Episode 562: Best Teams Do This

Wanna know what makes the best teams? Collaboration. Team members working together creates positive morale and culture, and that’s what you want in a practice. Hear some nuggets of wisdom from Kiera as she talks about growing your team into leaders and giving them purpose each week.

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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, filler, office manager, regional manager, practice owner, and I have a team of travelling consultants, where we have travelled 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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0:00:51.1 KD: Hello Dental A Team listeners. This is Kiera. You guys, I hope today is a great day for you. I hope that you guys are having fun. And today, I'm just gonna do a quick quick podcast for you because I want you guys to have some nuggets in your belt of how you can get more team collaboration. I feel like right now, what we're doing is we are looking for a way to enhance our practices. Anybody with me? Is anybody trying to find a way to enhance your practice, to make your practice better? Or are you just like, "I'm good. I'm good." I'm just curious, 'cause I know I'm always looking for a way to enhance my practice. So I was actually just attending another... See, guys, I consume information like crazy. Now, it doesn't mean I always do it, but I do try to, from every book, from every podcast, if I'm gonna spend the time listening, unless it's for leisure... Don't worry, guys, I definitely have some good books, The Midnight Library, How to Stop Time, The People We Meet on Vacation, those have been some of my fun non-motivating, moving me forward reads. But if I'm going to spend my time watching something, reading something, attending an event, I'm going to at least try to take one, two, three, maybe up to 20.

0:02:12.7 KD: It depends on how long it is. If I'm going to a five-day event, I better have more than 20 items I'm going to actually go implement. But I listened to a course a little while ago, and there was this speaker, and he was talking about how they did a lot of Harvard research through COVID, and they're trying to figure out what actually makes the best teams. And a lot of it is collaboration, people feeling like they're part of something bigger than just their "job". And so really looking at this and realizing, holy cow, does my team feel like they get to collaborate? So one of the ways that they suggested to do it, and don't worry, we have a way for you guys', is every week, everybody reports of, "Here's what I've achieved this week." So like this is what I did. These are my accomplishments. I'm not talking about laundry. I actually don't care about every single little thing you did. Here are my big accomplishments, maybe my top one, two or three accomplishments this week. Here's where I'm struggling, and here's where I'm going next week. I really loved this, because I started thinking about, one, I do wanna know what my team has achieved, and I wanna be able to celebrate those wins. Second, I wanna know where people are struggling, and when people can hear where others are struggling, that allows us an opportunity to collaborate together as team members.

0:03:25.4 KD: And then here's where I'm going next week. That helps me see people with vision. It helps my team think in vision terms, rather than just thinking in today, this is what I'm going to do today. They're actually thinking, "Alright, where am I going next week? What am I trying to accomplish next week?" Another great book is called The ONE Thing, I really love that. Another great book is called Effortless. Both of those books I love because they really help you focus on what do I actually need to do to move my week forward the next week. Rather than all the peddly stuff, like I've had people send me end of days where like, "Kiera, I posted on social media." And I'm like, "Hi five. That's your job. Great, you should, and if I missed it, I would tell you." But what I care about is did we develop a marketing plan? Did we contact this client? Like yes, I get it, you're going to have coaching calls with your team. That's fine. Dental assistants are going to suck spit, hygienists are going to scrape calculus, dentists are going to prep ground. That is your job. Front office is going to call recare. They're going to present treatment plans. We're going to collect money. That is your job.

0:04:26.7 KD: But where am I going? What are the big things? I wanna set up reoccurring payments for our patients on payment plans. I'm going to figure out, and I'm going to dive into the data of all of my treatment plans and see what cases am I closing and the ones that I'm not closing, I'm gonna reach out to the Dental A Team and ask them for tips and help. I'm gonna look at my last six months of hygiene appointments, and I'm going to see how many of those hygiene appointments have been cancelled and why were they cancelled, so I can actually figure out a better way to go forward. As a dental assistant, I'm actually going to get my notes down and my rooms flipped and make sure all of my patients are seated on time next week.

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0:05:06.9 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, like 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 a system 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. 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.

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0:06:26.1 KD: As a hygienist, I'm gonna aim for 98% fluoride acceptance. As a dentist, I am going to set up Profit First bank accounts by the end of the week. That's the type of stuff of here's where I'm going. Now, what am I struggling with? I'm struggling getting patients back on time. I'm struggling presenting SRPs. My patients are just not accepting. I'm struggling to have cancellations stop happening. They just keep happening. When your team can collaborate on this is what I've achieved, this is what I'm struggling with, and this is where I'm going, that type of collaboration, guys, is going to help all of you feel more connected, help each other to see the progress that your practice is making, and it's going to help you know where people are struggling. How many times do you come into an office or your team, and it's like, "Hey guys, what do you need help with?" People are like, "Nothing, nothing, nothing." It's because they don't have transparency and trust with each other. Because teams that do, these ones actually say, "I'm struggling here."

0:07:24.3 KD: Guys, right now, I'm struggling to keep on top of all the things that I'm missing. That's a pretty broad thing that I'm struggling with. But I just moved into a house. I've got in-laws and a baby at my house right now. I have no HQ. We're interviewing people. I am struggling. So if I boil it down to where I was really struggling, it would truly be on interviewing. Well, great, I found my coach and my coach helps me interview, and I have hired a recruiter for it. Fantastic. Now, what's the next thing I'm struggling with? I am struggling to get a person hired right now. So it's going back to hiring. So my big beef is hiring right now, so maybe there's some people on the team that if they would have just known that I was struggling with hiring, they could have jumped in and they could have helped out. So what about that? What if we were able to then work with each other? So this whole idea about collaboration and morale, this is gonna help you guys have stronger teams that want to work together. It's going to bond your teams together, plus it prevents the micro-management.

0:08:24.4 KD: Here's what I achieved, here's where I'm struggling, here's where I'm going next week. They're short negotiations with long-term effects. When people can start to plan and vision and work with each other, this creates morale, this creates culture, this creates teams that are thinking about the future and staying accountable. Now, yes, you have to guide this. So if you have a team who's like, "I achieved that I kept the schedule full. I'm not struggling with anything, and next week I'm going to keep the schedule full," alright, that's not what we're talking about. We need heart and soul and passion behind this. I need to know really what did you achieve? What are three accomplishments that are outside of the ordinary that you accomplished? What are you struggling with? I need one area that you're struggling with, of just a nut you can't crack. What is it? How can we help you? And then here's who I'm going next week, I need a specific one, two or three items specifically outside of your normal job duties that you are going to accomplish next week. That way we can all make sure the boat is rowing together.

0:09:22.4 KD: If they say, "I'm actually open next week, I'm available for projects," "Fan-freaking-tastic. I've got about a billion for you. Let me share that with you." This is how your team can actually work together. They studied, and honestly, people who feel like they've got purpose, not just a job, but purpose, are more fulfilled. So how are you helping your team to feel more fulfilled? Are you collaborating with each other? Are you growing people into leaders? Are you giving them opportunities? Do you know them personally as co-workers, not just your favorite people, but every person in your practice? Do you know what motivate them? Do you know what they're struggling with? Do you offer to help them, or are you just focus in on your own world? This is how you can grow your practice. This is how you can grow your team. So today, I just wanted to pop on here. It's kind of a different type of podcast, but I really wanna see what about for you, what if you just took this challenge on, of here's what I've achieved this week, here's where I'm struggling, and here's where I'm going, and you actually committed to those items of where you are going beyond what you normally do day in and day out? What type of a practice would you have?

0:10:27.8 KD: What type of a person would you be, and what kind of life would you be living? Think about that, answer that, and then execute. We've added it to our agenda. You guys can add it to your morning huddle on Mondays. There's lots of different places you could do it, but this is something our team is trying, something... Because I am dedicated to having a team that collaborates and works together. Guys, you know I'm obsessed with you. You know my goal, it's your success, it's Dental A Team's passion. That's what we're passionate about as a company. And so if we can help your team collaborate, be more cohesive, then I feel like we did our job. So guys, if we can ever be of help to you, if we can help your team get more unified and more creative and more collaborative, that's what we're here for. So 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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0:11:18.6 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.