Comfort in Transparency

Especially During These Times

When we're faced with challenges in life, we don't always get the opportunity to respond with as much communication and personal clarity as possible. That's why I think communicating well is a good goal to aim for when we have challenges in business. For example, technology is second nature to dental laboratories today, but more than a decade ago, deciding whether to adopt digital CAD/CAM systems was one of the hardest decisions in my business after I became the new owner of Berkeley Dental Laboratory.

People at our lab simply weren't thrilled by the idea. Mainly, they thought they were going to lose their jobs. However, that wasn't true at all. I knew we could keep everyone on board, perhaps even more so if we upgraded our equipment to better serve our doctors and patients, but many of them would have to learn new skills.

Making this decision became more stressful after I heard the experiences of others. When a lab owner I know surprised his employees by introducing the new equipment, it caused a huge upheaval. I didn't want any of my team members to fear for their livelihood; I wanted them to feel a part of the process.

So, I didn't make it a surprise. I made the transition as transparent as possible.

After I announced that I was going to buy the equipment, I regularly gave everyone updates on the type of equipment we would get, the improvements to our process we would experience, and how the transition was going overall. If there were concerns about any of the updates, I gave them answers right away. People felt heard and valued. Slowly but surely, everyone got on board with the change. Morale was running fairly high after that.

I know businesses are currently facing unique challenges in our country — between the pandemic and the uncertainty of the current economy — and addressing these issues is nothing like buying a new machine. But I do think there's value in communicating often. It's comforting when you or your employees feel most vulnerable.

We already have little control over most of the difficulties in our life, and communicating well can be challenging as it is. Normally, I'm positive and happy, and I trust in the good-hearted nature of people. That's just who I am. So when my home was broken into and robbed several years ago, I didn't feel like myself. My faith in people had been violated, and I couldn't trust everyone. It was a very disturbing experience for me. Afterward, although I wanted to believe this was a random act, I found myself constantly wondering if this may have been done by someone I knew. I wondered if I tend to share too much information with others and considered ways I should change.

Worst of all, I had nobody to talk to, really, about what my family had been through. When we'd tell friends, the story just didn't seem as bad as it really was because they have not gone through the experience themselves. My wife feared for her and the girls' safety all the time, and our house no longer felt like home. For once, I wasn't super happy all the time. And the fact that they saw me just slightly worried made my family worry more!

Although it was never revealed to me who did this act, I realized that it's not important to know who it was. As more time went on, I learned to forgive whoever did this to our family and was able to once again live each day with a positive outlook. That's all to say this: We are all leaders, and we all have someone that is looking to us for guidance, whether it's in business or at home. We need to always be the best leader possible and care about our employees' and family's peace of mind because the ability to stay calm does affect our everyday life and the people around us.

During the pandemic, staying cool and collected has helped my business and family. While not everything is in my control, it's been helpful to be more aware than ever about my effect on others. Not everyone gets the opportunity to experience change at home or in their career with clear, open lines of communication between them and the agents of change. Always remember, the people you're surrounded by will appreciate the opportunity to share their thoughts and have their opinions valued.