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KOLBE™ Certified Training, Development, Consulting and Leadership Coaching for Dental Practices

The Performance Communication Institute™ offers dental practices a variety of services to help them create and implement a successful performance communication culture. Services include KOLBE™ certified training and development, Consulting and Leadership Coaching, Job Role Review, Pre-Hire Evaluation, New-Hire Onboarding, Performance Communication Training™, and Leadership Coaching.

A Dental Practice is Like a Family, But Not All Families Are Functional.

Small teams rely on relationships and communication, but that takes work. Teams are made up of different individuals with different priorities, motivations, goals and even personalities. So having clean, precise and constructive communication is key. By implementing a Performance Communication Architecture, we can help you turn those grinding gears into the well oiled machine you have dreamed of.

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Data Driven Results Powered by KOLBE™

Philosophers such as Plato knew there were three parts of the human mind. Two of them, Affective and Cognitive are well known, discussed and identified. The third, Conative is the hidden key to improving human performance.

Cognitive

This part of your mind defines your “intelligence.” It grows as you learn and is ever-changing. IQ tests are the most common form of testing; however, anyone that has taken a test more than once knows that the results only showcase a portion of a person’s true ability to learn, retain and recall information.

Affective

A person’s affective strengths lie in their ability to use emotion effectively. Assessments such as the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator measure a person’s reaction to circumstances and assigns a “personality type” that defines the emotional tools that you use to cope, grow and communicate in your daily life. Like the cognitive mind, your affective traits evolve and fluctuate given your experiences and circumstances.

Conative

We didn’t invent the conative mind. But KOLBE founder, Kathy Kolbe, and a team of psychologists have come to understand how it works and how to measure it. Your conative mind contains the instincts and innate attributes that define your natural method of operation (MO). When you work in your natural style, you are more productive, more comfortable and more successful. We identify people’s instinctive strengths, explain them, analyze how they align with tasks and other people, and offer practical solutions for putting them into practice — from doing better in a job, to team performance, to personal relationships.

By utilizing the full extent of the KOLBE™ Conative Assessment System along with decades of experience, we train you to hire exactly the right people, integrate them into your practice, align your team, build your business and delight your patients, all while reducing stress and increasing profits.

KOLBE A™ Index:

a 36-question assessment designed to measure the conative faculty of the mind – the instinctive talents that drive the way a person takes action. The result is the innate method of operation that enables an individual to be productive.

KOLBE B™ Index:

a 24-question assessment that measures how a person views the functional demands of a specific job or position. The result identifies which talents are a natural fit for the job.

KOLBE C™ Index:

a 24-question assessment that measures a supervisor’s functional expectations of a specific position. The results help an individual job holder identify how an evaluator or peer believes a particular job needs to be done in order to achieve success.

We work with hundreds of dentists just like you and teams just like yours.
Together we created the Perfect Practice Program™ to focus on 3 key areas;

Hiring The Right People The First Time.

Take the guesswork out of hiring. We all know that bringing someone new into an established family or team can create challenges. The cost of either a bad hire or losing a long term team member is in the tens of thousands in direct costs. The hidden costs of team morale and having to rehire and retrain are almost impossible to calculate.

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Team Retention & Development.

Design a Workplace that your people love and a practice that your clients rave about!

It’s easy to think that compensation is the only thing people care about. The truth is that people are much less likely to look for a new position or leave if they love what they do, where they work and the people they work with. These intangibles have massive value.
Using KOLBE™ System data, assess and evaluate your team, highlight strengths and areas of potential strain and tension. Then together we design and implement a performance communication culture that fosters peak performance as well as creative a positive harmonius work environment.

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Leadership Development for Dentists & Managers.

Small teams rely on relationships and communication, but that takes work, and great teams start with strong clear leadership.

Many of our dental clients said that they felt alone or isolated, and while they know how to be a Doctor, they felt that they needed help in becoming the leader they always wanted to be. One-on-one Leadership coaching is designed to identify your strengths and areas for growth. You’ll meet weekly with your Leadership Coach, and together you’ll tackle your specific challenges, surmount obstacles and become the champion of a high-performing culture. Together we can help you turn those grinding gears into the well oiled machine you have dreamed of.

Click to learn more about our leadership program.

Data Driven Results Powered by KOLBE™

The Hiring Part of the Perfect Practice Program™ is split into multiple steps that allow clients to better define the needs of a role, and better understand the needed attributes of a new hire to fit the role, the team and the practice. After the applicant is selected, the next step is to effectively pre-train the successful applicant on how best to fit in and succeed within their new role and the team. Lead by a certified consultant and accompanied by online assessment. Let’s take a detailed look.

1. Job Role Evaluation

It’s one thing to know what you want from a specific role within your practice, but few of our clients have taken the time to formally and systematically define them for every role within the office. Using the KOLBE C Index, we work with you to uncover functional expectations of each role in your practice. Comparing KOLBE A & KOLBE C results helps reveal how a jobholder’s strengths line up with the demands of the job and identifies areas of conative stress.

2. Team Evolution

By combining the KOLBE A Index results of your entire team, we are able to build a clear picture of your team's strengths, as well as areas of potential tension. When applied during the hiring process, it allows us to evaluate not just how a potential hire may perform in the role, but also how well they will fit within the team, and how they might improve the team with their own natural tendencies. Rather than potentially destabilizing an already performing team, hiring the right person can actually make your team and your practice stronger.

3. Create job specifications that attract the right candidates

Our system analyzes individual strengths and job responsibilities then provides actionable solutions for job design. You will then work with one of our certified expert consultants to guide you toward better outcomes.

4. Pre-interview Candidate Evaluation

Once we have helped you evaluate and define the specific needs of a role, shortlist candidates, then submit their KOLBE A Index and complete our proprietary online scenario-based performance assessment. This allows us to put candidates in real-world situations and monitor their performance, giving us a clearer picture of how they will perform on the job over time. By cross-referencing their skills, experience, KOLBE A, and performance assessment results, you get a clear picture of your top candidates, allowing you to make a truly informed decision.

5. Get the answers you need by designing the Perfect Interview using the Dynamynd Interview System.

While the KOLBE System is designed to assess conative strengths, we cannot forget affective and cognitive performance. The Dynamynd system allows you to get a forensic and holistic picture of your top applicants.

6. New Hire Pre-boarding and On-boarding.

There is a critical period after a hiring decision is made and a candidate has accepted when we can positively reinforce their decision, while at the same time setting expectations for them and us. This is the time when we can teach them about the Performance Communication Culture and how that will show up in their everyday work. We can also set and communicate standards of behavior, communication and performance. Based on their individual KOLBE A Index Results, and combined with your practice team results and the KOLBE A of their direct supervisor, we are able to set expectations as well as suggest and train them how best to communicate with their new work colleagues. When individual action styles are understood, conflict is minimized and avoided. Teams gel faster and perform better. Imagine, having a new hire that is excited, fully engaged, already integrated with your team and ready to hit the ground running.

Team Retention & Development

The Team Curriculum of the Perfect Practice Program™ is delivered in weekly lessons, both online and virtually over 1 year. It’s critical to know how your people are going to get things done – in the office or while working from home. Identify the strengths of your team by getting Kolbe A™ Index results for everyone.

Analyze and Optimize The Strengths of Your Current Team

  1. Once we’ve identified everybody’s instinctive strengths, we use KOLBE’s powerful TeamSuccess® Solutions reports & interactive workshops to maximize teamwork and strategically combine talents.
  2. Improve communication & collaboration among team members.
  3. Eliminate frustrating, long & unproductive meetings.
  4. Create a culture of respect, accountability & performance.​

1. Individual Evaluation as Part of a Team

After each person has taken the KOLBE A Self Assessment, they will meet virtually for 30 minutes with one of our certified KOLBE Consultants to better understand their personal results, and how those strengths can contribute to the performance of the team as a whole.

2. Team Evaluation

By combining the KOLBE A Index results of your entire team, we are able to build a clear picture of your teams strengths, as well as areas of potential tension. The TeamSuccess® Solutions Reports offer straightforward information about how a team thrives and where there may be roadblocks for collaboration and productivity. New interactive worksheets and reports designed specifically for team leaders will help you strategically combine talents and manage a winning team.

3. Performance Communication Training™

Communication, while natural, can be the cause of many issues in your practice family. As each member of your team has their own unique Conative Strengths, each of them will have different communication styles and preferences. While one person may need great detail, another my naturally desire only a summary. One person may be great at brainstorming and innovating solutions, and another may be risk-averse. These Conative differences can be the source of job stress, and when there is stress, people tend to develop poor work habits, ultimately leading to dramatic increases in staff turnover. The process is broken down into individual goals and actions. Each member of your team will take a 30-minute online training for 3 weeks each month. This cutting-edge, highly interactive scenario-based training is delivered online in a micro-learning format. Allowing them to participate from any device at a time that is best for them. We will then come together virtually or in person for 1 session per month where we will put that month’s skills into practice and crystalize what we have learned into a foundation of your unique culture. Over the course of a year, we will evolve your team from wherever they are into a smooth and agile high-performance team that people will love being a part of.

  1. How you naturally communicate. Discover how each KOLBE A Type naturally communicates. This uncovers your own communication preferences as well as giving you the ability to identify those of another and how to best shift your delivery to elicit the best response.

  2. Performance Communication Culture and Shared Success Commitment. This section of the program focuses on awakening and increasing awareness in every area of life and work. Players on a football team all agree to be coached, and while they each have their own individual personalities, the team outcome takes priority. Over 4 weekly 30-minute virtual sessions, one of our certified coaches will lead you and your team on a journey of discovery. Enhanced by KOLBE Data, together you will design and implement a culture that works for your practice, and your team.

  3. Active Listening Skills. One of the main issues in communication is in believing that we listen passively. That our reactions and responses are a result of what’s said, rather than being the result of a subconscious decision we make about what we just heard.

  4. Committed Conversation. Performance Communication re-trains people to listen actively and from a shared commitment. For example, if someone is having a bad day, and they take something personally, that can cause upset and conflict. However, if your entire team is committed to a shared success goal, they will hear anything said to them as a contribution. Ultimately recognizing that we have a choice in how we listen and respond. During this phase, we begin to introduce a commitment-based mindset and teach your team how to phrase communication in a way that elicits a positive response. This training is life-changing and will positively impact your team at every level. With each other, with your patients and customers, and even in their own personal lives.

  5. Conflict Resolution. Empowering each team member to act and communicate responsibly reduces conflict to almost zero, but if conflict does occur, it’s important that every member of your team has a mature and responsible way of handling it. The foundation of this step is in understanding that we each have a choice in what we hear and in how we respond. For instance, if a team member feels upset because they feel they are being criticized unfairly, there is a huge difference between a defensive reaction and a measured response. A defensive reaction may take the form of a verbal attack and comes from a place of protection. Whereas a measured response seeks better understanding and may sound something like this. “I feel like you see a potentially better way for me to handle X. I’d like to better understand your perspective, can we talk more about that.”

  6. Retention. Our goal is to help you design a unique Performance Communication Culture that works for you and your team. A Culture that embraces the gifts of each team member and any new additions and that expects and empowers each team member to perform at their best or to ask for help and input when there are roadblocks or challenges to peak performance. Being able to clearly and safely ask for help from a team that you know is on your side is a unique experience. We believe that everybody wants to be their best, and everybody wants to be and deserves to be seen and heard. This results in a truly great work environment that reduces staff turnover and increases commitment to the team and the practice.

  7. Ongoing Team Development and Non-linear Growth. You may or may not know it, but your team already has the ability to produce unprecedented results, but without culture and a method of highlighting areas of opportunity, looking for shared solutions, and sharing team wisdom, that knowledge may never come to light. During the monthly team sessions, we reinforce cultural values, uncover and brainstorm innovative solutions, and share and acknowledge the wisdom and contribution of all team members.

Leadership Coaching

One-on-one Leadership Coaching is the foundation of the Perfect Practice Program™. High-performance teams need strong and clear leadership.

This accelerated 3-month program is designed to get you up and running so that you lead and champion your team effectively as they create your unique Performance Communication Culture. So, what is leadership?

What leadership is not; Leadership is not making ever-changing demands that cause stress and staff turnover. Lack of clarity, compassion, understanding, personal strain and team tension affects EVERYTHING in a team, especially patient experience and your bottom line. What true leadership is; Having a clearly defined culture, goals and priorities that your entire team is aligned on achieving. It’s communicating those goals clearly and enrolling your team into consistently doing their part to help you achieve a shared vision. Humans enjoy clear leadership and a well-structured hierarchy. We believe that everybody wants to contribute positively, they want to experience success and also want and deserve to be recognized in their own unique way.

1. Your Individual Leadership Evaluation

After you and any members of your leadership team have completed the KOLBE A Self Assessment, you/they will meet virtually for 30 minutes with one of our certified KOLBE Consultants to better understand their personal results, and how those strengths work for them as a leader, and can contribute to the performance of the team as a whole.

2. Team Evaluation

As in the Team Program, we combine the KOLBE A Index results of your entire team, we are able to build a clear picture of your team's strengths, as well as areas of potential tension. The TeamSuccess® Solutions Reports offer straightforward information about how a team thrives and where there may be roadblocks to collaboration and productivity. New interactive worksheets and reports designed specifically for team leaders will help you strategically combine talents and manage a winning team. This is applied specifically to you as a leader. We work with you to develop your vision and communication styles such that you can actively lead, develop and grow your team.

3. Job Role Evaluation

We work with you to uncover how you see your current role using a KOLBE B assessment. This highlights your natural conative strengths, and how they fit with your role as you see it. By comparing your KOLBE A with your KOLBE B, we can focus on where you are a natural fit for your role, and also uncover where you may be able to make improvements or changes to increase your performance and also reduce stress and increase joy.

Again, it’s one thing to know what you want from a specific role within your practice, but few of our clients have taken the time to formally and systematically define them for every role within the office. It's also important to note, that while the tasks of a role will be similar between practices, how those tasks are performed varies based on the needs of the individual dentist and practice. Using the KOLBE C Index, we work with you to uncover functional expectations of each role in your practice. Comparing KOLBE A & KOLBE C results helps reveal how a jobholder’s strengths line up with the demands of the job and identify areas of conative stress.

4. Performance Communication Training

While you will be building your new Performance Communication with your team over the course of a year, it’s critical that you are also developing yourself as a leader and as a champion of the new culture. Cultural change must be top-down, bottom-up. Your staff will be consistently looking for how you act and operate and looking for inconsistencies, so it’s vital that you are consistent, and also coachable. You are the greatest asset of your practice and as such, you have both direct and indirect control over all outcomes.

5. One-on-one Leadership Coaching

We have partnered with Momentum Consulting, a boutique consulting firm that specializes in transformational leadership coaching. Our partnership provides our clients with a unique opportunity in the coaching world. This is not about incremental improvement or step-by-step learning. What makes this 3-month program special is that it marries the proven track record of transformational coaching with the specific strengths uncovered by the Kolbe assessment.

This combination is what makes Performance Communication Institute unique. Momentum’s leadership curriculum brings the client’s blind spots into full view. Why does this matter?

Blind spots are automatic behaviors we default to in times of stress, because they have seemingly worked in the past. But at some point, these automatic behaviors become unsatisfactory for us to thrive and can even be the cornerstone obstacle that keeps us stuck. It’s important they come into our view, because at that point clients get the opportunity to gain a perspective outside their everyday rut of confirmation bias, victim mentality and other limiting perceptions. Because nature abhors a vacuum, leadership coaching replaces that behavioral groove with leadership behaviors like specific requests, alignment building, generous listening and effectively managing difficult situations.

Everyone is different. For that reason, the program will be customized to your specific goals and needs. With the benefit of the Kolbe assessment, your coach will meet with you every week and challenge you to uncover default behaviors that have been in the way of your potential, as well as be your accountability partner.

If you choose to take on the Leadership Coaching, we ask that you prepare yourself to be challenged, held accountable and expanded.

6. Ongoing Leadership Coaching

Our Ongoing Leadership Coaching program has everything the 3-month program has and more. Our 6-month and 12-month programs require more of you, the client. All of our Leadership Coaching is based on the two main pillars of collaboration and accountability. The ongoing coaching is for the leader who is deeply committed to high-performance results.

What are high-performance results?

High-performance results are consistent and superior outcomes are repeated over time. That’s what ongoing coaching provides. It provides power.

The ongoing coaching program is not for the faint of heart. It demands more of the client than any of our other programs in that it requires constant integrity checks, accountability and rigor. In this program you will:

  • Increase your level of straight talk respectfully
  • Develop your ability to hold yourself and others to account
  • Eliminate hedge languaging
  • Start to build a culture of appreciation and alignment
  • Be comfortable with being uncomfortable
  • Increase the discretionary effort of your team
  • Lead by example
  • Be a champion of the standards of behavior you expect