The orthodontist’s office
I’ve spent plenty of time in an orthodontist’s office. I never had braces as a kid, but I grew up to be the dad of a daughter who went several rounds with orthodontia. I tend to get a little restless when I’m sitting around, and I’m also naturally curious about how things work.
This is how I discovered that our orthodontist’s office is a well-tuned leadership environment. It’s designed to consistently make best use of its most valuable resource, which is the time and attention of the orthodontist herself.
Walking through the office takes you past a couple of receptionists and a business manager, tending to the appointments and the insurance and the billing. There might be a detour into a separate room for photography and X-rays. But the bulk of the magic takes place in a big open area with half a dozen stations — each of which has a patient, a parent and a technician.
That’s right, an office with one orthodontist can support six patients with appointments at the same time.
The technicians handle all of the tightening and adjusting, the rubber bands, the retainer checks. This process can be quite lengthy. And the orthodontist visits each patient one by one, with a smile and a greeting. She advises the technician and instructs the patient. She might pull the patient and the parent into her office for a discussion of the next treatment plan. And then she moves to the next station.
It’s brilliantly efficient and probably very lucrative. It also makes me think about my clients in other leadership environments.
Your staff can manage things effectively, freeing your time and attention for the decisions only you can make. Or they can keep you down in the details for so long that you feel like you’re not making any progress.
Be the orthodontist.
Coaching prompts:
How might you restructure your staffing environment so it supports your agenda as a leader, rather than taking away from it?
Which elements of your workload might be better accomplished by staffing them out, rather than by doing them yourself?
This post comes from my newest book, Embrace Your Inner Peaches: 52 More Analogies for Leadership, Coaching and Life. Get your copy today!