The Golden Rule

What we learned in Kindergarten applies to the workforce today:

The Golden Rules we learn in kindergarten are the stepping-stone of what we need to implement in our day-to-day life.  On that list of rules is respect yourself and each other. When you are on a team it does not matter if you like them or if they are your friends on Facebook. When you are in the office you must communicate with your team upholding respect above all else.  

Respect needs to be delivered not only in the message you are saying, but your body language as well. I can say the nicest thing in the world, but if I speak in a condescending tone my words will be lost.
Our tone of voice depicts how much we respect our teammates or don’t respect them. Be careful of the tone you use, as you do not want a negative communication pattern to begin between yourself and others in the office, especially ones that can be heard by the patients.  Your team is only as strong as the weakest person, and if you are busy bickering among yourselves and are not respecting others then your team communication will break down.    

Keep in mind that what respect means to me is different than what your co-workers definition of respect is. For example, I work with an individual who takes messages very literally. Our boss was describing to the team that there were too many adult issues going on and that the team needed to handle them. To her the boss was informing her that she didn’t care about their feelings and their concerns. Our boss, was trying to get the team to problem solve for themselves.  Our boss believed that she was respecting the right of individuals to come up and problem solve a situation while my co-worker believed she was disrespecting them because she didn’t care enough about them to support their concerns.

No matter what the issue is, it pays to error on the side of caution when communicating and interacting with your team. Take the time to know them in order to help increase support and respect around the office. It will pay off in the end, because your patients will pick up on the positive relationships that you as a staff have.

Great teams take effort. Take time to work on your practice regularly to build quality communication and strengthen your results. For more information and to read other articles, please visit us at www.saltdpm.com.