Do YOU have a change mindset?
Who is prepared to admit that, sometimes, they love to “nerd out”?
You have to admit, technology can do some pretty cool stuff today. How do you not get enticed by all the shiny new toys out there? We do it at home…and a lot of dentists love to do it in their practice
But with the new toys for your office comes new processes. Using technology properly takes advanced planning, ongoing monitoring, and constant adaptation. And that means disruption! And a lot of times, dental offices just do NOT want to deal with more disruption.
In a lot of instances, everyone is happy just doing things “like they have always done them.” If your team is happy and you seem to be doing okay, why rock the boat?
If you are a dentist trying to make sure you are maintaining a modern practice, it can be very frustrating to have to again feel “I’d love to try that… but my team won’t go for it.”
You are prepared to train them.
You will invest the time in their development.
You are providing them with an opportunity to learn new skills.
Everyone says they want to do what is best for the patient.
Why are they so unwilling to try something new?
To understand this, we need to consider how the brain responds to change.
Why your brain hates change
Our brains are wired for efficiency. They love predictability. They thrive on routine.
When you have a predictable routine you follow day after day, your brain can operate on autopilot. Minimal energy. Minimal stress. No thinking. Just coast.
Introduce something new, and everything…well…changes!
From a neurological standpoint, change stimulates the pre-frontal cortex which then burns more mental energy as the brain tries to process what is taking place. The brain is now off balance as it is being moved out of its comfort zone.
When our sense of predictability his challenged, you elicit fear…panic…dread.
That is right — that stress causes the brain to kick into emotional overdrive.1
And in the face of such an emotional response, how do we usually try to justify the importance or the advantages of this change?
We appeal to our teams’ sense of logic. We bring out all the logical explanations about why this change is needed and how it will benefit us all.
- “This will improve efficiency.”
- “This will increase production.”
- “This will reduce errors.”
- “This is best practice.”
All true.
But the problem is none of these rationalizations address the fundamental fear being experienced at a neuropsychological level by your team members.
It is very difficult to neutralize an emotional response with logic because logic does not neutralize fear. If anything, it may just add more gasoline to the fire that is burning in the brains of your team members.
What they need is a response that appeals to their level of safety.
The real solution: Normalize change
If you want your team to become more adaptable to change, you need to address the emotional response of stress. This means soothing the brain, allowing the brain to adapt by making the level of change, and, therefore, stress manageable.
One of the best strategies is to create a culture that normalizes change — not massive, disruptive levels of change. That would be exhausting. But one where change is encouraged, it is constant. But it is delivered in smaller, slower, manageable levels.
When improvement through change becomes routine, the brain adapts. It stops perceiving every shift as a threat. It learns that change doesn’t equal danger — it equals growth.
And when “change” is perceived as growth, your team will lean in.
Practical application for dental leaders
Some strategies you could try to normalize change in your office would include:
- Introduce micro-improvements monthly to make change part of the process;
- Pilot ideas before fully implementing them;
- Debrief after changes — what worked, what did not;
- Involve your team in the conversation early; and
- Celebrate adaptation, not just outcomes.
Remember, you are dealing with an emotional response from the brain. This is a human element that simply cannot be removed or avoided. And appealing to a sense of logic will not work as long as team members feel threatened.
Creating a culture of change can neutralize that threat.
Invite the constant pace of change into your office. Make it feel welcome. And allow your team to feel safe in its presence.
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