Author: Dr Tif Qureshi founder and a clinical director of IAS Academy
Practice principles all have their strengths, be it patient communication, endodontic knowledge, team management, or a variety of other skills. One thing that many professionals need to focus on is business management, and understanding how they can achieve any related goals.
It’s the part of dentistry that many people might not want to talk about. Complex cases with interesting medical elements make for exciting conversation, and differing treatment approaches can fuel debate, but clinicians should also feel comfortable and confident when talking about their plans for business growth.
This starts with understanding your targets, and sharing them with the people that matter most – the practice team.
Set the bar (at a level that suits you)
Goal-setting is the first step for success, encouraging dental practices to implement relevant changes thoughtfully. There are many approaches to setting these targets, and just as many acronyms to match.
Setting goals has many known benefits for clinicians and businesses alike. Professional performance is most successful when targets are precise and challenging, when they are used to measure performance and then influence feedback, and when they inspire commitment and acceptance.[i] Precise and measurable is key, as dental professionals can simply reflect on whether their actions have had the desired effect, and can even understand the impact of their actions in real time. Vague targets or instructions are likely to demotivate individuals.i
Goal-setting systems to aim high
Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) are used by companies such as Google,[ii] and help develop focused business strategies. They have some key elements that make them unique. Typically, OKRs will be set and evaluated frequently, be it monthly, quarterly or semi-annually; they are made public to every member of the team; and they will involve individual goals as part of the practice’s main objectives. OKRs will typically be so ambitious that they may not be achieved all the time, and success could be acknowledged when 70% of the target is reached (though bigger celebrations should be in order for 100% completion).[iii]
The ambitious nature of goal-setting is exemplified here, as OKRs put an emphasis on almost unattainable targets. To keep the team incentivised, objectives should be inspirative and motivational, and have a clear impact on the future of the practice.iii In a dental practice, you may want to set a target for the number of five-star online reviews posted over three months, for example. You could make clinically-led targets such as increasing treatment uptake of tooth whitening by a certain percentage, with your team motivated to be seen as a go-to source for this type of cosmetic care.
Personal responsibilities can be divided from there; a member of staff managing social media channels may increase the number of whitening-based posts they make, front of house staff may see if patients who have previously had tooth whitening would be willing to provide testimonials or reviews, and clinical staff will focus on supporting patients that would benefit most and provide an experience that encourages return visits. Breaking down responsibilities this way is also defined as Management By Objectives (MBO).
Another popular way to set out targets is by establishing SMART goals, which make sure each aim is specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. Each element here will be defined when a target is established, and helps the entire team fully understand what they are pulling towards.
Keep it timely
Putting an end date on a goal can always feel daunting. However, it’s a key part of goal setting. Our perspective of time and long-term goal setting is unique, and their effects on motivation are different for each person. The literature does show that more distant goals can increase motivation, as people feel they have the most opportunity to actually achieve them.[iv]
Short- to medium-term goals are just as valuable. They can help focus your actions, and provide an instant hit of motivation, as long as they feel relevant and achievable in the dental practice. Note that these won’t be as ambitious as OKRs, but can be impactful by establishing and sharing them in similar ways.
Prav Solanki (lecturer with IAS Academy and successful owner of The Fresh, a leading growth agency, and several dental and implant clinics) knows the importance of effective goal setting. He leads Business and Mindset Mastery, an IAS Academy course, to help clinicians focus on business growth without burnout. The course covers goal setting and growth, discovering simple, actionable techniques for realisation. Clinicians will develop a 90-day plan using the skills learnt in the course that can be immediately applied to their practice.
Setting goals for your practice allows for clear routes to growth. By breaking down responsibilities and sharing targets and actions amongst the team, the entire practice can pull towards a set goal – and share the rewards that come with it.
For more information on upcoming IAS Academy training courses, please visit www.iasortho.com or call 01932 336470 (Press 1)
[i] Gkizani, A. M., & Galanakis, M. (2022). Goal setting theory in contemporary businesses: A systematic review. Psychology, 13(3), 420-426.
[ii] Google re:Work, (N.D.) Set goals with OKRs. Google re:Work, (Online). Available at: https://rework.withgoogle.com/en/guides/set-goals-with-okrs#introduction [Accessed July 2025[
[iii] Radonić, M. (2017). OKR system as the reference for personal and organizational objectives. From References to Originality, 28.
[iv] Lens, W., Paixão, M. P., Herrera, D., & Grobler, A. (2012). Future time perspective as a motivational variable: Content and extension of future goals affect the quantity and quality of motivation. Japanese psychological research, 54(3), 321-333.
