes. Long before patients begin leaving, Their experience begins changing. Long before administrative systems become overwhelmed, Small inefficiencies begin accumulating.
Leadership requires noticing these subtle shifts before they become operational emergencies. That isn't intuition alone. It's observation.
Dental Teams Speak in More Ways Than Words
One misconception about communication is believing that people always express concerns verbally. They don't. Communication often appears through behavior.
The insurance coordinator who suddenly becomes unusually quiet, the scheduling coordinator who no longer contributes ideas during meetings, the hygienist who seems increasingly rushed despite maintaining the same patient schedule, the office manager who starts solving every problem independently instead of collaborating, the doctor who appears more frustrated by small inconveniences than usual.
None of these observations automatically indicate a significant problem. However, they deserve curiosity rather than assumptions.
One of my favorite leadership reminders comes from Stephen Covey's principle: Seek first to understand, then to be understood (Covey, 2004). I've carried that thought with me for years because it encourages leaders to pause before drawing conclusions.
Sometimes asking one thoughtful question uncovers far more than offering ten quick solutions.
The Cost of Waiting Too Long
Dental practices naturally become busy. Patients continue arriving, Insurance companies continue requesting documentation, Phones continue ringing, Emergencies continue interrupting schedules, Administrative work rarely slows down. Because of that pace, many leaders unintentionally delay conversations they know they should have. Not because they don't care. Because they simply hope next week will feel less busy.
Unfortunately, unresolved concerns rarely improve through avoidance. Instead, they usually become more expensive.
I've watched practices spend thousands of dollars recruiting employees when the underlying issue involved unclear expectations. I've seen organizations invest heavily in marketing while overlooking communication issues that quietly affected patient retention.
I've watched excellent team members leave environments they genuinely cared about because no one realized they had been struggling for months. None of those situations developed overnight. Each one offered small signals long before becoming significant challenges.
That's why intentional leadership check-ins matter. Not because they eliminate every problem. Because they create opportunities to address concerns while they're still manageable.
Leadership Happens Between the Meetings
One of the greatest misconceptions about leadership is believing it happens during formal meetings. I don't think it does.
Leadership often happens in the hallway after a difficult patient interaction, during a quick conversation while walking to sterilization, while helping answer phones during an unexpectedly busy afternoon, during a genuine "How are you doing?" that isn't immediately followed by another task.
Those moments create trust. Trust creates honesty. Honesty creates healthier communication. Healthy communication creates stronger organizations.
The practices that continue thriving through changing economic conditions, insurance challenges, staffing transitions, and industry changes usually share something important. Their leaders remain present. Not perfect. Present.
There is tremendous difference between managing people and genuinely leading them. Management often focuses on performance. Leadership begins by understanding people. That understanding cannot happen without intentional conversations.
A Five-Minute Leadership Check-In
One of the simplest habits I've adopted over the years is something I call a Leadership Check-In. It doesn't require a formal meeting. It doesn't require a conference room. It simply requires five intentional minutes.
Before solving another operational problem this week, ask yourself these questions:
✔ Have I asked someone how they're doing without immediately discussing work?
✔ Have I recognized someone's effort this week?
✔ Do I know what is currently creating the most stress for my team?
✔ Is there one unnecessary obstacle I could remove today?
✔ Have I listened more than I've spoken?
Notice that none of these questions involve production numbers. Yet every one of them influences production.
People perform differently when they feel supported. Communication improves when people feel heard. Leadership becomes stronger when curiosity becomes a daily habit instead of an annual training event.
Building a Culture That People Want to Be Part Of
One of the greatest misconceptions in leadership is that culture is something created during annual retreats or team-building events. In reality, culture is created every single day.
It is created through consistency, through communication, through accountability, through the conversations leaders choose to have and, just as importantly, the conversations they choose to avoid.
Culture is not your mission statement hanging on the wall. It is what your team experiences on an ordinary Tuesday morning. It is how mistakes are handled. It is whether people feel safe asking questions. It is whether someone feels comfortable saying, "I'm overwhelmed," before they reach burnout. It is whether new employees receive the same experience as the employee who has been with your practice for ten years.
Strong cultures rarely happen because everyone agrees. They happen because everyone understands the expectations, trusts the process, and believes their voice matters. That kind of environment doesn't happen by accident. It is intentionally built.
The Strongest Practices Don't Wait for Problems
Over the years, I've had the opportunity to observe dental practices during periods of incredible growth. I've also worked alongside practices during some of their most difficult seasons.
One pattern continues to stand out.
The healthiest organizations don't wait until something breaks before they begin paying attention. Instead, they intentionally build habits of observation. They ask questions before frustration becomes resignation. They improve systems before inefficiency becomes costly. They document processes before confusion spreads. They invest in communication before turnover increases.
That mindset changes everything. It shifts leadership from reacting to anticipating. One of the reasons Dentistry Support® places such a significant emphasis on operational consistency is because consistency creates confidence.
Confidence influences every interaction inside a dental practice, patients notice confidence, team members notice confidence, doctors notice confidence, Confidence doesn't come from pretending everything is perfect. It comes from knowing that dependable systems exist to support the people responsible for delivering exceptional care.
Operational Excellence Begins with Communication
Communication remains one of the most valuable yet overlooked operational systems inside any dental practice. We often think of communication as conversations between people. I believe communication is much broader than that.
Your workflows communicate expectations. Your scheduling process communicates priorities. Your billing process communicates professionalism. Your insurance verification process communicates preparedness. Your patient follow-up process communicates commitment. Even the speed at which phones are answered communicates something about your organization. Patients notice far more than we sometimes realize. So do employees. Every interaction quietly reinforces the reputation your practice is building.
That is one of the reasons our teams at Dentistry Support® spend so much time creating standardized workflows for dental billing, insurance verification, accounts receivable management, patient communication, scheduling support, and administrative operations. When systems become more predictable, people become more confident. When people become more confident, communication improves. When communication improves, patient experiences improve.
Operational excellence is rarely created by one major breakthrough. More often, it is created through hundreds of consistent moments repeated well.
Leadership Reflection
As you finish today's free training, I'd encourage you to spend just a few minutes reflecting on your own practice. Not through the lens of productivity. Not through the lens of financial reports. Through the lens of people.
Ask yourself:
Leadership Reflection Checklist
☐ When was the last time I had a meaningful conversation with each member of my team that wasn't focused on production?
☐ What recurring frustrations continue showing up inside our practice?
☐ If I asked every team member what slows them down each day, would their answers be similar?
☐ What operational process causes the most confusion?
☐ Where are patients asking the same questions repeatedly?
☐ What is one workflow that could be simplified over the next thirty days?
☐ Have I intentionally recognized someone for how they contributed to our culture this week?
☐ If I joined my own practice today as a new employee, would my onboarding experience reflect the culture I hope to create?
These questions are not intended to create guilt. They're intended to create awareness.
Awareness is where improvement begins.
What Dentistry Support® Has Learned
One of the greatest gifts of supporting dental practices across the country is the opportunity to observe what consistently works. Although every practice is unique, successful organizations often share several characteristics.
They document their systems, they communicate clearly, they create consistency, they invest in training, they remain open to improvement. Most importantly, they understand that operational excellence and healthy leadership are inseparable.
At Dentistry Support®, our mission has never been simply completing administrative tasks. Our mission is helping practices build operational confidence through dependable systems that support both patients and teams. Whether we're providing insurance eligibility verification, dental billing, accounts receivable management, patient phone support, scheduling assistance, or administrative workflow support, our goal remains the same: To simplify the administrative side of dentistry so practices can spend more time focused on exceptional patient care.
That philosophy has guided our organization since the very beginning.
Looking Ahead
Next week on No Silver Spoons, we'll continue our brand-new ten-part series: The Human Side of Leadership™.
In Episode 132, we'll explore a question that has fascinated me for years: Why Smart People Stay Stuck, The Psychology Behind Why Change Feels So Hard. This conversation isn't about intelligence. It isn't about motivation. And it certainly isn't about blaming ourselves when change feels difficult.
Instead, we'll explore what neuroscience, behavioral psychology, and years of leadership experience have taught me about why intelligent, capable people sometimes struggle to make changes they genuinely want to make. We'll talk about how our brains process uncertainty, why familiar routines feel so powerful, and how understanding ourselves can help us become stronger leaders, better communicators, and healthier organizations.
If today's free training encouraged you to pay closer attention to the people around you, I think Monday's conversation will encourage you to pay closer attention to yourself.
I hope you'll join me.
Final Thoughts
One lesson has continued shaping my leadership over the years. Leadership is rarely about having the perfect answer. It is about remaining humble enough to keep asking thoughtful questions. The strongest dental practices are not built because leaders know everything. They are built because leaders remain teachable. They continue learning. They continue observing. They continue improving.
They recognize that every patient interaction, every team conversation, every operational workflow, and every leadership decision contributes to the kind of practice they are building.
The future of dentistry belongs to practices that embrace continuous improvement while never losing sight of the people who make exceptional patient care possible. As you move through your week, I encourage you to slow down just enough to notice what your practice may already be trying to tell you.
Sometimes the answers we're looking for have been quietly waiting for us all along.
References
Covey, S. R. (2004). The 7 habits of highly effective people (Rev. ed.). Free Press.
Edmondson, A. C. (2019). The fearless organization: Creating psychological safety in the workplace for learning, innovation, and growth. Wiley.
Goleman, D. (1998). Working with emotional intelligence. Bantam Books.
Kotter, J. P. (2012). Leading change. Harvard Business Review Press.
Senge, P. M. (2006). The fifth discipline: The art and practice of the learning organization (Rev. ed.). Doubleday.
Disclaimer:
To learn more about Sarah Beth Herman, the author of all free training content you can read her bio here. These materials are intended to provide helpful information to dentists and dental team members. They are in no way a substitute for actual professional advice based on your unique facts and circumstances. This content is not intended or offered, nor should it be taken, as legal or other professional advice. You should always consult with your own professional advisors (e.g. attorney, accountant, or insurance carrier). To the extent, Dentistry Support ®has included links to any third-party website (s), Dentistry Support ® intends no endorsement of their content and implies no affiliation with the organizations that provide their content. Further, Dentistry Support ® makes no representations or warranties about the information provided on those sites. You can view our privacy policy and terms and conditions by clicking those pages in the footer of our website