When Great Team Members Collide: Leading Through Conflict in Your Dental Practice
On this episode of the Dental Lighthouse Podcast, I had the opportunity to speak with Caitlin, a dedicated dental hygienist who has been grappling with a situation that many practice leaders will find familiar. She’s passionate about patient care, she loves her team, but recently she’s been feeling weighed down by conflict between two assistants who used to be inseparable. What once looked like a strong partnership has unraveled into gossip, bickering, and negative energy that’s affecting not just the team but Caitlin herself.
When she pulled them into one-on-one conversations, things didn’t improve. The first meeting turned into a venting session filled with negative energy. The second, where she tried to refocus them on gratitude and appreciation, offered a glimmer of hope—they hugged it out and seemed back on track—but within a week, they were right back in the cycle. Frustrated, Caitlin sought advice on how to play her role as a leader without becoming a therapist and how to repair what feels like a fractured relationship.
What we uncovered in our conversation is something every practice owner or leader should remember: when conflict surfaces between good people, it often isn’t about character—it’s about clarity. These two assistants had built years of trust and proven themselves to be core value fits, but something in the day-to-day responsibilities shifted. One began taking on more Invisalign® cases and staying chairside longer, while the other absorbed more of the end-of-day tasks. From the outside, it looked like one person was slacking. In reality, it was simply an imbalance that neither of them fully understood. Without clarity, assumptions took over. Negativity bias filled in the blanks. And those assumptions grew into resentment.
Lead With Vulnerability and Honesty
The way forward isn’t to scold or to sweep it under the rug—it’s to lead with vulnerability and honesty. I encouraged Caitlin to sit down with both assistants and speak from the heart:
“This is cutting me. It’s affecting my joy at work and starting to follow me home. I can’t continue down this path, but I also can’t imagine practicing without you two by my side.”
That kind of honesty shifts the tone of the conversation. It reminds the team that their behavior isn’t just a workplace squabble—it has real consequences on the culture and the leader they respect.
From there, the work is about getting granular. What actually triggered the shift? Was it a schedule imbalance, a perception of unequal workload, or something outside the office entirely? By listening with empathy, clarifying expectations, and—when necessary—rebalancing responsibilities or even adding support staff, leaders can reset the system so the team can get back to winning together.
For Caitlin, the reminder was simple but powerful. Leadership isn’t about avoiding storms. It’s about having the courage to walk into them, to ask the hard questions, and to set a new path when the old one starts to break down.
If you’re a dentist or practice leader navigating similar challenges, you’re not alone. These moments are opportunities to strengthen your culture and model the kind of transparency and accountability that defines great leadership.
Listen to the whole conversation on the Dental Lighthouse Podcast for more insights.
