Episode 697: The Doc Who Hunkered Down and Got to Work

Transcript:

[music]

0:00:05.8 Kiera Dent: Hey, everyone. Welcome to the Dental A Team podcast. I'm your host, Kiera Dent, and I have 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.

[music]

0:00:50.7 KD: Hello, Dental A Team listeners, this is Kiera, and you guys! I hope today's a great day. I hope you're just loving your life. I hope you're remembering that you are such an important, special person. And I feel like your mama right now, I feel like I'm just here to love on you. But really, I think we often are so hard and so critical on ourselves that we forget that we're doing a dang good job. So I'm here to remind you, whether I know you personally or whether you're just in my podcast family, that you're doing a better job than you think you are. And I wanna keep reminding you to keep going and to keep striving, because this world needs you. We need your special talents, we need your special personality, we need you, specifically you. You're here for a reason. You're here to impact and serve and bless people's lives that you may never even know.

0:01:32.2 KD: You better believe when I started at Dental A Team, I would never have guessed that I would sit here on a microphone talking to you. No, not my thing, guys. [chuckle] I'm a very outgoing person, I enjoy people. I also really don't enjoy people. [laughter] I enjoy my quiet time sometimes, too. So you could never have imagined the surprise I had of thinking about talking to people and to impact people that I never even know. I found a client just started with us and she's been listening for five years. I had no idea that I was with her on her daily walks, and being able to serve and support and bless her life without even personally knowing her. And so, please help me on that mission, guys, to bless and serve more people. My goal is to positively impact the world of dentistry in the greatest way possible.

0:02:17.1 KD: Guys, I have big lofty goals, and without you, it can't happen. So just know this podcast is made for you, and I would just ask you guys personally as a personal favor for me, share this with one person today. Have them subscribe, start listening, because if we can help rise up and impact this world in a positive way, I think the world of dentistry will be a much better place. So please join me on it, please share this with someone today. And then let's dive into the topic. Today I'm really excited. I'm gonna actually shout out one of our awesome doctors. I'm not gonna tell exactly who it is, because I try to keep client confidentiality. But I have a doctor, and this doctor... So I'll like kind of fine tune it up, I love to shout out the clients that we personally work with and highlight them in a public setting.

0:03:04.2 KD: And so today I decided it would be really fun. 'Cause when I was coaching this doctor this week, I literally, in the middle of my coaching call, I popped onto my podcast, 'cause I have a whole long, lengthy one of podcast ideas and things I wanna do and what I wanna talk about, and when I was on my call with him, I just thought... Or her, you don't know. Is it a girl or a guy? I'll keep changing the pronouns so you don't know if it's a him or a she or a her or a him. I'll just keep it exciting. But when I was on my call with this client, I literally was thinking, "Oh my gosh, people need to be more like this person." And I don't think we talk about the other side of business ownership as often. I think we talk about the highlights and the highlight reels and that's what you see on social media.

0:03:44.0 KD: But gosh, there can be some dark days as business owners. And I wanna point out what this doctor did that I think just deserves mad kudos, for you to realize, A, you're not alone. I think dentistry can be a very lonely profession. I think being an owner of a business can be a very lonely profession. I think being an office manager can be very lonely, if we choose it. You don't have to be that way. So I'm here to say there's a crowd and an army of people just like you. And in Dental A Team, I've actually made it a mission of mine this year to get those people connected together. So we have a doctor mastermind group, that's solely for doctors, where we meet together every single month and talk all things doctors, where you can be real raw, talk about the issues you're having, and get connected to really awesome people just like you.

0:04:23.4 KD: We have the same thing for our office managers, because I don't think we should be lonely anymore. And we should learn really awesome things from each other and from our coworker, our peers, and our colleagues. Why not? So I am committed this year to bringing the best of the best together and having you guys help one another and realize, I'm not the only one. 'Cause when I go to business conferences, I'm like, "Oh, thank you." My husband just went to a CE. He's a clinical pharmacist, heart and vascular. And he said, "Kiera, it was so great to hear that other hospitals across the nation are having the same issues I'm having." Well, that's for you guys. Like, don't worry, everyone else is in your same boat. I think we just forget, and we think it's special to us, and it's not. There's other people that can help you.

0:05:05.5 KD: So I'm super committed to it. That's something I love about what we do. So if that's something you want in your life, reach out [email protected] or go to our website, click on the Schedule A Call now, I would love to help you not be alone anymore. So, this doctor lost her office manager. They had turnover. They had a lot of disruptions within their practice. They lost a bunch of hygienists. Like it was, I feel... I just think about like being in a washing machine or a tidal wave. It was like... And like just explosion on this office. And I remember sitting there being like, "Wow, on the sidelines, like ooh, that's a lot." I'm not jealous of the situation you're in, but I wanna say this will be a part of your... Whether you've had it now or not, it's coming.

0:05:54.0 KD: So if you've already had it, high five; if you haven't, don't worry, it's coming to you too, it just is a matter of when, because every business will go through this. Every team will go through this. So if you can just be prepared for it, realize that, then guess what? Your life's gonna be a lot easier and a lot better. So on that same note, what this doctor did was, I love that this doctor came in and said, "Well, it appears that I need to get a better handle on my business and I'm gonna become an office manager again."

0:06:19.8 KD: Stop. Most people say, "I'm gonna hire somebody, they need to take this on." This doctor was like, "I need to be an office manager." And I said, "Cool." So what we did is we did some vision. I was like, "You got to know where you're headed and what the future looks like, so that way we don't sit in this slush for too long." So that was the first step was we painted a vision for them of what to do. Okay? So, then the next thing... So that way they at least know, because I feel we've got to at least have a guiding star. We've got to have hope of a better future than what we have today. Otherwise we can get really discouraged and really depressed. So that was step one that we did.

0:06:50.4 KD: Step two, this doctor took full-blown ownership. It was like, "Alright, I know nothing in the front office. Kiera, I know you can help me, so you're gonna start teaching me all these pieces." So we started learning about billing. We started learning about scheduling. We started figuring out what the role should be of the front office. And I'm talking, this is a big practice, and we are... At the same time, having lots of people leaving, and I said, "Okay, so the next thing you get to learn is how to be an excellent hirer."

0:07:13.4 KD: "You are going to jump back into that saddle, and we're gonna start interviewing, and I'm gonna help you write ads, and you're gonna start interviewing. But this is the best thing you can do because we've got to level the team. We're going to have turnover, we're going to have loss. We need to level the team. We need to hire." This doctor, you guys. We're about, I wanna say we're about six months since initial shake. So I also want to paint a time frame that it hasn't been overnight. This doctor hunkered down and got to work. And that was the whole point. Like, when I was on that coaching call with this doctor, I wrote down, "Hunkered down and got to work."

0:07:46.2 KD: They didn't say, "This is above me. This is below me. I don't have time for this." There was no wallowing in pity. I'm sure that there were days. [chuckle] And he kept a great attitude, but he hunkered down. She hunkered down... Okay, guys, it's a male. I'll just give it to you that way. Yes, you figured that out. This male doctor, he, not gonna keep you guessing, he hunkered down. And he was willing, like the business wasn't going to go under, he wasn't going to give up, and he did what it took to make it happen.

0:08:13.9 KD: So, in the last six months I think we have hired at least 10 people. That is not an exaggeration. And then it's the hiring thing, so we'll extend an offer, and then another person will like send them a... They'll counter that, and then they'll end up staying. So it hasn't been easy, and I wanna point that out. But he shows up. He has an agenda for every call. He's very level-headed. And he keeps putting in the hard work. He went up to his front office and said, "Hey, guys, I don't actually know what goes on up here, can you teach me?" Very humble.

0:08:47.3 KD: But the point is like, hunkered down. And I think so often we want a temper tantrum where we'll throw our hands up, we want to just hire and fix it. This doctor has not hired a replacement office manager, we're six months in, guys. And he said, "Because, Kiera, I need to learn all this. I need to figure it out. And I don't wanna just put an office manager in there who's not going to lead my team." Very smart wisdom on this. And I think, how many people have the discipline to do this? Probably not a lot. A lot would be like, "I'm a doctor. I don't need to do this. This is where I'm gonna just hire somebody. Hire and take my problems away." But, man, think of how cool this practice is going to be. So again, he knows where he's headed, he knows where he wants to go, we have a vision of what this year is gonna look like at the end of 2023, and we are both adamantly working together.

0:09:31.3 KD: I think it's smart that he has a coach to help him get through this. I think that that was a wise decision. He also has leaned on team members that are key and important ones. And then he hasn't been too hasty to hire. Yeah, it's hard. You think he wants to hire this out? Do you think he wants to not be the front office lead anymore? The answer is yes. But at the same time he's rallying. He's keeping morale. He's having one-on-one conversations with the team members. He's interviewing. He's also hiring an associate doctor. Like, there are so many pieces. It's not just front office and office manager. It's hygienist, and dental assistants, front office, and doctors.

0:10:04.8 KD: Talk about like, when I said like... Change, he's got it. Opened another practice, mind you, during all of this. There is a lot going on. But the point of all of this is, as a leader, do you hunker down when it's necessary? Are you willing to say this is what actually needs to happen to move my practice forward? Do you have a vision of where you need to go, or are you just sitting there in depression? I know I sometimes do it. And I'm not talking about clinical depression, I'm talking about a mental state where you are choosing to be there. Yes, it's hard. Guys, I've been there. Last week I was full-blown depressed. I laid in bed and I said, "I don't want to get up and consult." Luckily, I was on the road, so I needed to.

0:10:42.8 KD: But I didn't want to get out of bed. I was irritated and I thought, "I coach on this. I should be above this." [laughter] I'm not. No one is. That's you just wanting to make yourself feel happy about life. It's wanting you to give yourself significance. This doctor hunkered down. So whatever you're going through, hopefully you're not going through turnover. If you are, cool, I'm here for it. But ask, I'll help out. But he had a vision, he hunkered down, put people in the seats they need to be put into, and got to work.

0:11:13.1 KD: Every other week, he shows up on our call. And it's, "Hey, Kiera, this is where I'm at, this is what's going on, this is what I need your help with." He's got the experts around him. He's got the resources, and he's moving forward. He's hired so many people. He's got a doctor coming in I think actually today, I need to check in on that. But he's able to bring these things to light. He's able to see where he needs to go. And he hunkered down, made strong decisions, kept a level head, and didn't say, "I'm above this, this isn't for me." He literally showed up, played out, and is actually seeing it.

0:11:47.8 KD: So when things happen, do you hunker down? What's your go-to response and how can we make it even stronger for you? That's really what I want you guys to think about. And I want to show you a peer in the industry who's just like you. He sends hires to front office people. He's got them going. He realized like, "Well, our production's a little bit down, but that's where it is." And realize what's most important is building a strong foundation, cleaning it up, making it better, and making it stronger to move forward.

0:12:15.9 KD: I hope you guys have that resilience. And if not, I'm here for it. I'm here to help you, and I'm here to be that person for you. But I also want to give you an example of who you can be, a mentor in the industry that you can look up to. No, I'm not going to share their name. No, I'm not going to tell you where they're located. No, I'm not going to tell you any other things. But what I want you to know is there's someone out there just like you that can do it. And I believe, just like the four-minute mile; people didn't believe that you could do it, they thought that you would die if you broke the four-minute mile. And as soon as someone did it, they proved that it can be done.

0:12:45.5 KD: So today I was hoping to come on here and give you a testimonial story. Something to inspire you, to make it to where you can be stronger, to realize that other people are just like you. Maybe they've got it worse, maybe they've got it better, there's no need to compare. But I wanted to show you what they did to succeed. I wanted to show you how long it took. And I wanted you to remember, when life gets hard, hunker down, do what's best for the business. And remember, you can do it. You were made for hard things.

0:13:13.3 KD: Guys, if I can help you out in any way, reach out. I'd love to help you. Share, have a friend, have a colleague. You need someone in your court, you can't just do this alone. So have someone in it. That can be me, awesome, I'd love to help you. And if it could be someone else, awesome, have them help you. But don't do it alone. Hunker down when life gets hard. And remember, you are stronger than you think you are. You were made for this. And you are just growing to the next great level of greatness for you. That's where you're going. That's why these things are happening. They're happening for you and not to you. As always, guys, I just want you to give yourself a big high five. Let's go to work. Turn it up. You've got this. Hunker down and move forward. And as always, guys, thanks for listening. I'll catch you next time on the Dental A Team Podcast.

[music]

0:13:55.7 KD: 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.

[music]