The SCCDS Leadership Summit 2026 opened with an energizing welcome from the host, setting the tone for a day focused on strengthening leadership skills, deepening collaboration, and inspiring purposeful decision-making among dental society leaders. Through expert panels, interactive discussions, and hands-on group exercises, attendees explored leadership styles, emotional intelligence, conflict resolution, and effective meeting leadership—gaining practical tools they could immediately apply in their professional and volunteer roles.
Exploring Leadership Styles in Action
The first session examined leadership as the art of influence and how different styles shape the success of dental society operations. After a roll call of board members and committee chairs, participants identified their primary leadership approaches from nine styles, including servant, visionary, coaching, democratic, and transformational leadership.
As the discussion unfolded, many attendees resonated strongly with servant leadership, while others highlighted coaching and visionary approaches as central to their work. The group reflected on how leadership styles shift depending on context—whether guiding teams, managing conflict, or navigating personal challenges. Daniel closed the session by sharing his own experience blending servant and visionary leadership, emphasizing the importance of trust, cultural alignment, and consistency.
Authentic Leadership & Navigating Workplace Challenges
The summit then turned to authentic leadership and its critical role in building healthy organizations. President-Elect Dr. Monica Wu spoke about leading with integrity, understanding one’s purpose, and staying grounded in personal values—even under pressure.
Participants candidly discussed common workplace challenges such as micromanagement, unclear expectations, favoritism, and lack of accountability. Together, they explored strategies to strengthen communication, prevent misunderstandings, manage team growth, and promote work-life balance. Emotional intelligence and metacognition emerged as recurring themes, highlighting the importance of self-awareness, reflection, and empathy in leadership.
Panelists shared personal stories of leading through uncertainty, reinforcing the value of remaining calm, acknowledging emotions, and keeping organizational goals in focus. Practical tools such as the “sandwich technique” for constructive feedback and leveraging CDA’s content library were introduced to help leaders continue developing their skills beyond the summit.
Understanding SCCDS’s Mission & Strategic Direction
Attendees were then guided through the structure, mission, and strategic priorities of the Santa Clara County Dental Society. Leadership outlined the society’s commitment to supporting member dentists while advancing community oral health, emphasizing the importance of sustaining and growing membership.
Key initiatives in the strategic plan include building a data-driven systems platform and launching a dental insurance reform task force—efforts designed to increase SCCDS’s long-term impact and advocacy strength.
The conversation naturally shifted to the growing challenges posed by dental insurance companies, including corporate consolidation and the rise of large clinic networks. Dr. Robert Shorey led a discussion on how these trends affect patient care and practice sustainability, prompting a broader dialogue on education, innovation, and rethinking traditional practice models to reduce dependency on insurance systems.
Leading Through Change & Uncertainty
Another session focused on organizational change and employee motivation. Participants examined common reactions to change—resistance, fatigue, confusion, and fear—and discussed the importance of transparent communication and consistent support during transitions. The group revisited the “compliment sandwich” as a tool for delivering difficult feedback constructively and explored ways to simplify processes to avoid confusion and delays.
Panelists also addressed leadership during uncertain times, sharing insights from executive searches and board service. Topics included maintaining trust through consistent processes, setting boundaries to prevent burnout, and modeling healthy leadership behaviors. Practical guidance was offered on committee leadership, including time management, inclusive decision-making, delegation, and building psychologically safe environments for dialogue.
The importance of aligning tasks with individual strengths—such as those identified through the Clifton Strengths Assessment—was emphasized as a powerful way to improve engagement and performance while preventing overload.
Clifton Strengths Workshop with Christine Draa
The summit concluded with an in-depth CliftonStrengths session led by Christine Draa. She explained how strengths evolve over time, noting that while bottom traits remain relatively stable, top strengths can shift with life experiences. Christine distinguished between talent (natural ability) and strength (talent developed through intentional practice) and introduced the four domains of strengths: Executing, Influencing, Relationship Building, and Strategic Thinking.
Participants explored common strengths such as Achiever, Learner, Discipline, Harmony, Relator, and Maximizer, discussing how each can shape leadership style, teamwork, and communication. Through guided reflection, attendees reviewed their own reports, identified potential blind spots, and considered how to better leverage their strengths across professional and personal roles.
The session closed with a collaborative discussion on using strengths awareness to improve communication, resolve conflict, and build trust within the board and committees. Attendees shared real-world experiences and committed to continuing these conversations, supported by additional learning resources distributed after the event.