When Team Members Go Rogue: Restoring Alignment in Your Dental Office
- Denise Ciardello
- Oct 30
- 3 min read
Every dental office thrives on structure, consistency, and teamwork. Yet, even the best-run practices can face a situation where a team member—or an entire team—starts “going rogue.” This doesn’t always mean blatant defiance. Sometimes it’s simply that people have slipped into bad habits or were never properly trained in the first place. Either way, the end result is the same: inconsistency, confusion, and frustration.
“Rogue behavior” doesn’t just happen abruptly, it often begins subtly:
A hygienist adjusts the schedule “just this once” to fit in a friend.
The front desk stops confirming appointments because “most patients show up anyway.”
An assistant starts using shortcuts that save time but compromise infection control.
A team member decides which policies to follow based on what’s convenient.
Sometimes, this stems from willful disregard of office protocols—but more often, it’s a communication or leadership gap. If expectations aren’t clear, reinforced, or modeled, employees fill in the blanks themselves. Over time, that becomes “the way we do things.”
What ends up happening is when team members, and even management, deviate from established systems, the culture and productiveness decreases:
Patient trust suffers.Inconsistency looks unprofessional and erodes confidence.
Team morale drops.Some follow the rules and others don’t, this is where resentment comes in.
Efficiency decreases.Chaos replaces clarity, and everyone’s job gets harder.
Legal and ethical risks increase.Especially in clinical and billing areas, noncompliance can have serious consequences.
Remember that inaction is indeed an action. Letting it slide, means that you approve of this infraction in protocol or rules. Which means that now is the time to get the team back on track by re-establishing alignment and reviewing the protocols and guidelines that define the culture of your practice. It doesn’t
Identify the gaps. Observe where things have drifted off track—are the issues due to misunderstanding, laziness, or lack of accountability?
Clarify expectations. Restate policies in writing and make sure every team member understands the “why” behind each one.
Create consistency. Review procedures during team meetings and ensure everyone follows the same systems.
Hold people accountable—with fairness. Set clear consequences for ignoring policies but recognize when retraining is the better fix.
Lead by example. The doctor and management team must model the behavior they expect from everyone else.
A well-run office is intentional, not accidental. Regular communication, ongoing training, and reinforcement of policies keep everyone aligned. Team meetings aren’t just for updates—they’re for culture building, accountability, and training. Consider taking 5 minutes and review the proper methods for treatment planning - including prioritizing and referral information, or scheduling a productive day - explain why are appointments scheduled the way they are in your office. Additionally, these meetings would be a great time to review one, two or three policies in your office handbook.
When staff “go rogue,” it’s not just a behavior issue—it’s a signal that communication, clarity, or culture needs attention. The fix isn’t punishment; it’s realignment. A strong leader uses these moments not to scold, but to strengthen the systems that make the office run smoothly and the team feel confident.
If you are interested, we have a list of topics to consider during your team meetings that will address some of these topics; simply request this list by emailing Info@GTSgurus.com.
Denise Ciardello, Consultant
Denise is co-founder of Global Team Solutions. A professional speaker and published author, her enthusiasm and knowledge about the dental profession has helped many dental teams. She brings experience, insight, and creativity into her management style, along with a sense of humor. In a profession that can cause anxiety in some dental employees.
Denise’s consulting approach is to partner with doctors and team members to help them realize the dream of creating a thriving, successful practice.
Denise can be reached at: denise@gtsgurus.com
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