Recap: Colorado ASDA Leadership Workshop
Being a great leader is something that each of us strives for. We all have a little bit of leader in us somewhere... we've always been driven for success, and we all hope to be our own bosses someday. We're all pretty responsible -- I mean, we had to be to get into dental school, right? -- but I think I'd be speaking for many of us if I said that the idea of being a great leader is pretty darn intimidating.
This weekend, Colorado ASDA had the honor of hosting Dr. David Rice, founder of IgniteDDS, at our first annual Leadership Workshop. Dr. Rice has been an immensely popular speaker at past ASDA events, such as regional meetings and the Annual Session, and we were fortunate enough to have him speak to us here, on our very own campus!
IgniteDDS is an organization that works to get people really fired up about dentistry, whether they're patients, students, or dental professionals. As this workshop was tailored toward dental students and pre-dents, Dr. Rice focused on teaching us to be successful, and how we can really jump-start our careers in dentistry. Prior to the event, each of us took a DiSC behavioral assessment, the results of which we discussed during the workshop. Essentially, the DiSC assessment categorizes people into one of four different personality types: Domint, Influential, Steady, and Conscientious. The theory behind the DiSC is that each of us has one of these personalities, which majorly affects our relationships and interactions with other people. Dr. Rice described each of these personalities and how they relate to professionalism in dentistry. In order to be successful in your business, you must build a solid rapport with many different types of people. In order to do so, you must first know how to work with a range of personalities, and get each type of person to trust and feel comfortable with you. Staffing a variety of personality types is a great way to maximize the likelihood that your patients will feel at ease being treated in your dental office. Dr. Rice mentioned many times that treating others as you wish to be treated may have worked in elementary school, but treating others as they wish to be treated is what will get you far in the professional world. Each patient brings their unique personality into your practice, and with that comes a challenge. Being able to read your patients and work with them on a level in which they feel understood and appreciated will get you far in your practice.
If you are interested in learning more about IgniteDDS or Dr. David Rice, please check out their website, and "like" them on Facebook. If you'd like to know the specifics of the DiSC personalities, and are interested in finding out where you lie on the spectrum, click here.