EDITORIAL

Guest Editorial written by Dr. Winland

More than a century ago, Alexander Graham Bell said, "A man, as a general rule owes very little to what he is born with- A man is what he makes of himself."
In other words, regardless of the profession under discussion, leaders are made,not born. Good leaders believe in lifelong learning and taking every opportunity to develop their leadership skills. Good leaders earn the trust of those around them; when a leader is committed to personal improvement and growth, their followers are likely to make a similar commitment.

A great leader must be willing to accept the provisional nature of knowledge and always remain open to new perspectives. As members of the medical community, dentists are natural at questioning long-established science and economic "truths" if only to determine their veracity.

Some questions must be directed internally as well as externally. Do you encourage dissenting views and accept suggestions from your staff? Do you listen to and consider opposing opinions presented by your colleagues? Your attitude toward challenging questions is a good barometer of your professional openness toward learning. Our profession centers around trust; to keep that trust, we must re-evaluate our knowledge constantly so that we can let go of old, out-moded, impractical concepts and accept new, exciting, functional ideas. At the same time, a solid leader always remembers that improving one's knowledge and instilling changes does not mean losing your values. The acceptance of our new ideas should never occur at the expense of the oaths we have taken.

As our profession becomes more complex, dentists often rely on information that has been screened, condensed, compiled and crystallized for quick consumption. Other dental leaders turn to unfiltered data in their lifelong quest to learn, including personal product research, direct interaction with personnel and patients, and face-to-face meetings.

Whatever management style you forge, be secure in your parameters, guidelines and limits. Dentists must acquire the willingness to seek better ideas; in doing so, we must recognize that we don't have all the answers. As you define and comprehend the limits of your knowlege, your learning will increase substantially.

Thank you,
Dr. Winland