322: Get Your Head Back in the Game!

You need to start trusting the process, people! In this episode, Kiera talks through how to take hold of 2021 and reassert yourself professionally and personally. The steps to get there:

1. Make the decision and take action

2. Something holding you back? Dive in with both feet

3. Leave behind the guilt

Make the new year a good one by grabbing it by the horns. The Dental A-Team is here to help you along the way. Visit us at www.TheDentalATeam.com to take more action today. 

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. All right, you guys. How are you doing out there today? I hope you guys are doing well. Where are you at? I am sitting in my office in Reno, Nevada. It's not very often that I'm here. I'm about to start taking off on the road again and I'm a little anxious. I'm really excited to see offices again, a little nervous to leave the business. There's always a change, but I'm excited. I'm headed to see four offices in the next week and a half. I'll be spending the weekend on the road.

Kiera Dent:

It's been quite a while since I've actually done that for work, not for fun. I did travel to Hawaii. It was awesome, guys. Traveling fuels my spirit. I don't know if you guys know, I made a vision board back when we were at Midwestern and I literally had on there "travel the world" and dentistry was right next to it, and that's my reality. I love to travel. I have missed traveling out of the country. I've missed other people. I've missed living life. What have you guys missed from 2020? And with this COVID, what have you guys missed? What are you looking forward to? I want to hear from you. So email us, [email protected]. You guys know I want to hear your lives. I want to hear from you.

Kiera Dent:

It's interesting. I listen to Tony Robbins and I've listened to Brendon Burchard and Rachel Hollis and a lot of mentors for years, and I think the days like Mike Michalowicz, when I actually emailed him, I've drawn a line in the sand, I was so committed and I've done Profit First and changed my business around. So I think sometimes when we email people that we've listened to for a while, people that have been mentors, we reach out, we work with them as coaches or consultants, or we attend their events, I think that that's where we really take our commitment to the next level.

Kiera Dent:

So anyway we can help you, email us, let's work together this year. Let's get you guys the goals you want to have. And as always, please make sure you guys stop, rate and review this podcast, if you're loving it. If you're not, it's fine. You can just email me how to make it better. I'm just kidding. Leave the reviews. We love great reviews. This is how we grow the podcast and we're able to help more dental practices just like you.

Kiera Dent:

All right, with that said, I have so many topics floating in my mind. We've had Tiffany, who's been working on org charts. We just ran our traction meeting. If you guys missed that event, get on over to the dentalAteam.com/events. Check out our events that we're going to have for this year because you guys, we've got some really, really, really awesome ones coming up and I don't want you guys to miss them. They will be CE, so CE for the whole team. Make sure you come May 14th through 15th, that's our full team summit.

Kiera Dent:

So a lot of offices have been asking about CE for their front office, for their team members that are clinical or nonclinical, so we have a billing one coming up. We have our full team summit. You guys, I'm so excited it's virtual because that means you get to bring your whole team for a fraction of the cost. They get to get CE, it's going to be so epic, I cannot even wait. So it's May 14th and 15th. Then in July, we're doing case acceptance, how to get the yes. And then in September, building your operations manual.

Kiera Dent:

So all these topics are floating around in my mind and I think the one I want to dive into is a conversation I had with a team member today on how do I get my head in the game this year? I think a lot of us feel that way, that's why I wanted to bring it up because I thought it was such a good conversation that her and I had today. And so what we talked about is the way you get your head in the game is first and foremost you're a hundred percent, so if you want to be there, make the decision and take action. I've heard the quote before that says, "A true decision is not made until action has been taken."

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 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. I'm talking 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.

Kiera Dent:

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, 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:

So decide, I said decide. Make a true decision and take massive action on it. So that's who you ... That's the first step, decide that you really want to do this. I have doctors telling me, "I really want to be a better leader." And I stop and I say, "Do you really? Because if you don't really want to do it and you've just heard that you should do this, you're probably not going to be super committed to it." So you've got to actually decide that this is what you want to do, and if you do, then jump in a hundred percent, have your meetings a hundred percent, schedule those meetings out a hundred percent. Don't wait until you feel like it, do it today. Because most people who are successful, most offices that are running great, aren't waiting for the success or the motivation bug to bite them. It's not going to, it's not going to show up. The best time to do it is now.

Kiera Dent:

So I just attended an event. I have it mapped out that tomorrow when I'm on a flight, I'm actually headed to an office tomorrow. I'm excited to go, I'll get to see Tiffany, but I have it mapped that tomorrow, I'm actually going to map out. So on my flights I'll have two of them, and then I have a really long, I mean, we're talking several hours. Flights aren't as direct as they used to be, for all of you who have not traveled.

Kiera Dent:

So I've got several hours headed to the east coast on Sunday, but I have it mapped for all my flights to take the stuff I learned at the event and actually put it into my calendar. I've had changes, so I know next year, I'm not going to be traveling certain months. I'm blocking all of that out now. Taking the massive action to get my head in the game a hundred percent. If I really want these, if I want a different life, I need to actively create it.

Kiera Dent:

So that's step number one of how to get our heads back into the game. And that could be in treatment coordinating, that could be in being a doctor and owning our practice and jumping in a hundred percent. That could be an office manager leading their team. It could be on a scheduler committing to having the schedule full. It could be a hygienist committing to hitting their goals. It could be a dental assistant committing to keeping their doctor's schedule full. There's a million areas that you just commit a hundred percent to. So that's step number one.

Kiera Dent:

Step number two is what is holding you back from jumping in a hundred percent, and let's dive into that. That's the second piece. Why is this a struggle for you? What are you feeling? And then the third piece is I want to ask the question of are you making yourself wrong? And the reason I bring this up is because often times people make themselves wrong when they want to make a decision. So let's say you say, "I want to grow my practice to two million this year." And then you're like, "Well, but maybe I shouldn't do that. Maybe I should do this. What if people judge me?" Why do we spend so much energy, time, and effort making ourselves wrong or having guilt? The reality is that's actually ego, and I say that with love because it's something I'm working on as well.

Kiera Dent:

So often times when we have that guilt, we have that, "Ugh, I'm such a bad person." Maybe you want to make a change in the position, maybe you want to grow, maybe you want to learn more things. And then you're like, "Well, maybe I shouldn't say this. Maybe I should just be grateful for what I already have." We're spending so much time, effort, and energy on making ourselves wrong. That's actually, ego-driven. It's not doing any good, so why are we spending time?

Kiera Dent:

And then so many times people spend so much energy. So let's say we know we want to take our practice to 1.2 million. We know the way to do it is we're going to have to hire a coach, and we sit there and we're like, "Oh my gosh, do I do this? Do I not do this? Am I going to make this good? Am I going to make this bad? What do I need to do?" And we spend so much time instead of making a decision and acting that we actually don't make a decision, and that itself is a decision. They say, "Make a decision and if it's "the wrong decision", you're going to learn more because you made the decision and you can move on." And there's so much loss, like there's more loss through not making a decision than making a wrong decision.

Kiera Dent:

And so when I was talking to some offices today, this was a theme that was coming up of how do I become more decisive? How do I get my head back in the game? How do I have more confidence? And I think that there's multiple facets to this, but getting your head back in the game is make the decision of what you want and don't make yourself wrong about it. Don't have that as a false humility when the reality is that's just an ego driving you, let's live the life we want to live. Let's make the decisions. Let's jump. Let's be decisive. And then if it's not feeling right, so there should also be a flow to it.

Kiera Dent:

I found often times when I'm making the decisions, there should be a flow. It should be easy. It should be natural. I shouldn't be sitting here questioning and doubting and wondering. Make an easy decision, and if it's wrong, you'll find out. And if it's right, it's going to be easy and a flow.

Kiera Dent:

So for example, over the holidays, Jason and I were trying to buy a vehicle. It was end of year, so we were trying to buy this vehicle for tax purposes, and guess what guys, it just was not working out. It seemed like it was a great deal. It took four days of our time in Hawaii. And I could not get this thing to work out. In my gut I felt nervous about it, but in my logical mind I was saying, "No, but this makes a lot of sense and we're going to lose money."

Kiera Dent:

So is this really a bad decision? Is it a wrong decision? Should I not move forward with it? And then I remember saying, "I just need something that's so specific that I know that this is right." And then lo and behold, there was definitely a house, we've been looking for a house, and that came up on the market the day I was going to transfer money to buy this vehicle that did not ... It just didn't settle. And it's always easy to say in hindsight, right? Well, that's why it didn't make sense because there was this house, la di, la di, la.

Kiera Dent:

Bottom line is the answer was that it wasn't flowing. It wasn't easy. So when you're getting your head in the game ... Like right now, you guys, I want to create, I want to build, I want to make things. That's what I'm great at. I'm great at coming up with better solutions, better ideas. I love going into practices and creating all these solutions and binding stumbling blocks and moving them out of the way, and I don't call it solving problems anymore because a problem insinuates that there is something to be broken, or there's something broken that needs fixing. Instead I say, "Let's just move these stumbling blocks out of your way." Nothing was broken. So going into practices to move those stumbling blocks out of the way to make your path easier, and that's what really I'm working on this year.

Kiera Dent:

But I think so often when things aren't flowing or they're not easy, I want to create right now, I want to build, and for some reason it just doesn't feel right. So I can fight it and I can say, "No, I'm meant to create and I'll always create." Or I can recognize this is not the season for that, and taking time for the seasons that come through. So as we're getting our head back in the game, tacticals, for all my tactical people out there, #Kiera, is make a decision and commit to it. Be decisive. Get in the game and jump in a hundred percent. Take the action. Do what's there.

Kiera Dent:

Next up, don't make ourselves guilty for what we want. Fantastic, we've made the decision, we want to start doing coaching, we want someone to lead us the path. Awesome. If it feels easy and a flow, yes, you might be nervous, but just because you're nervous doesn't mean that it's wrong. It's just when there's a stumbling block and it's hard and this isn't working out and I can't figure this out, maybe that's not the direction you want to go and maybe you actually want to go this way because there's a door that's opening where you feel like there's a wall. There's going to be a door that will open and trusting that process and having it as an easy flow is often times how I know I'm on the right path that's perfect for me.

Kiera Dent:

And then my last thing that I want to share with you guys that I didn't mention is that often times we think these decisions are life or death, when guess what? It's just determining who we're going to hire, and that might lead to life or death, but really it's just who we're hiring. And we often put so much weight on these decisions of like, "Oh, should I do my operations manual or should I do treatment planning?" Pick. Just pick. I want you guys to remember that all of our decisions are just a pinpoint on a timeline called life. They're not bigger, they're not smaller, they don't make up who we are. They're just all the makeup of who we are and we put so much emphasis on some of these decisions versus just making a decision and acting. Sometimes a swirling around in the washing machine of going around and around and around feels like we're making progress, we're actually just swirling.

Kiera Dent:

And so I want you guys to look at this year, where are you swirling and how could you get out of that swirl by making a decision? What decisions do you know you need to make that you haven't made yet, that if you just made it, it would make your life easier? And are you willing to trust yourself that you ultimately know the best path for you, and you're going to act this year and give yourself the best gift that you can give yourself.

Kiera Dent:

Those are just some thoughts I've had of how to get your head back in the game, how to trust yourself, how to trust yourself on presenting treatment plans, looking up those resources, asking for help, guiding yourself through it and making sure that you guys are genuinely trusting yourselves that you know the best plan and not putting so much guilt and heaviness, but creating more of an easy flow.

Kiera Dent:

And with that, I want to know what are you guys going to do, are you going to have that in your leadership teams? Are you going to have this in your treatment planning? Are you going to have this in your hygiene department? Are you going to have this in your personal life? There's all different areas where you can add this to your life, and I want to see what you guys are going to bring to the table.

Kiera Dent:

So this is the time to get your head back in the game. This is your time to make decisions, to be active, and to trust your gut. Maybe it's not the right time for you to build. Trust yourself. Take the time to slow down, to ground yourself, to root yourself, because this is also a slow down period so you're ready to go for spring. Trust yourself that you know the best plan for you and act and just trust that process. That's how you get your head back in the game, in my opinion.

Kiera Dent:

As always, you guys, thank you so much for listening. If there's ever a topic that I can help you with, please email us, even if you're just like, "Ugh, do a brain dump on me." I would love to hear all your ideas. This podcast is for you, it's a passion project for me. I love being here with all of you. Email us [email protected]. If you're interested in coaching with us or you want help on how do you make these goals a reality, or I've been thinking about coaching for a while, I've been thinking about hiring a consultant, let's chat. Kayla and myself are here for you. Email us [email protected]. I'd love to talk to you guys and as always, thank you so much for listening. I'll catch you next time on the Dental A Team podcast listeners.

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.