Episode 475: Accountability: Do or Do Not

Kiera and her Dental A-Team consultants have been in a lot of practices. In this episode, Kiera talks about accountability practices she’s seen actually work in those practices. To get to the core of accountability, you need to do the following as a team:

1. Speak with integrity

2. Be clear with expectations

3. Have a set timeframe

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Transcript:

0:00:05.6 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, biller, office manager, regional manager, practice owner, and I have a team of traveling consultants, where we have traveled over 165 different offices coaching teams. Yep, you 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.

0:00:51.7 KD: Hello, Dental A Team listeners. This is Kiera and let's talk. Let's get down to business, shall we. First of all, I hope you guys are doing really well. I hope you guys are loving life. I hope you've realized that you are in the greatest profession possible, dentistry. And I hope you are just jamming out to living your best life. And if you're not, take a look. What's preventing you from living your best life right now? What is it? Write that stress down and let's see if there's a way that we could fix it, mitigate it or eliminate it. Because I personally believe that life is way too short to be stressed out, it's way too short to not be living your best life, but also really is your best life comes with hard days, comes with great days. It doesn't mean it's gonna be worry-free, it just means that you're living your best life, you're headed to the direction you wanna be and you're becoming the person you wanna be. And if not, change it, fix it, that is your moral obligation to yourself. So with that, guys, let's talk all things accountability. Yeah, it's probably the number one thing I get called on for offices looking to work with us, holding their team accountable.

0:01:52.8 KD: They say, "Kiera, how do I have an accountable team?" Guys, that is a great, great, great question. And we obviously, work with hundreds of practices. I feel so blessed that we get to work with this many people. Not only do we get to help that many people, but also we've got a pretty good pool of data to be able to pull from. And I found a few trends and themes of accountable teams. [chuckle] That should be a good topic. We should mark that down. Alex, Sissy, let's make sure we mark that down that way I know a topic presentation. But these are common themes of accountable teams. First and foremost, I think an accountable team comes from you as the owner. You as the leader, are you accountable? So I was taught several years ago about this principal called integrity. You guys, I grew up Mormon, LDS, Latter Day Saint, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. They're trying to change the name, which is awesome, but a holy long name. Don't worry, I've definitely had said my feelings there, but I grew up and one of... From 12-18, I went to this thing called Young Women.

0:03:00.0 KD: So it was like, it was just a course for girls and it was great, and it taught us so many cool things. And we have it's kinda core values, but they were basically virtues to live by. And one of those was integrity, and the color associated with it was purple for loyalty. And that's always what I thought integrity was. You do what you say when no one's listening, or no one's there. But this whole principle of integrity, I feel like I really captured the essence of what I was trying to learn all through my youth as an adult. And that principle of integrity is do you do what you say you're going to do, literally? So if I say I'm going to be home at 5 o'clock, do I actually show up at 5 o'clock, or do I give myself all this grace? When somebody walks in front of me at the grocery store and I say, "I'm so sorry," I'm actually not sorry, I really wanted to say excuse me. Am I impeccable with my word? Can I trust that what I say to a client? I'm not good with lying, even if it's just like, Oh, but it's a good sell.

0:04:01.4 KD: Meaning like, Oh hey, I've got to run to an appointment. If I don't have another appointment, don't say that. Speak with truth, so that way everything you say coming out of your mouth is truth. Like, "Oh hey, I need to go. I've got other things I need to get done." I don't have to make up an excuse to make you feel better. I can just say what I genuinely mean. And the way that this really honed in for me was I had a coach say, "Kiera, if you actually did everything you said you'd do, how would your life be different?" And I was like, "Well, I probably would actually say a lot less, and I probably would commit to a lot less." And so this whole thought process of if I actually follow through on everything I said, literally... So I think about Tiffany's son, when she said that we did this an event, and he was little and he was trying to get through a story. And Tiffany is a very efficient person and her son is kind of the opposite, and it's adorable to watch them. And she's like. "Spit it out, son." And he looked at her, and he just put his gun right on the floor, and she just started laughing because he's so literal. And so I think about that when I think of everything I say.

0:05:13.7 KD: So I'll be back in a few minutes. Do I actually go back in a few minutes? If I say, "Hey, I'll chat with you after work." Do I actually chat with them after work? If I say, "Hey, I'll get you this email by the end of today." Do I actually get this email by the end of today? Am I following through on what I say? And guys, it can be tricky 'cause we can all say, "Oh, well, I forget." But if you knew every single thing you said you would follow through on 100%, think about the confidence you'd have. You guys, I will tell you this is a great, great experiment for you to try for yourself. I did it, and I will tell you my confidence sky-rocketed because now I know that whatever I say I'm going to do, I actually do. I don't have to sit here and wonder, "Oh, am I going to do that?" I'm not making all these empty promises. Even internally, if I say I'm gonna work out three times a week, I know that that's... It's a non-negotiable. I don't care if I'm sick and throwing up, I'm gonna work out.

0:06:09.8 KD: Because that is a standard I hold for myself. Guess what? The next week I'm gonna like, "Oh, I was real sick, I am not working out this week." Fantastic, I'm not working out this week. But that way, I hold those promises to myself as well, and when I don't, I take ownership and responsibility. So how does this all tie into accountability, the answer is, if you do what you say, you can have a team that will start to follow and mimic and mirror you. Believe it or not, Extreme Ownership, one of the most powerful books is by Gino Wickman. I lie to you. That one is by Jocko Willink. There we go. Don't worry, guys, I'm good with my words today. Extreme Ownership was a very powerful book for me and it said, a team is a direct reflection of the leader at the home. And I think about this so much. They had an example in that book of two canoe teams, they were racing and they went and one team won. And the leader of the losing team was like, "This is ridiculous. My team isn't as strong as this other team. I don't think this was a fair race, I wanna have the other team and I wanna re-race."

0:07:16.4 KD: I'm embellishing this, I'm sure this is exactly how it went down, but you guys can read the book and get the full story. So the two leaders switched canoe teams, the team stayed exactly the same, there was no switching, only the leaders switched. And you guys can probably guess which team won, the positive leader, not the one who was throwing a fit won the second race again, even with the opposite team. And I've thought about that so much. These leaders switched teams and it was the leadership that won, it wasn't the team that won. Because those teams reflect, they mimic, they mirror, they show up, they do things differently based on who's in charge, based on who is leading and guiding that team. So if you don't have an accountable team, look at yourself first. Don't go after them, look at yourself. Are you following through on the things you say you're going to do? Because guess what, when you start to do that, you have confidence to then hold them accountable. My whole team knows 24-hour email response time period. And they know Kiera, as busy as she is, if she's flying, she's traveling, she will always respond to her emails in 24 hours.

0:08:20.9 KD: The only caveat I have is when I'm on the road, I give myself 48 hours just in case. Shelby is a rockstar, so she helps me with my emails as well, so we don't miss that. But that's a standard. It is a non-negotiable.

0:08:33.3 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. 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. 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. We literally physically fly to you.

0:09:32.5 KD: 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 on to the easy path of dentistry. It doesn't have to be hard. So join us in the platinum. We'd love to have you.

0:09:53.2 KD: Also, we follow through on what we say we're going to do. If we say we're gonna send an email form, we send an email form. If we say we're gonna do a Zoom call this time, we do that Zoom call at that time. Being impeccable with your word gives you confidence, and it also shows your team... Britney and I were on a Zoom call the other day with the team, and Brit was like, "Guys, I know that Kiera will do it." I live to that same standard. So I think it's leading by example versus leaving by force. It's on accountability. And then find ways to make it very simple. I think so often we make things very complicated, myself included. If I want to buying the fastest way to do it, I call Tiffany. Tiffany is very efficient with her time. She sees the simplicity and that is one of her greatest strengths. So I call her, I ask her, "Tiff, what's the easiest way to do this? How can we make this the most simple way possible? Shelby is phenomenal at organizing things and simplifying them down.

0:10:42.3 KD: I ask her, yes, I'm really good at getting in the weeds and being very creative and like, Oh, we should add fireworks and sparkles and glitter, and at the end of the day Tiff's like, "Actually, we should just send the letter." That's a great idea, Tiff. Thank you. So making sure we keep this accountability simple. Don't make it so hard the team member is like, "Well, what am I supposed to do for the day?" I love an end of day win sheet as well. Yes, these are annoying to check off, but they are awesome because it keeps everybody accountable on the things that matter most. So create an end of day win sheet. What are the five to 10 most important things that are going to drive your company forward that this person knows that they won the day? They did this every single day, and then they turned it into you at the end of the night. And you check it off, office manager, doctor, whomever, this way, your whole team says accountable. Now, what normally happens with accountable is right. That's such a great idea, Kiera.

0:11:31.6 KD: I'm totally gonna do that. I'm gonna email you, get this win sheet, it's gonna be awesome. We implement it and then it falls by the wayside. And then three months go around and I'll probably do something along and say like, Oh, we had that end of day win sheet. You weren't bought into it. You didn't say guys were doing this for three months, no ifs, ands, or buts, this is the end date, this is how long we're gonna do it, we're gonna test it, we're gonna try it. Everybody's committed to this. It's on the board, we don't give it up, we try it for three months, and then we can assess if it's going away or not, that's commitment, that's accountability, and that's what so many people miss. People ask me, Kiera, how do you accomplish all the things you do in a practice? I leave you guys an accountability sheet and I follow up on it every single week and ask, "Where are we at? Where are we at? Where are we at?" I get every person to sign off that they're committed to it before I leave that practice, and I will give a shout out to an office.

0:12:24.0 KD: Hopefully, she knows who she is. This girl, guys, most of the time officers get about between 50-75% of the actions I leave them completed in a six-week time period, 'cause that's as long as we're committed for it, and then we get to change it, adjust it. Shout out to this office, they're in Sioux City. This office manager killed it, every single thing on that accountability sheet, she did and her practices are flourishing. She's an accountable leader. There is no excuse, it's we either do or we don't, there isn't a try in the middle. Well, Kiera, we try to do it. Okay, but did you do it? You didn't.

0:13:04.9 KD: And I get it, life happens. But are you willing to change? Do you want to change? 'cause if you do, let's actually make this a thing. If you don't, let's not put it on the board. There's no reason to lie to ourselves that we're going to actually get this done. You have to be so rock solid that what you say and put your name on, you will do. And until you can have that level of integrity, you'll probably struggle having an accountable team. And then share this podcast with everybody in your team, have everybody live this way, have everybody speak with integrity, have everybody own the fact that what they say they're going to do, they actually will get done. Because then I'm not gonna sign my name on that end of day, if I'm like...

0:13:42.4 KD: I'm actually not gonna do that, and I know I'm not going to do that. Okay, well, the standard is, we're having an end of day win sheet. I understand that this version, you're not open to. Help me create one that you are open to, because the standard is we will be doing end of days. It's just a matter of how you wanna do this end of day that I'm open to customizing. So I have my standard is very clear what I expect for the moving of the practice. We can change this up, I don't care. If you wanna turn in this way, if you wanna send me a picture every night, if you wanna change the things on here, by all means, that's open. But what's not open is doing this, this is something we will do. Well, as a team member, I'm gonna change that up until I know that I'm committed to it. And then I'm going to take ownership and responsibility as a team member that I committed to that, that I'm going to follow through. Team members, this works for you too. Do you do everything you say you're going to do? If you say I'm gonna send those notes out, do you send those notes out?

0:14:33.3 KD: This type of conversation is the core of accountability. So if you guys can have these conversations, if you can work through this, guess what, your life will change, your practice will change, you will have an accountable team. So number one, speak with integrity, follow through on what you say you're gonna do. Number two, be clear of your expectations and keep them as simple as possible. And three, have a set time frame of how long we're working on this so it doesn't fall for the wayside. And realize a lot of the things that we're adding and implementing and trying, if they don't stick, it's probably 'cause we either didn't execute well. There wasn't a good plan, there wasn't a good follow-through, and we need to go back to what we really wanna accomplish. Try to keep that accountability as simple as possible. For us, we've got a tracker of our tasks, we have a follow-up every Friday. Shelby sends it out, she follows up on all the tasks and she makes sure everybody stays accountable. Bada bing, bada boom, our team came up with it. It's fast, it's easy, and it works.

0:15:25.5 KD: Now, I'm sure as we grow, things will change, things will have to change, but it works and it's awesome. So look to see for your practice, where do you need to change on those four dials I just gave you and be honest with yourself, guys. You're probably listening to this podcast in your car. Don't sugar coat it, look to see where you could be a little bit stronger and a little bit better. And then speak with truth, give people honest feedback, it doesn't mean you gotta be a jerk. But guess what? If they're not doing super great at their job, don't sugar coat it, don't lie to them, come with true love, like, "Hey, we gotta talk about this and let's find a solution for it." Guys, I'm really bad at that part, I struggle there. 'Cause I what everyone to like me, and I want them to know that they're liked and loved so much. I can be direct and compassionate, and you can too. So those are the key foundational pieces of having accountable teams, those are themes of accountable teams that I see. The leader is impeccable with their word, they have simple expectations, and they do not let things slip through.

0:16:22.8 KD: If we say we're doing this, we're committed for six weeks and their team knows, that is a non-negotiable, we're committed to this. Because their leader has taught them that what we say we're gonna do, we execute to completion. We don't sit in there and wallow and whatever it's gonna be, we do it, we execute. So try it out, let us know if this is something you want help with, getting your team on board, helping them see this, giving them the tools and resources. Join us, we'd love to have you, [email protected]. You guys, I chat with all of you, I get to talk to you there. So I get to see do you fit our culture or not. I'd love to chat with you. So email us [email protected]. And as always, thanks so much for listening guys. I'll catch you next time on the Dental A Team podcast.

0:17:06.8 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.