Episode 634: Get Your Team Members to Level Up

 Kiera responds to a listener request about inspiring team members to level up in their role. She lays out how to go about it in four steps:

1. Ask yourself if your culture is one that expects team members to level up

2. Establish continual meetings and check-ins to encourage growth

3. Have direct conversations with the coworker(s)

4. Make sure leveling up is the way they want to go (not just you)

When a team is leveled up, everyone is happier, including the patients. 

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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 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.

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0:00:51.6 KD: Hello, Dental A Team listeners, this is Kiera and you guys, I hope today is just an awesome day for you. I hope that you are loving your life. I hope that you are just having a killer day. I hope that you remember that you are in the greatest profession you could ever ask to be in. And that is dentistry. Guys like really, really, really think about it. Do you ever get excited about the fact that you are in dentistry, that you have this beautiful life, that you've been able to create all these things and guess what? Like this is your life. This is what you get to do. This is where you become awesome. This is where you get to evolve and flourish and you get to do it in a way that is so life changing for patients. So I hope you just remember that.

0:01:39.9 KD: I hope that you just decide to love the life that you're living, to decide to just want to love life. And sometimes it's hard. I shared an episode a while ago that I think resonated with a lot of you. I heard from a lot of you, which by the way, thank you. Thank you for writing me. Thank you for leaving us reviews. Thank you for emailing me or texting me when a podcast really resonates because it helps me feel like I am sharing goodness in this world that I am connecting with the people that I make this podcast for. And that's you. So guys, if you haven't done so, please go leave us that five star review. Be sure to just click on whatever one you're on. Be sure to leave it that way We can share this podcast with more people. Pop us in at your Facebook groups or on your Instagram listening today.

0:02:25.3 KD: That would mean the world to me. And then email me. I would love to hear from you as always. All right, so today's topic is coming from you listeners. Also, if you ever have a topic that you want, it's been a while since I've reminded you guys of this, you can head on over to our website, the dentalateam.com. And on our podcast page, there is a spot for you to submit topics to me. You also can just email me [email protected], any topics you want. I love to make podcasts specifically for you. So guys, you literally have a consultant at your fingertips, like literally like just send the email and I will happily create them. So this is one coming from you guys of a podcast topic of how to get team members to level up. And I was like, oh, we're going juicy and dicey today.

0:03:12.5 KD: All right, how do we get team members to level up? And the answer is, number one, do you have a culture and standards that expect team members to level up or is your culture one of just status quo? Oh, Kiera's gonna spin it back. Yep guys, this is how I operate because I want you to take ownership and realize that the culture that you have is why team members level up or don't level up. We have a company where it is constant growth guys. And if you don't want to grow, this probably isn't the place for you. If you don't want to evolve yourself as a person, again, probably not the right company for you to be a part of. That's our culture. We literally have, this makes me giggle, I'm gonna pull it up so I can read it to you guys exactly.

0:04:01.9 KD: This quarter, So if you guys don't know, we run on traction. I've talked about it a million times. Traction: Get A Grip On Your Business by Gino Wickman. But every quarter we run a quarterly traction meeting and we set quarterly rocks. And honest to goodness, our company rock this quarter is, it's called Information Inspo Club. And what it is is everyone is to read or listen to one podcast this quarter and share it and teach it. So all of us are sharing books, podcast things as a company rock. So if you wanna know, does Dental A Team's culture require growth and leveling up at all moments? The answer is yes. And the only reason I say this first is because a lot of times we're pointing the finger and saying, "Oh my gosh, I want you to level up. I need you to level up. They need to grow."

0:04:52.9 KD: And I wanna say first and foremost is your culture expectant of growth. And if you don't know, send out a random survey and ask people on a scale of 1-10, how much does our company value growth of individual team members? That would be number one. Okay? So if you can check that box and say, yes, our culture is that you guys, this means we're doing book clubs, we're reading podcasts, we are listening to podcasts. We are having coaches come into our practice. We are having personal coaches ourselves. We are sharing ideas. We are going to CE. That's how you know if your culture is one of growth and of leveling up. Also owners, are you leveling up? Are you taking CE? And it's not just taking it, but are you actually doing something with the knowledge you have? So when we send team members to CE, the expectation is you come back and teach something that you learned from that CE.

0:05:48.1 KD: I wanna learn, I wanna know what you learned and I want to ensure that when you go somewhere, you're really going to learn and to grow yourself. This year I joined Tony Robbins Platinum and all of our team members got to attend Tony's events. Brit came out and she did business mastery with me, Tiff and Dana did UPW, Shelby did about a billion of them with me from life mastery to business mastery to business mastery II to UPW. Shelby and I were crank and rocking and rolling on so many of them, my husband attended Wealth Mastery with me. I attended happiness, and fulfillment, so many things, but then making sure we execute and implement on those. So that would be number one. Hello Dental A Team listeners, this is Kiera and you guys, how was your 2022? I want you to look back and tell me was it the year of years or was it a really hard year?

0:06:43.1 KD: Did you crush it or did it crush you? This is the time guys for end of year Dental A Team platinum is welcoming you where we will physically fly to your practice, we will come and we will elevate your dreams and make them into a reality. And guys, space is limited and prices are going up. This is not a sales pitch. This is not something where I'm trying to scare you into it. I'm just facing the reality of inflation is here. Flights are expensive and I want to see as many people as we possibly can and serve as many as we can. So if you wanna be part of our elite group of people, there are limited spaces 'cause our consultants can only see as many. We are taking on 10 new platinum offices by the end of the year. And that's it. That's all we have space for.

0:07:28.6 KD: So if you wanna be one of the Elite 10, come join us. Be a part of our top-notch elite doctor community, be a part of our office manager and hygiene and front office communities. Get your operations manual done and live the life that you've only been dreaming of today. Email me [email protected] and make 2023 truly a year that's unforgettable. We are a complete tax write off and like I said, we are only taking 10 offices. So don't get left behind. Be one of those 10 and I cannot wait to give you the biggest warmest welcome to completely and utterly changing your life for good. Welcome to the dental A team. I can't wait for you to join us. [email protected]. Cheers to 2023 and making you your best self yet.

0:08:18.1 KD: Number two is, are you having continual meetings, if you will, one-on-one check-ins at least once a month where you're encouraging growth, where you're asking your team member where they wanna grow. Oftentimes the easiest way to get a team member to level up is to find out where they wanna grow and then help set tangible goals that you follow up with. I like to check in personally and professionally. So what is my team looking forward to personally? What are their personal goals and then what are their professional goals and really helping them level up and create goals around that. Again, it's all about the culture of leveling up, of growing, of having that be part of who your DNA of a practice is. And so having those one-on-one check-ins. Now from there, if that's not working and you've checked those boxes, I would just ask, have you had a direct conversation with this team member?

0:09:12.3 KD: Have you asked them? Number one, have you set the outcome of what you want? So for example, if it's a dental assistant who never brings patients back on time, the outcome would be that we want the patients brought back on time. Why? Because we want our patients to have VIP experiences and that's gonna give us great raving fans of patients. Okay? So that's our outcome. That's why we wanna do it. Have you had a direct conversation with this team member? Have you told them, "Hey, I need to have a combo with you about bringing patients back on time and I've noticed that we don't take 'em back on time. Can you walk me through, can you explain what the issues are so we can create a solution so you can bring patients back on time." Have them explain it to you. Oh my gosh, I'm just always behind.

0:09:57.0 KD: We don't have a computer back here. Well great. Maybe they actually will level up. They just need a resource. Fantastic. You can fix that. Perfect. I'll get this back here. Can you just make me a promise that you'll bring back all your patients on time? The goal is to bring back at least 90% of them. So like one or two that you can bring back late per day. But beyond that, every patient's coming back on time. Yep, absolutely no problem. And if it doesn't, we'll have another conversation. This is something serious. I do need this resolved. Are there any questions or concerns? Nope. Totally good. Thanks so much. Fantastic. They are willing to level up. They just needed the resource and you just needed to have the conversation with them. Now if it's someone that you're like, "Okay, this person's great, I want them to become my office manager." What if they don't wanna do it?

0:10:42.1 KD: Sometimes we want people to level up and take them from rock stars to superstars and it's not what's best for them. So you might want that for them and they might think they want that, but really check to see is this something they actually want to do? And is this something that they're good at? Is this something where they're leveling up is because they want to or is it because you want them to want it? Those are two very important things. So for example, I have Shelby. Shelby, I don't have Shelby. Shelby works with us. That's a better way to say that. Shelby is beyond driven for growth. And the way I know it is because she comes to me and she said, "Hey Kiera, I wanna be your operations, director of operations." And I said, "Shelby, I would love you to be that way.

0:11:25.9 KD: You don't have the experience for it, but let's give you opportunities knowing that's where you wanna grow." Shelby has actively come to me, "Kiera, I wanna do this." She texted me a couple of days ago and said, "Hey Kiera, I wanna get better at business. What books do you recommend? I wanna like, I'm gonna buy a bunch of books. Which ones are your top? I wanna make sure I'm staying current and learning more." Holy cow, that's great. I'm so proud of her. Do I want Shelby to level up? Yeah, for sure. I want her to grow and evolve and do more, but she wants to do it. So it's not like I'm taking somebody who has no desire to grow, does not wanna be a manager, does not wanna be a leader, does not wanna eventually become a COO of a company and trying to make them into it.

0:12:05.8 KD: I have other team members that they would rather die than grow into a level like that. But that doesn't mean they're not leveling up. They can still level up within their realm. So consultants, they can take personal development and become better consultants. That's leveling up for them. For marketers, they can be doing research of what marketing trends are out there and that's leveling up for them. They might not wanna go from a social media person to a director and that's okay, but they still need to be evolving within their position. So dental assistants might not wanna become an office manager, that's okay. But they do need to be growing within their department and within their role they need to be perfecting things that they can, things that they truly can grow in. For example, growing in, like if it's a dental assistant, having perfect room setups, having notes completed before they walk, patients out, having perfect route slips and handoffs, those are areas that they can truly level up.

0:13:00.0 KD: Scanning, hygienists, being able to do 30% perio, having increased fluoride acceptance. Getting 98% recare reactivation, making sure that those patients are rescheduled for it. For an office it's keeping your schedule full, having a hundred percent collections or higher. Those things are areas within their role that they can level up in. So I really want you guys to check yourself when you're saying, I want a team member to level up, hey, you and me both. But number one, do we have a culture that commands and demands and expects growth? That's number one. Number two, are you having one-on-ones to check in and to give growth goals and support to grow them? Number three, are you having direct conversations? And number four, are you making sure that leveling up is where they want to go, not where you want them to go. So those would be my four tips for you guys on how to get a team member to level up.

0:14:00.0 KD: I would just, I would ask yourself those questions. And guys, if you ever need help with this, sometimes having an outsider can help team members level up. It's kind of like my mom, she would tell me things and I would truthfully never hear them. And then I would go talk to a friend and I'd be like, "Mom, you'll never believe what Jaylen told me." And she's like, "Kiera, I've been telling you that for the last six months." And I'm like, "No you haven't." I truly tuned my mom out and not because I was trying to be a jerk, but I hear my mom all the time that I actually wasn't hearing what she was saying. So sometimes having an outsider can help team members level up. I can say things that you probably can't say to your team members. I can help you develop that.

0:14:39.0 KD: I can help teach you that. I can help grow you in that. So if it helps sometimes having an outsider, truly that's why a lot of offices hire us is to have an outsider, give tips, give resources, and help team members level up. Sometimes seeing guys, I was a dental assistant and now I am a full-blown CEO of a really incredible consulting company and I am so proud of this team that we have created. But sometimes having somebody see who they can become, I love to do this podcast 'cause I love to show dental assistants like look at what you can become. It wasn't easy, but I was able to become a practice owner. I've been a treatment coordinator, I've been an office manager and I started as a dental assistant. That doesn't mean you have to, but showing that there is a path and almost a mentor as a consultant, we've all been in your shoes, we've worked in your shoes, we've been in your shoes, we are you. And so really being able to develop that and have a resource and a coach oftentimes can help. So if that's something you guys are interested, reach out. [email protected]. I would love to help you and your team. So reach out guys. It would be real fun to meet you, to help your team level up. Take those four tips, try it out. And if you need help, email us. [email protected]. And as always, thanks for listening and I'll catch you next time on the Dental A Team podcast.

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0:15:55.5 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.