Episode 588: Management Mastery & Leadership

This is week one of 12 systems you should baseline by the end of this year, to get your practice ready for 2023. Kiera and Spiffy Tiffy break down the difference between management and leadership by touching on how to …

• Be a leader and manage your team without being a micromanager

• Get your team on board with culture, protocol, hard conversations, and team morale

• Track those movements with KPIs

• And more

Use this episode to see where your practice stacks up, and start putting into place what you can improve on next year.

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Transcript:

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0:00:05.6 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, pillar, 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.

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0:00:47.0 KD: Hey Dental A Team listeners, this is Kiera and you guys, I am beyond Getty about the fact that we are having a way for you guys to kick off your 2023 in the most epic way. That's right. I want you guys to go into 2023 with direction with a plan and to actually get something done, done and done. If you've been looking at that operations manual, it is time guys, for three months. Every single week, I'm going to be doing a workshop with you and your team in January to get that operations manual done in three months. Guys, this is a value of over $10,000 that I know you're gonna freaking love because you're actually going to get it done. So if you wanna get your ops manual done in three months and kick off your January ultra strong, head on over to thedentalateam.com/opsmanual and I will see you January 5th for our kickoff. Hello Dental A Team listeners. This is Kiera and guess who's back? She's back and not in black. She's black and blue with Dental A Team that sounds even worse. Is black and blue. Tiff, welcome back to the podcast. That was my worst intro of you. How are you today [laughter]?

0:01:57.8 Tiffanie Trader: I'm so good. I'm so good and I'm actually wearing gray right now, so don't stress. We're not [laughter] So black and blue. It's perfect. [0:02:07.4] ____ our colors.

[overlapping conversation]

0:02:07.5 KD: I was like man Dental A Team colors. Rough, black and blue. Like okay, that's fine. So what's black and blue all over Tiffanie Trader and Dental A Team. Yeah, perfect. Like worst. But guys, Tiffanie and I are back. If you didn't catch our episode last week, we are actually going to take you guys over these next 12 weeks through the end of the year of all the different themes that you should have systems for. So I would, if I was you guys, I would have my little notes on my phone and I would list these themes as today's theme is going to be management mastery and leadership. And we're gonna kind of do a deeper dive on this theme of the systems that should be in place. So you can say like, Yep, Management mastery and leadership. I'm a 10 out of 10 or wow, I'm like a three outta four.

0:02:50.7 KD: Don't worry guys. There's no judgment on any of this. We're just trying to help you guys baseline by the end of the year so you can go back and look at all this work that you've put in. You've thought about it. Even if you don't wanna write it down, you can think about it and realize like, wow, that's our, that's our theme and those are our areas that we're really weakened that we need to build systems for for next year. So what we're trying to do is actually, I've done a podcast on this in December, the last two years I've taken you guys to every department and this year Tiff and I, labor of love for you guys. We wanted to actually walk you through week by week by week in the podcast in last quarter q4. So you could really start to analyze every section of your practice and know exactly where you need to go next year. So Tiff, you ready? You ready take on a management mastery in leadership?

0:03:36.8 TT: Heck yeah. I love the name by the way. Yeah. Management mastery and leadership. I love it. [0:03:42.8] ____ exactly what it is.

[overlapping conversation]

0:03:42.9 KD: That's one of Tiff's superpowers. Tiff's superpowers is naming themes though, if you ever like our whole 'doing what matters' when we used to be what were we? We were dental masters, [laughter], when that company used to exist, Tiff came up with 'doing what matters'. She's just really clever at naming everything. So most of these titles of all these, I would call them categories with systems underneath. So it's like the management mastery and leadership office management. Like what are the systems that actually make that systematized? We're taking themes, ideas, theories of departments into tactical systems for each of these sections. And I agree it's one of the best names I think that you listed off. So well done [laughter]

0:04:25.8 TT: Thanks. I do love naming things. I don't know why it just pops in my brain. Guess that's the one, that's the one or no, that's not it. That's not it. We gotta keep going [laughter] I do love it. I love it. But I do think, I think January honestly is one of my like favorite months of the whole year that we did because I love them all, but I love January cause there's so much meat in here with like management and leadership and I think that's such, those two words are such key words in the dental practice, like Managment and leadership, like how to be a leader but still managing your team, right? And not being the manager, the micromanager, but kind of removing that manager piece, that micromanager word and name. Kind of removing that and creating that leadership and accountability. And I think that's what January really is all about, how to see the growth of the practice, how to gain growth of the practice and how to get your team on board with culture and downtime protocols?

0:05:19.1 TT: Having hard conversations like team morale, all of those pieces. And really learning how to then track it with KPIs is all jammed into the month of January. And I think it's super cool. I think there's so much just fire information in here that if you miss any month, don't let it be January if you're asking me because there's so much information just jam packed into that month.

0:05:42.9 KD: Totally. And so thinking of that theme, so as you guys are assessing this, I also love that it's called Management mastery and leadership. Because I think so much the title office manager or the theme of office manager is left to so much question versus management mastery. There is management and operations and making sure our business is developing and utilizing the leadership piece to grow the practice. So, so much of this topic I would say like Tiff said is, are you guys as an office manager unit and leadership D department within your practice.

0:06:20.3 KD: Do all the people in that, so leaders, office managers, team leads, doctors, Are you guys tracking KPIs in that area of your practice? Are you guys consistently looking at making sure, if you're not a startup practice but you are an established practice, that your practice is growing at least 10% annually? Are you guys running effective meetings in that leadership and management department of your practice? Do your team leads know how to run effective meetings that actually get results? Do you have weekly check-ins with team members? Do you have monthly one-on-ones with team members? Do you actually have accountability agreements? Do you guys work on those things? Do you have your leaders take training on how to be more effective leaders? Are you running book clubs to help them, to inspire them to be stronger leaders? Books such as... Some of my favorite ones for leadership are Essentialism, Effortless, Ego is the Enemy, Five Dysfunctions of Teams, The Humanized Leader, The Obstacle is the Way, The Motive, Crucial Conversations, Who Not How, Toyota Way to Lean Management, Creating Magic. Do you guys actually do that in your leadership groups in your practice? Are you truly leading your practice? Do you guys have...

0:07:37.7 KD: That's on the leadership side, and then the management side is, Do you have all the protocols in play to know what people are doing? To be tracking those items for end of day checklists, downtime protocols, making sure that we have handbooks updated and given to each new hire and also consistently updating them? Those are the types of things. So there's the management side, which I feel is more the structure, the framework of the practice, and then the leadership is the how we're doing this. Are we a culture of dictatorship? Are we a culture of growth and expansion? Are we a group of accountability and empowerment? That way, we're minimizing the entitlement within our practices. And are we also building that culture and morale within the practice? Do we have team outings? Do we have things of team building for our practice? Are we offboarding people when they leave our practice and finding out why they're leaving, so we can make it better?

0:08:32.9 KD: That's what we talk about when... It's like, in your management, so the systems, the operations, the accountability, and then the leadership, those leading and guiding. And are they actually leading for right reasons? Do they have egos? Are we wanting to be leaders for the title of it, or are we leading because we love to serve? We love to think of ways to make their lives easier, to make our patient experience better, to grow the practice, because we know if we grow, we get to serve more people. Is that the culture of your leadership? 'Cause if not, that might be an area that, me as a practice owner, me as a business owner, would say, "We might want to spend some time there," because that's your foundation that's actually gonna grow the rest of your practice.

0:09:15.4 KD: So those would be the questions I would be asking, looking at this practice of exactly where am I within this topic? My management, mastery, and leadership, are we a 10 out of 10? And Tiff, I would actually pivot that to you... And I actually might split this as I'm saying it out loud, because I think it'd be easier. Rate your management, so the systems, the operations, the accountability, the follow through, and then rate your leadership on a 1-10. So Tiff, this is gonna be on the spot, which I love to do because it gets real answers. It's like, "Surprise, what are you gonna say?" Dental A Team, let's do this as if we were a podcast listener rating Dental A Team. And I have no clue what this is gonna turn out, but guys, you're gonna help me set up my goals for next year as a team. Here we go. So Tiff, from your perspective, the management of Dental A Team, so like I said, management I feel is more operations, the systems accountability, 1-10. Ten being like, "We are absolutely perfect," which, guess what guys, if you give yourself a 10, you're lying. No one's ever a 10, so 10's a pretty hard number to achieve. One, we are totally not even on the map. So Tiff, where would you, as an employee of Dental A Team, rank Dental A Team's management from your perspective?

0:10:28.3 TT: I would say today, right now, I would probably give us a seven.

0:10:31.4 KD: Alright. What would make it a 10? If we were to get there. What do you feel... And guys, this is real-life coaching with me and Tiff. This is not scripted. But I want you guys to see how to do this for your own practices, 'cause I think team and leaders see it very differently. So Tiff, what would make it, from your angle right now, a 10 for the management operations accountability systemization in our company.

0:10:57.3 TT: Well, I think our IP, right? We're still constantly developing that and refining that. I think that's gonna help a ton. And then our project management has been something that we've been trying to refine. We're working on that. It's coming into play. That's gonna help a ton, and the accountability piece that's attached to that. I think that we've got so many different departments of our company and we're so remote that really finding those tools, which Pat has been stellar in helping us with, and Shelby has done so much freaking work behind the scenes, and Kylie's been helping a ton. Finding those pieces, I think, are what's gonna bring us up to a 10 of accountability and really just management overall for our company.

0:11:37.1 KD: I love it. So guys, I am actually glad that we have me and Tiff on this podcast, because Tiff and I get to bring... I'll be the doctor, guys, so like your business owner, and Tiff's a team member perspective in this scenario, because I would actually... I was thinking, "What is our management?" How do I feel like our systems, our organization... And I'm like, I would say between a six and a seven is where we are for the same reasons Tiff just said. I think our project management software has not been great being virtual. I don't think we stay as accountable. We like to be more friends and a little more loose on those things, but I think it's because we don't have the clarity of exactly what needs to happen, and so therefore I feel like that is more of a stressful zone. And to your point of the IP, for us to onboard and to have really strong ways that Dental A Team speaks and acts, in a simple way, is another zone that we are working on right now. So completely agree with you.

0:12:29.1 KD: Now, let's pivot it, if we were assessing our company on the leadership side, so the vision of the company, the growing of the company, the, I would say, servant leadership mentality of our company, making sure people who are leaders of our team are not... And Tiff, you get to lump yourself into this, Tiff is the lead consultant. So Tiff would be in there. Tiff, what do you feel our leadership, on a 1-10, portion of our company is? 10 being like, we have amazing leaders who truly are here for the right reasons, who hold people accountable, who have the crucial conversations, who come to team meetings to develop and to grow and to innovate as a leadership whole of our team. And I have no idea what you're gonna say, and I'm excited for your honest... This is a... Like one-on-one in the podcast, guys.

[laughter]

0:13:10.1 TT: It's so true. I don't think there could have been two more perfect people to have this conversation.

0:13:16.8 KD: I would agree.

0:13:17.2 TT: If you want to learn how to communicate just follow Kiera and I around. I think leadership, I honestly and truly think that I would give us an eight, I'm between a seven and an eight, but I'm more leaning towards an eight, and the reason for that is that you do have fantastic leadership and you do have those hard conversations, you do it quickly, you don't wait for it, you don't let it sit. And that's something that as a leadership team, we've really worked on from both of our sides, really being able to just have that conversation with the person that needs to be had with... When it needs to be had. For company leadership, I really feel good with an eight, for me as a leader I think I am more like a six. I could do better as a leader in our company to help bring that overall number up, It's two-fold because it's as a company, we can see the leadership team, and we do come to meetings, and I know I come with ideas and I'm like, "Great," and I'm happy to be there, but behind the scenes are really leading the consultants and having those conversations and seeing the accountability pieces with my consultants. I could do better there.

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0:14:35.0 KD: 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." For me, my answer has been to find someone who's done it and does it 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, when I was looking for the consulting business, I found a coach who literally has run a consulting business. Well, that seemed like the perfect fit. 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, we literally physically fly to you. 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 on to the easy path of dentistry, It doesn't have to be hard. Join us in the Platinum, we'd love to have you.

0:15:55.6 KD: That was... I wish we were in person 'cause I would hug you for being that vulnerable on the podcast, and also in front of me, 'cause guys, this isn't just for you, but you have to realize Tiff is technically talking to her boss on this podcast, and we are in two separate states right now, so Tiff thank you for being that vulnerable because I feel like what you just shared is what I would hope leaders would actually be able to say. I feel agreed with you, I was gonna say a seven. And ironically, I think it's the consultant world, that's probably our lowest zone within our company, it was operations, we've had that one more growing. Marketing was a struggle. Those are on the up and up. But agreed with you and for you to actually look at yourself, and to be able to say you could improve that, that's half of leadership, guys, is to be able to see it and then the other half is to execute on it. Agreed with you, Tiff. My number was going to be a seven on our leadership, 'cause I actually think for me, and then myself personally, I gave myself like a seven or an eight.

0:16:56.9 KD: I feel like I'm actually a really good leader who wants to lead for the right things. My zone is I still people please a lot, and I often don't make clear enough decisions, I'm getting better, I feel like since you met me, Tiff, to where I am today, I've radically improved. I still think I struggle to make strong decisions on the hard things, like today, Tiff knows... I won't say it... Pat asked me about something that he's going to push through that really is the right answer for the company, but I'm so scared of the backlash of... "But what if that person doesn't like it and what if I upset them?" And that's where I feel like I need to grow as a leader. And then making sure I hold the leaders in our team accountable to being those stronger leaders and developing them. Not even holding accountable, I think it's more developing, encouraging, and having them also set their own goals, could make our leadership department stronger. As you guys just watched... And Tiff again, thank you for being that vulnerable on the podcast. Tiff and I gave us as a management, we're like a seven to an eight. Then our leadership we're about six, seven, eight range.

0:18:01.9 KD: I would say if we combine both of those, I would feel healthy saying our management and leadership is probably a 6.5 to a seven as an overall organization. I also think it's really cool how Tiff is a team member, and I asked her about this instead of just me as a leader, thinking, "Ask your team what they feel." just how Tiff and I just did it, "Tiff, for these systems... " You guys can literally take this podcast and listen to it as a team and do it together as a team. Because I feel team members see it differently. I will also caution... To ask team members that you actually care about their opinions, I say that with respect, I say that with love, but I don't feel all opinions are weighted as equally, especially when I'm trying to really get to the crux of what's going on. Of course, I can ask everybody. Yes, you can send anonymous surveys, which I think is very valuable, but if I'm really wanting it to go to people... I know Tiff has the absolute best interests of our company and me at her heart. I know Tiff would never, ever lie to me. I know she's probably gonna sugarcoat me a little bit higher, just because she genuinely loves me, rather than maybe a little lower.

0:19:09.6 KD: But, I feel like Tiff will always give me the uncomfortable feedback, always will tell me how I can improve, and so, therefore, I weigh Tiff's opinion much stronger than asking my mom how she thinks I am as a manager and a leader. Really make sure that the feedback you're getting is weighted. Absolutely, you can send in an anonymous survey out to your team, but I feel getting a team and the leader's perspective in this area especially, can help you see blind spots, you might not have seen. I said a lot, Tiff, What are your thoughts on it, what do you feel?

0:19:40.9 TT: I think it was a really fun exercise actually, and I have to speak on the transparency and the vulnerability, and I have to impose this upon all of our listeners, because I want you guys to understand and consider the idea that it's not always the other person's responsibility I wanna say like I say that word lightly, to come... To come with that, and I will explain this, oftentimes leaders or managers think, "Okay, I want my team member to be as vulnerable and transparent as Tiff just was. Tiff was able to see what she needed to see, she saw it in herself, like, Why doesn't my team do that?" Oftentimes, we stifle our teams and our team members and we put them in this box where they're not comfortable or they don't feel safe having those kinds of conversations or feelings, or they haven't done the work to be able to see that. So you've gotta understand that Kiera and I have worked so hard and so diligently and gone through the pain and gone through the growth and the uncomfortability between our relationship while building this company for me to feel comfortable being vulnerable and transparent and having that conversation with you Kiera. It's not just because of who I am, it's because of who Kiera is and who we are together.

0:21:10.8 TT: So coming from that point, really developing and growing the relationships with your team members as a leader and gaining that respect and that candor from them is something that's worked on, it's not necessarily always something that's just earned because I'm here as your... I show up every day and I'm here like, "you've gotta have those hard conversations and you have to be open and willing and able to be vulnerable yourself, so that someone else can feel like they are able to be vulnerable and to be able to be seen." And I think that's a very important fact to understand going into this, because I can see everybody just jumping off a cliff being like, "Let's help these great conversations and tell me all the things," and they're like, "Why isn't this working like Kiera and Tiff interested?" That's why, because we both are able to be vulnerable and it opens that door up to be able to have those hard conversations, and yes, we do have a friendship, but I think that it's far beyond that, it's from work that we've developed that, not our personal side, which I think that just comes with working together for so long, you guys all know that, you know the personal lives and inner workings of your team, so I just wanna make sure that was very clear and understood.

0:22:24.7 KD: Well, and I think that that actually ties so perfectly into management mastery and leadership, because if your team won't have those transparent conversations with you, that's a big red flag in a zone for you to have an opportunity to work on. I agree with you Tiff, this did not come easily, which is why I love coaching offices because Tiff and I have actually physically gone through it till we've had to work through it. And we've had to come to the table. I still remember our first uncomfortable conversation, my first real one, I was sitting in the car at an office, 'cause I was so frustrated. I was in New York and New Jersey, and I was like, "What the heck? What is going on?" And I was so anxious, and I'm pretty sure you can remember that conversation too, I was like, "You did what? And you didn't tell me?" And yeah, it was like no big deal to her. But that's where we started, and I just had like... We've built on it so much and we will not tolerate uncomfortable-ness, like you can always feel that weird energy.

0:23:24.8 KD: Tiff will text me and say, "I feel your weird energy, I'm ready for the convo when you're ready for it." So she gives me that space, she knows it and that's also helped me to have it, but I would say if you don't feel you could go to your team right now in front of thousands, guys, we have over 50,000 listeners, if you can't go to your team in front of that many listeners and be put on the spot with them and know like, cool, whatever Tiff said in front of you guys, I was not worried 'cause it's true, it's honest, it's going to be in the best interest of me and her, but if you don't have that yet, I would definitely check this topic this theme, this area of your practice, the management mastery and leadership to continue to develop if you have multiple leaders in there, so it's not just me and Tiff, we also have Shelby and Pat who are also a part of the leadership team.

0:24:13.3 KD: How are they as leaders as well, because that's going to influence. And maybe I've got two really strong leaders in a practice, and two not as strong, those two that aren't as strong, they're actually going to pull this number down because you need to develop them, you can't just look at your superstar rock stars, you gotta look at the person who's the weakest leader. Because that's the number that we've gotta improve. Not your highest ones, it's the weakest one, and how can we improve that leader? Because all of us need it. So I actually felt like it was one of the coolest podcast that wasn't expected Tiff.

0:24:43.5 KD: I think this is one of our best work here is the labor of love, we put it out there, Tiff and I are bringing our best selves to this, but I feel like that's how you guys can really assess this topic, this area of your practice, and how are you doing, give yourself a number before you leave this podcast, and like I said, think of yourself, think of all the managers and leaders on your team, and then give yourself a final number and maybe jot some notes of the areas you could improve right now, 'cause that'll help you as you go through the rest of these to see, "Alright, at the end of my week, at the end of these three months, what are the biggest areas to really grow in?" Maybe it will be leadership and management mastery, maybe that's your strongest zone that you need to really improve for next year, but it might be some other ones, this is just box one of 12 for you guys to go through. Tiff, anything on your side?

0:25:36.0 TT: No, I think this was great. I love when we... I just love when we podcast together because I think we feed off of each other and we riff and we never really know what's coming, and it's always something totally magical.

0:25:47.9 KD: Agreed. And I'm glad you feel that way, 'cause I feel that way. And so again, guys, take your numbers, do this exercise, look at that management mastery, the operation systemization accountability, and the leadership side as to why we still have a bunch of things, you could go and check, but really give yourself a number of that area of your practice, and be sure to join us next week when we go through Doctor optimization as the next portion. So this is the doctor department of your practice. Tiff it was a freaking blast, thank you for being a part of this, thank you for going through these 12 systems. I think it also helps us train consultants in the future, like it's a double win for us, but thank you, thank you for being here and for sharing it, and also for the relationship we have evolved, like you said, over the years. And for bringing that point up of, you can't expect people to be there if you haven't grown and developed that relationship as well.

0:26:39.7 TT: Yep, totally agree, I love it. Thank you for having me.

0:26:42.8 KD: Of course. Alright, guys, next week, Doctor optimization, the doctor department of your practice. Let's dive through that. See how it's doing. And as always, guys, thanks for listening, I will catch you next time on the Dental A Team Podcast. And that wraps it up for another episode of The Dental A Team podcast. Thank you so much for listening and we'll talk to you next time.