Why Your 2026 Plan Will Fail Without Team Buy-In

Every December, practice owners and managers sit down with the best intentions. You open a fresh document, sketch out targets, tidy your spreadsheets, and start building the plan for the year ahead.

And then, by mid-February, the plan is gathering dust.

• Not because the goals were wrong.

• Not because you didn’t care enough.

• But because the team weren’t genuinely on board.

This is the piece most leaders overlook. A plan created alone stays alone. A plan created with the team stands a far greater chance of being delivered.

The Myth of the “Solo Plan”

Many leaders still carry the belief that creating the plan behind closed doors shows strength.

“It’s my job to work it out.”
“I’ll present it once it’s final.”
“They don’t need the detail.”

But the reality I see in practices every week is this: if you bring your team a completed plan with no involvement, they’ll nod politely… and carry on doing what they did last year.

People don’t resist plans.

They resist plans that don’t feel like theirs.

Real Life in the Practice

Think about the receptionist who has no idea why the new patient conversion target has been raised. To them, it looks like extra pressure, not a meaningful improvement.

Think about the nurse who keeps hearing about “efficiency” but doesn’t know how that connects to better days or better care.

Think about the associate who’s already juggling a full book and wonders how they are meant to contribute to the practice’s bigger goals.

When a plan is created in isolation, everyone adds their own interpretation. Things get diluted, misunderstood, or quietly ignored. The leader ends up carrying twice the weight and wondering why nothing sticks.

Why Buy-In Matters More Than Ever in 2026

Next year will be a step change.

A younger, more vocal workforce.

Higher expectations around fairness, clarity, and purpose.

More pressure on pay and performance.

And a busy market where team culture is one of the few real differentiators left.

You can have the slickest website, the best marketing, and the smartest financial controls, but if the team aren’t aligned and energised, growth will stall.

Your plan will only work if the people delivering it understand it, believe in it, and can see their role in making it happen.

So What Works Instead?

Here are three simple principles that make all the difference:

1. Share the vision before you share the numbers

People need a clear picture of what you’re trying to create. A sense of direction. Something worth getting behind.

Start with why this matters, not what they must do.

2. Build the plan with them, not for them

You don’t need to hand over control. But you do need input.

Ask your team what would make the biggest impact in their area.

Ask what slows them down.

Ask where they see opportunities.

You will be surprised how practical and honest the answers are.

3. Give everyone a part to play

The quickest way to kill momentum is to keep everything high-level.

Your team need clear roles in the plan – simple actions that show them how they contribute to the larger goal.

Ownership grows where clarity exists.

These aren’t complicated ideas. But they change everything.

If You Want Support Doing This Well…

Next Wednesday, I’m running a focused 60-minute online session:

New Year, One Vision – A Practical Planning Session for Dental Leaders
Wednesday 17th December, 7pm | £47 inc VAT

In the session, I’ll walk you through a structured way to:

• Set a motivating vision for 2026

• Shape goals your team can actually buy into

• Use a Thematic Goal to focus Q1 and build early momentum

• Prepare a January team meeting that gets everyone aligned from day one

You’ll leave with a working draft of your 2026 plan – and a far clearer idea of how to bring your team with you, not drag them behind you.

If you want to start 2026 with clarity, confidence, and a united team, you can grab your place here:

Register for the webinar – £47 inc VAT