321: How to Empower Yourself

Do you want to perfect your treatment plans? Organize schedule planning? Become the ultimate leader? It’s time to start doing just that. The Dental A-Team is here to inspire you to shift your mindset and start speaking the positive. What you focus on is what you achieve.

You create what your professional life is, what your personal life is, and what 2021 will mean for you. Start today by listening to this episode.

By the way, have you rated and reviewed us? Please do! You can do so on any place you’re streaming this podcast. We’ll love you forever :)

Podcast Transcript:

Kiera Dent:

Hey, everyone. Welcome to the Dental A Team podcast. I'm your host Kiera Dent and I had this crazy idea that maybe I could combine a doctor and a team member's perspective because let's face it, dentistry can be a challenging profession with those two perspectives. I've been a dental assistant, treatment coordinator, scheduler, filler, office manager, regional manager, practice owner, and I have a team of traveling consultants where we have traveled to over 165 different offices coaching teams. Yep, we don't just understand you, we are you. Our mission is to positively impact the world of dental and I believe that this podcast is the greatest way I can help elevate teams grow VIP experiences, reduce stress, and create A teams. Welcome to the Dental A Team podcast.

Kiera Dent:

Hello Dental A Team listeners, this is Kiera and you guys, all right, welcome to 2021. How are things going? I hope you guys are doing really well. Some people I've heard are saying it's a linger longer from 2020, other people are telling me it's the best year ever, so I'm just curious where are you, let's check in with you.

Kiera Dent:

Also guys, if you have yet to rate and review the podcast, please just stop right now and go do it. It helps us a ton, I do read all of your guys' reviews, thank you for them, and it's just ... It's a great way to help other offices find out about the Dental A Team podcast. So rate and review, share it with a friend, that would be awesome. So thank you guys for doing that. Thank you for those who have and thank you for those who are doing it today.

Kiera Dent:

But I want to talk about mindset today because as we're coming into 2021, and it's crazy because this is going to tie into your treatment planning, this will tie into your scheduling, it will tie into your practice, it will tie into your leadership team, is we actually are massive, massive, massive creators, and we don't realize it. So I was just on the call with a doctor and that doctor and I were chatting about how do you get treatment plans to be stronger treatment plans? Because he's like, "As soon as you say it, they all of a sudden are like, "Well, how much is that going to cost?"" And I thought, guess what? You saying that, you're going to look for ways to create that.

Kiera Dent:

Another doctor was telling me how they're not as great of a leader, and they're like, "I feel like my conversations with my team, I'm just a very aggressive leader." Someone else told me, "2020 is just a rough year already." And I stopped all of them and I'm like is that an empowering statement to say yes or no? Because if it's not an empowering statement, you're going to continue to say these things and you're going to actually find a way to make that right.

Kiera Dent:

Tony Robins says that as human beings, we have a natural tendency and need to make ourselves right. So for example, if you say, "Oh, there are only white cars on the freeway." Well guess what? You're going to start to find all those white cars on the freeway to make yourself right. If you say, "Oh, there are no homes on the market." You're going to find a way to make yourself right. "Oh, I can never lose weight." You're going to find a way to stay consistent and true with what you believe is true.

Kiera Dent:

We do it all the time. It's called self fulfilling prophecies or confirmation bias. We do that to ourselves. So I wanted to bring this up for you all to think about this year, like what are we putting out there versus what do we want it to be? Our mind cannot tell the difference between what is real and what we're telling it, and so you actually get to create this.

Kiera Dent:

So it was interesting. I had a doctor tell me, "Kiera, if there's a gift in this world of how to be a master articulate, you're very good at articulating things in the way you say things." He said, "I think you have that gift." And I said, "Honestly, that's one of the best compliments I've ever heard because the bottom line is I have not always been this way." I usually feel like I ... In the past, I felt like I was more direct. When I send emails, you guys, I go and I write the email I want to and then I go back before I send it. I've trained myself to look to see how's this going to land to somebody else? Maybe I should ask them how they're doing before I go in and ask what I want from them. Little things like that. And that's where I learned the phrase of being a word ninja.

Kiera Dent:

And so I didn't use to think that I was very articulate and that I had a polished way of saying things or a way to get people to follow. That's been a trained skill. And I tell myself all the time, cure your word ninja. So find the way to help people do what you want them to do and to be ... To get the results you want to as well. So when this doctor told me that, I said, "Wow, that was super kind of you and I appreciate that a lot, but it's because I've trained myself to become that."

Kiera Dent:

So you guys, the reason I'm bringing this up is if you tell yourself all the time, "Oh, I can't close those cases." You will find a way to make yourself consistently correct. If you tell yourself, "Oh, I'm just not a good leader." You will find a way to consistently make yourself correct. So how do we change that? You start saying something different to yourself even if you don't believe it now. And I'm not saying to lie to yourself like, "Oh, I've just got this." But what we focus on is what we achieve.

Kiera Dent:

And so we're having a dialogue all day long and I heard a statistic and I don't know what it was, but they said 60% to 80%. It's either 60% or 80%, I've heard different opinions. Sixty to 80% of our day is actually done on autopilot. Okay, so think about that. So the bulk of your day, the majority of your day, is done on autopilot. We've trained ourselves. We are efficient human beings, so we've created this reality for ourselves and yet we're not even actively creating it, it's just things we've told ourselves or we believe that we're continuing to do.

Kiera Dent:

So think about your treatment planning. Think about your scheduling. Think about your exams. Think about the way we have our morning huddles. We've probably taught ourself on autopilot. Think of how you answer the phone. Why do offices listen to the podcast and then go and do something that they've been doing for years even though I just coached them on how to change their verbiage on the phone? Because we're not consciously living. We're on autopilot for 60% to 80% of our day.

Kiera Dent:

That's insanity. That's nuts. So you have to actively be changing the things you're saying unless you're happy with it. So I've told myself for years I'm a word ninja. I'm a word ninja. I used to not keep my word to people. I used to say like, "Yep, I'll see you later." There's no way I'd ever call that person back, I'm not going to call them back. But I said it because it was on autopilot. I didn't actually have a relationship with the words I spoke, I wasn't thinking about that unconscious dialogue running through my mind all day long.

Kiera Dent:

And so for you guys to look to see, okay, what are we saying, what are our actions, and how can we change that? So even if you don't believe it, so for example, a doctor feels that they're not communicating super well with their team. They might say, "Oh, I hate going and having these conversations." Well, your days are numbered. You're probably going to keep hating those conversations unless we change it and we put a spin on it.

Kiera Dent:

Are you guys sick of trying to figure it out on your own? I know I am. When I'm trying to run a business, sometimes I just think like there's got to be a better way to do this. And so for me, my answer has been to find someone who's done it and does it really, really, really well. Like I'm talking to the best of the best of the best. I want someone who's been in my shoes, somebody who understands what I'm going through.

Kiera Dent:

When I was looking for the consulting business, I found a coach who literally has run a consulting business. Well, that seems like the perfect fit. So you guys, right now we have a few spaces open in our Platinum consulting, that is in the consulting where we actually come to your practice. We help you get systems implemented. We don't just tell you what systems to implement, we actually implement them with you and for you. You guys, it is one of the best investments I've ever made is to hire a coach who understands the business I'm in, who's lived it, who's done it, and that's what we in the Dental A Team do.

Kiera Dent:

We literally physically fly to you. So if you're sick of trying to figure it out on your own, if you just want somebody who understands you, join our Platinum. I'd love to have you. I'd love to have our consulting team come out and see you, be in your office, be with your team, and truly help you get onto the easy path of dentistry. It doesn't have to be hard, so join us in the Platinum. We'd love to have you.

Kiera Dent:

I've told myself for years, I'm the best consultant who always delivers the best value. You may agree or you may not agree, and that's okay. Do I think they are better consultants than me out there? For sure. Do I think there are worse? For sure. Do I really care? No. What I care about is that I believe and I act as if I'm the best consultant that always delivers more value than any person ever expects to receive. If I can do that, and I tell myself that, and I believe that, I will become that. That's how we built the Dental A Team. That's how ...

Kiera Dent:

You guys, I don't know how to consult. I don't know if you remember, little Kiera had never consulted an office in her life when she started the Dental A Team consulting business. It was called Kiera's Dental Consulting, it morphed into the Dental A Team. You guys, I didn't know what I was doing. People used to rip me in half when they would tell me I wasn't a good consultant, and then I started telling myself, "No, I'm the best consultant."

Kiera Dent:

So if you were to come in and tell me, "Kiera, you're the worst consultant." It might sting a little still to this day, but the reality is, I know I'm a really good consultant, but it's changed in the dialogue of what I'm saying and that's the whole point of this whole thing, is look to see what you're telling yourself day in and day out. What are those unconscious conversations? I'm not good at this. I don't like doing this. Let's change that to an empowering one. How does it feel to hate having a conversation with your team member? How does it feel to, "Oh, everybody who works for me just turns over." Yuck. Drop that, that's gross. That doesn't feel good. Let's change it to something of who you want to be.

Kiera Dent:

So all last year, you guys, I ... Oh man. People, my husband knows that time management has not always been one of my strengths. Notice I said, "Has not always been one of my strengths." I almost said to you, "Being on time is not something I do." And then I was like well, that's actually not true and I don't want that statement to be true. So it hasn't always been one of my best strengths.

Kiera Dent:

However, last year it really bothered me so I actually started working on writing every day that I am a master of time. I am always on time. I like to be on time. Being on time feels good. All these different things are on time, and I will tell you guys for the bulk, I'm not perfect at it, I am mostly on time to most things. Today I had about, I'm not exaggerating, 15 calls. I'm still going. I've been going for almost a solid 12 hours with no breaks. It's been a little bit of a long day, and here we are podcasting at the end of it, which I definitely love to do.

Kiera Dent:

And I told myself today I was going to be on time. And for, I would say 85% of my day, I got off on one call. Luckily, I had a buffer built in right at that spot to go a little longer if need be. That's the only spot my entire day that I got off track. I used to run over constantly on all calls, show up late. It was hard for me to have a schedule that was that packed, and yet, that was because I changed that.

Kiera Dent:

So for you guys, how do you change what it is? You start to look at what is the area that's bothering you the most? Or what's something that you say to yourself all the time that really is disempowering? Or maybe it's even an attribute that you want to change. So for example, I'm not a great leader. Okay well, is that empowering to you? If it is, high five, continue on, and you can just skip to the next podcast. If it's not empowering to you, let's change it to a more empowering one.

Kiera Dent:

So it could be, I'm an incredible leader. I lead by example and my team loves to follow. It could be I'm the best leader that there is and I give gratitude and grace. I don't know, whatever you want to be, whatever kind of leader you want to be. I'm a leader like X. Maybe you have a mentor or a hero or someone you want to be like. I'm a leader just like blank. You guys, I literally say, "I speak with Tony Robbins." That's something I write down all the time and guess what you guys? I attended a Tony Robbins event and no joke, he and I ... I was on the screen and he did a shout out and actually said my name. And I was like, "Oh my gosh, we're getting closer to this dream of speaking with him one day. He already said my name, guys. We're one step closer to that reality. Tony Robbins and I had a conversation." Which is awesome. And so, because I've been saying that it doesn't surprise me that it's becoming true.

Kiera Dent:

So what do you want to create true? I'm not a great leader, we're going to change that. I am a leader like blank, or I am the best leader there is, and I want you to write this in your journal every day. I want you to put it on your phone because sometimes we just have to remember who we want to become. I told you guys before, I always ... Not always. I have phones ... I have a picture of whatever I want. Right now it's a picture of me and my husband and on there, and I'm about to change it to some goals that I want to achieve, but right now it says, "Be eager to forgive, be kinder than necessary." That has been an unconscious theme in the back of my head for the last ... Since September. I put it on there in September and that's something I needed to remember. I'm about to change it to something else I want to remember.

Kiera Dent:

So I want to say, you get to create what 2020 is. I had another doctor I was coaching with today and she said, "Ugh, 2021 is just like 2020." And I was like, "Stop that." Because the energy we bring to a situation is the energy we create it with. So if it's a rough year or I'm not that great of a leader, you're going to take that same energy into your leadership meetings. You're going to carry that into how you're creating your plans for your business. It's going to go into how you talk to your team members. So I want you guys to truly get intentional on what's the outcome of what you want to become, and let's start shifting the words you're saying to yourself on a regular basis to get the outcomes that you're truly seeking.

Kiera Dent:

All right, go back and relisten to this podcast. I want you guys to listen to it again, and I want you to email us. You guys, I love ... Have I told you how much I love when you actually email us? I've got a few doctors that know us and text me when they hear about them on the podcast or they hear about teams, and I love that. So for those of you who have yet to dip your toe into reaching out to say hello, email me. Hello? That's why it's hello. Like, "Hello. Hey, guess what? Hello? Are you there?" Or, "Hey. Hello. I'd love to invite you in."

Kiera Dent:

So [email protected]. I want to hear from you. I want to hear what your disempowering phrases or your disempowering belief and the phrase you changed it to and how you're going to say it to yourself every day. I truly believe a true decision is made when action is taken. So take massive action. Let's get the life you want to live, not the one you think you should. And as always, thank you guys for listening and I'll catch you next time on the Dental A Team podcast.

Kiera Dent:

All right, Dental A Team listeners, that's a wrap. Thank you so much for listening and if you loved today's podcast, go leave us a review. It takes you five seconds and your review helps more offices, more practices, more team members just like you find out about the Dental A Team. Thank you guys so much for being part of my Dental A Team family.