AADOM News |2 min read

The Benefits of Mentorship

Let’s reflect a bit and think back to the early days of your dental career. Perhaps you started out as the scheduling coordinator or the insurance coordinator or maybe even a dental assistant. Suddenly you found yourself to be the practice leader. What made you qualified to hold the position? Maybe the doctor chose you because you had been working in the office the longest or maybe he or she felt that you were the most qualified employee. Either way, you likely felt like a fish out of water for a little while; your responsibilities increased; and you quickly learned more about small business than you could have foreseen.

It is impossible for you to be well versed in every aspect of running a dental office even though this will be expected of you. Where do you turn when you’re expected to always have the answer? You are supposed to know the answers and that makes going to the doctor or another member of the team a last resort. Therefore, the best managers have a mentor (or even multiple mentors) to help them learn new systems such as human resources, compliance, and developing key leadership qualities.

How do you go about finding the right person to mentor you? Why not start with AADOM? AADOM members have various levels of knowledge and experience and are always willing to build relationships with and help out their peers. If you recently attended the annual conference in Boca Raton, FL you probably met some amazing people that would be willing and excited to help you develop new skill sets.

A mentor does not have to be someone that has the same title as you or even works in the same profession as you. A mentor can be a dentist, a hygienist, a vendor rep, another office manager, a consultant or even someone from your personal life such as a former teacher, a parent, or a friend that shares the same values that you do. The advantage of an AADOM member as a mentor is that you’d have shared experiences.

Over the years we have seen tremendous growth in our members who are working together to solve problems. The Member Forum and the Virtual Study Club are two examples of this camaraderie. Look through your contacts and reach out today. What’s stopping you?

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