Being party, recently, to my dentist being incredibly rude about ‘the cost of employing staff’ while working cheek-by-jowl [literally] with these hard working folks, and continuing in this vein with more than a flourish of obnoxiousness, I’ve upped-sticks, taking my teeth, and those of my extended family, with me. Being able to walk the talk in simply not tolerating this approach is, I appreciate, a luxury. But I’m off. And good riddance.
I believe that being kind is a good trait. [And if that’s my sole epitaph I won’t mind]. I also believe that to lead a great business, or a team, focused on your clients, deliverables, profit, helping the planet, etc etc, you do not need to be unkind. To me, good leaders create positive and inspiring environments – even in a dental practice – while demonstrating empathy, humility, self-awareness, courage, resilience, the ability to listen, and the confidence to have difficult conversations – amongst other things. They lean into their strengths and recruit – and appreciate – the very best team around them. I have strived during my working life to do all of this. Not perfectly, ever, but with the best will in the world.
Being unkind is not only rude but completely unnecessary and very unattractive. Sentences can be reshaped to be constructive, rather than aggressive. Tones can be lightened. I am hugely embarrassed to think of more than a handful occasions when, as child, I was definitely unkind, mostly to my beloved sister: and it serves me right that some of these occasions were captured by my Father’s ever-rolling cine camera, so I can relive the pain and anguish as often as I like. [I would like to think the image above reflects how I was, every day, but it definitely doesn’t and for that I am deeply sorry]. I console myself that most children have similar moments and that the majority of us, dentist apart, grow out of this phase relatively quickly!
Having resigned my teeth, and those of ‘everyone who knows me’ – to a happier place – the quandary is now whether to tell said dentist the reason why we’ve all sought a more inspiring place to be treated. Those that have done sterling work for years need to be thanked – and will be.
Should the elephant in the room be addressed with an explanation of the exodus?
My gut feeling is absolutely yes. To improve the lives of others.
It would be unkind not to.
