If You Have to Keep Asking Whether It Was Done, Something Is Wrong

You walk into the office and ask:

❓ “Did someone order the supplies?”
❓ “Did we follow up with that parent?”
❓ “Was the sterilizer testing done?”
❓ “Did anyone call those overdue recall patients?”
❓ “Did we ever get that equipment maintenance scheduled?”

Sometimes the answer is yes.

Sometimes you get the look that tells you it wasn’t.

And then comes the reminder, the discussion—or eventually, you just take care of it yourself.

Sound familiar?

When you’re repeatedly having to ask whether routine responsibilities have been completed, it’s easy to assume you have a people problem.

Sometimes you do.

But often, the bigger problem is that there isn’t a system in place that makes sure the task gets done—and lets you know it was completed without having to ask.

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Good People Still Need Good Systems

Think about all the things that have to happen consistently in a pediatric dental practice:

🔹 Supplies ordered before you run out
🔹 Equipment maintained before something breaks
🔹 Sterilization monitoring and testing completed and documented
🔹 Unscheduled treatment followed up
🔹 Overdue recall patients contacted
🔹 Lab cases tracked
🔹 Rooms stocked and ready
🔹 Phone calls returned

None of these things are particularly complicated.

But if the only system is “Someone knows they’re supposed to do it,” eventually something is going to fall through the cracks.

And here’s the bigger problem:

You may not know it fell through the cracks until you ASK.

That’s how the doctor or office manager gradually becomes the practice’s human checklist.

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Are YOU the Accountability System?

There’s nothing wrong with checking in with your team. That’s part of leadership.

But there is a difference between checking in and having to personally verify that routine responsibilities are being handled.

If every important task requires you to find someone and ask, “Did you do this?” that’s not really accountability.

YOU’RE the accountability system!

And look at what that means:

➡️ You ask.
➡️ You check.
➡️ You remind when it hasn’t been done.
➡️ You follow up to make sure it finally gets done.

Eventually, everyone learns—without anyone intentionally deciding it—that if something gets missed, you’ll catch it.

That’s not how a practice should have to operate.

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Before You Blame the Person, Look at the Process

A reliable system should answer five basic questions:

1️⃣ WHAT needs to be done?

Is the expectation actually clear?

2️⃣ WHO is responsible?

Does one person own the responsibility—or does everyone think somebody else is doing it?

3️⃣ HOW should it be done?

Is there a checklist, protocol, schedule, or written procedure?

4️⃣ WHEN should it happen?

Daily? Weekly? Monthly? After every patient? On a particular day?

5️⃣ HOW WILL YOU KNOW it was completed?

This is where accountability comes in.

If all five are in place and someone repeatedly chooses not to follow the system, then you may have a people problem.

And that’s important to know, too.

Now you can address the real problem instead of wondering whether the team member failed—or whether you simply never gave them a reliable process to follow.

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“I Don’t Have Time to Create All These Systems!”

I understand that.

But think about how much time you’re already spending:

⏱️ Asking questions
⏱️ Checking on things
⏱️ Repeating directions
⏱️ Following up
⏱️ Fixing what wasn’t done
⏱️ Dealing with problems that could have been prevented

And you don’t have to personally create, install, and monitor every system.

Your office manager and team leaders can help establish them, maintain them, and make sure they’re being followed.

The goal isn’t to put more on your plate.

The goal is to get things OFF your plate!

Imagine walking into your practice knowing the things that need to happen are happening—not because you remembered to ask, but because that’s simply how your practice operates.

That’s what good systems can do.

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Try This for the Next Few Days

Pay attention to how many times you hear yourself ask:

💬 “Did we…?”
💬 “Has anyone…?”
💬 “Who was supposed to…?”
💬 “Did somebody follow up on…?”
💬 “Was that taken care of?”

Every one of those questions is worth examining.

Of course you’re always going to ask questions in your practice. But you shouldn’t have to personally check on every routine responsibility just to make sure it happened.

The system should tell you whether it happened.

Those questions may show you exactly where your practice needs a better system.

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Where Are the Pressure Points in YOUR Practice?

Sometimes when you’re in the middle of running a busy practice every day, it’s difficult to step back and see where the gaps really are.

That’s one reason I created the Pediatric Practice Pressure Points Assessment.

It gives you an opportunity to look at different areas of your practice and identify where:

🔎 Systems may be missing
🔎 Expectations may be unclear
🔎 Accountability may be lacking
🔎 Unnecessary stress and inefficiency may be creeping in

Take a few minutes and look at your practice through a different lens.

You may discover that some of the things you’ve been blaming on people are really problems with the systems around them.

TAKE THE FREE PEDIATRIC PRACTICE PRESSURE POINTS ASSESSMENT HERE

 

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💜 THE PEARL

If you have to keep asking whether routine responsibilities were completed, don’t just look at the person. Look at the process.