Episode : #1,190: For the Practice Owners Stuck in the Weeds

Podcast Description

Tiff and Nikki share how a hands-on operator can become a strategic owner, and at the same time set the team up for success. By sharing responsibilities and establishing clear systems, your practice’s culture, business, and team can blossom in unexpected ways.

Episode resources:

Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast

Schedule a Practice Assessment

Leave us a review

Transcript:

Tiffanie (00:01)

Hello Dental A Team listeners. We are back with you today and to share some really fun things. I have Nikki here with me today. I love nothing more than podcasting with the other consultants on our team. And Nikki is a favorite, a fan favorite, and a Dental A Team

Nikki Mack (00:17)

Yeah.

Tiffanie (00:18)

favorite. Nikki, thank you so much for being here this morning for us and whatever time of day the listeners are listening. How are you today, Nikki?

Nikki Mack (00:26)

I am good. I’m excited to be back too. I this has become one of my favorite parts of Dental A Team. and especially when I hear from doctors and listeners, my gosh, I heard you yesterday on the podcast. And it’s fun to know that like while I get to have a good time with you, this really matters and it helps our listeners. So happy to be

Tiffanie (00:44)

I love that.

Nikki Mack (00:45)

here.

Tiffanie (00:46)

I love that you walked into an office not that long ago and they said, my gosh, I just listened to you. I think it was that morning, right? You had a doctor that had said that.

Nikki Mack (00:52)

Yeah. On

their way into the practice. So that was a how do you follow up yourself? Like that was a that’s a tough act. Yeah.

Tiffanie (00:59)

Yeah. Yeah. I gotta do a whole meeting. This is wild. I

love it. Yes, we have definitely built a cult following here and we love it. I know you actually you are working with an office who is one of our biggest podcast fans of all time. and it’s a husband and wife duo and I won’t say who they are, they know who they are because they’re listening and she is just

one of the most amazing people I’ve ever met in my life. She’s so sweet. And I am hoping that they’re coming to the Masterminds as well. I’m pretty sure that they are. but I will be excited to see them. I know that’s a podcast family for you as well. And it just makes it super fun and it kind of makes us feel like, okay, cool, they know me. And so it gives us an outlet and an opportunity for you listeners and you practices who work with us, practices who will work with us in the future. It gives us an opportunity to showcase who we are.

So that you and your teams kind of have an idea before we get to you, whether we’re in office or whether we’re virtual, just like this. And I think Nikki, you’ve experienced it now too. You’ve experienced both worlds, like going into practices obviously who’ve never heard us, and then going into practices who have heard us. And I think both of us can agree that those practices where the doctors love the podcast, have maybe found us through the podcast or or listen to it and then share it with their teams, those teams are like

almost a step ahead already. Their brains are ready, they’re in that growth mindset and they really understand the angles that we come at consulting from. And I think that it really just helps us give that give that like extra footing to make progress. Do you feel the same, Nikki?

Nikki Mack (02:44)

Absolutely, I agree. I think we’ve talked about this, I feel like in a previous podcast. I think in dentistry, fit matters so much, you know, that our team is the right fit, our patients are the right fit. And I think when it comes to consulting, you need to make sure that they’re the right fit for your goals and your vision. and our podcast is just a nice way for listeners to, like you said, really get an understanding of who we are and and how we operate, you know, kind of what we’re about. And so you really enter the relationship.

a step ahead ’cause we’re like, okay, I know this, especially when they’ve seen us specifically, they already know what they’re in for with me. So it’s a pretty good start to the ride together for sure.

Tiffanie (03:25)

I agree. I think one of my favorite pieces of you in general, but of our c whole consulting team, is that how we show up is like who we are. We don’t really show up any differently. I might become a little peppier on stage. People will see

Nikki Mack (03:38)

Mm-hmm.

Tiffanie (03:39)

that than my normal everyday life. I might talk a little bit more. Erin probably disagrees, my fiance, but I think I talk a little bit more at work than I do at home. but no matter what, like our personality shines through and we are who we are. So then

practices, doctors, people, teams, they do know what to expect. And today I wanted to chat through some aspects and some different ways that we can pull doctor, we’ll call it out of the weeds, right? Practice owners out of the weeds. And I think this is actually a huge segue into that because I think sharing your goals, dreams, aspirations, and sharing the things that are helping you feel connected to dentistry or your business or

your systems, things that you’ve learned that you want to implement, or just really you’re like, gosh, I really love these ladies’ personalities and I want like some semblance of that kind of culture in my practice. So taking things like this and sharing it with your team is really a great way, Nikki, I think to step that first foot into pulling themselves out of the weeds of being like the one, right?

The one that has to make all the changes, the one that has to make all the decisions, and really just like totally in the weeds of the business, the dentistry, the HR, the people, the team, that like all of the pieces and they’re trying to hold all this together, but sharing that I know in our company is specifically with the consultants, we share constantly, we share different things we’ve heard or listened to or

different podcasters or books, things like that, because it helps to build our culture and helps to keep us closer together. So with that, Nikki, what do you feel like what would that do for a practice or how do you think that it helps a doctor to pull themselves out of the weeds when they do share different things like that? Whether it’s this podcast, a different one, could be completely non-dental. How do you think that helps them to set their team up for success to be able to pull out?

Nikki Mack (05:38)

Yeah, I think sometimes we get so caught up in that leadership position with our team that we think it’s just office focused, you know, making them a better dental assistant or a better office manager or better treatment coordinator. But I think when you look back on some of your best jobs and experiences and cultures, it’s where they also work to help develop you as a person. And that’s where I think some of these come into play. a lot of these books and podcasts and

Things that even we talk about sometimes I’ve never heard of them. You know, I’m like, my gosh. And then it’s on my regular rotation, a favorite. So the same can be said for your team members. They may not even realize some of these resources are there. And when you share that with them, it creates a different type of connection. like you said, it helps them understand. Like, if I’m like, my gosh, this is my favorite podcast, here’s what I took from it today, it helps you relate to them.

And then sometimes it just gives those pieces and it’s like, wow, okay, we really are working for this goal, right? We really are trying to get to the next level. And I love things I get at work that I can apply to my personal life because there’s a lot. It happens a lot.

Tiffanie (06:45)

Mm-hmm.

I agree. And I think too, as you’re speaking, I’m thinking of how like different people hear things differently, right? So one podcast, I might hear a certain message and it might be there. You might hear that message too, but you might hear it in a different angle or from a different perspective or apply it differently. And per position too, a dentist and a business owner might hear a marketing podcast and think overarching marketing and like how do we do all of these pieces?

And then you pass it along to a treatment coordinator or an office manager and they’re like, cool, I could apply it in this way with my verbiage to my patients. And so like wherever we’re sitting, we get to spin it for that perspective and how it’s gonna suit us the best. And I think that that makes a massive difference. And pulling ourselves out of the weeds, well, and right there, right? Sending it to an office manager or treatment coordinator, it’s like, who is your team? Right? Who are the people that you count on?

at your practice, at your business, who are the people boots on the ground who are there supporting you. And how can you allow them to support you in your journey and be that show up as that leader? You said Nikki, like the leaders in the practice. And sometimes I think doctors silo themselves and think they have to be the one or they have to do it all. But farming some of that responsibility out to the leaders within the practice or the count it on

team members, I think Nikki, you’ve got a couple teams that are like a handful of people, right? We’ve got like seven, eight team members.

Nikki Mack (08:16)

Yeah.

Tiffanie (08:16)

You might not have a leadership team, right? Because like you got seven people, what are you going to do? Pull full four departments up and now they’re managing each person’s managing one person. So you might not have that full leadership team, but how are these people countable, right? How are you counting on them? And how can you share that culture and that experience and ideas with them?

Nikki Mack (08:40)

Yeah. Well, and I think a key thing that we forget a lot, especially as leaders in a practice, sometimes our systems systems are

Tiffanie (08:49)

Mm.

Nikki Mack (08:50)

created or adapted because of an outlying like thing going on in the practice. We’re short staffed, someone’s out on leave, right? These things that are going on. But a lot of times we get ourselves in the habit of never shifting back or never reevaluating. So when we get

really stuck in those weeds, I think what happens is that allows us to have these not bad systems, but just they’re not efficient, right? They’re the things that really bog us down or make us feel really exhausted at the end of the day, but we don’t have the opportunity to step back and say, could this be done differently? What should I do? Then when we take that moment, get ourselves out of those weeds, and it’s like, my gosh, I not only do I not have to own this, it’s better if I don’t. There’s someone on my team

that’s better qualified for it, that should handle that and run in a sense that interference. And it’s relearning ourselves how to redirect those people or those issues or those tasks. And then also that’s when we have to kind of retrain our team. That’s where the leadership comes out, that we are able to say, hey, I can see this clearly and I’m confident that this is a better direction. Here’s how we execute it, right? And hold them accountable to it. Don’t just take it back on because you’re used to it.

but sometimes it takes something, a podcast or a book or a conversation to have that aha moment and realize, this is really like kind of slogging my day down. I shouldn’t own this. This could be done better. So having that opportunity to see it through different eyes, it can change so much.

Tiffanie (10:28)

I agree. I agree. And I do have practices as they were say saying all this, I’m thinking, how many times have we been asked how do I need to pay them for this to listen to this thing or learn this thing? And we’ve got our online courses that a lot of practices utilize and we get asked that a lot. Like that’s totally up to you guys. We don’t have a say in that. but they you know, or practices that say they send it and they don’t listen to it, right? And so they’re just like beaten down and they start to feel

upset by it or hammered down and like why do I even bother? Do I have the right people? And I think Nikki within that is more of an expectation. And what that leads me to is what is the expectation of each position? And then what’s the expectation of that person within that position? So do we have job descriptions? I know we talk about these a lot. We talk about them

Nikki Mack (11:19)

Yeah.

Tiffanie (11:20)

a lot because they really, really matter. Clarity is everything. Clarity is everything in life. In a world of chaos and a sea of crazy

If we can bring clarity to something, why wouldn’t we? Right? It seems wild to say, meh, I just don’t feel like it when we could bring some clarity. So if there’s clarity to these positions, these these team members know this position means this thing. This is what I do, this is how I show up, these are the tasks that I do. But really a job description is how do I present myself within this seat? How does this seat show up for this practice and what are the goals within that?

So then layering in those expectations too of that personal development. Like, is it built into your culture? And did you do it without seeing why you’re doing it? Right? Did you send the podcast like, hey, take a listen to this? You might enjoy it. And they’re like, okay, cool. Maybe one day, right? It’s on the back burner. This thing is more important. Or did you say, hey, I love growing and learning? And I truly want that to be an aspirational part of our culture.

in our community here at this practice. So from time to time, I might send you little tidbits. I’m gonna tell you why, like what my favorite takeaway was, why I think it’s relevant to you, to your position, to your life, if you’ll take a listen or read it, right? You can sign up for newsletters, send them a newsletter, send them the Dental A Team newsletter, like whatever that might be, but did you have a description of how they’re supposed to show up so that when they see this thing come through, they’re like, cool.

That could help me with my team member one on ones. Like I have to do my doc’s asking me to do one on ones and I don’t understand them yet. This podcast looks like it might help me with that. But not setting those expectations and just flippantly being like, Well, I’ve sent them the things. I’ve asked them to do book club with me and nobody wants to. Yeah, well, I’m not a dental nerd either. Like

Nikki Mack (13:17)

Yeah.

Tiffanie (13:18)

I love dentistry because of where it’s gotten me in life. I think it’s an amazing

amazing industry. and I I do love dentistry, but I’m not on my off hours listening to a ton of dental podcasts. I’m just not. There’s a couple that are floating in there because I need the the continuing education I need to be relevant as well. But I love emotional intelligence. I love, you know, I I love listening to Andrew Huberman, right? And there’s so many different things that even in those other podcasts are so applicable.

to business, to relationships, to dentistry, making sure that we figure out what is our style, what is our culture and what are the expectations and then setting those with people, I think make a massive difference, Nikki.

Nikki Mack (14:02)

I agree. And I think this is where it comes down to. We talk a lot about I think strong leadership comes to knowing your team, right? And understanding

Tiffanie (14:09)

Mm-hmm.

Nikki Mack (14:09)

who you have with you and kind of what those desires or those goals are. I know in one practice that I managed, that was a part of our annual reviews. Like, what’s a professional goal for you? And then like what’s a personal goal? Because if there was anything we could do to kind of support that, and it also benefited the practice or their you know growth as a team member.

Absolutely, why wouldn’t we? And then you kind of know how to approach it. So if you know that there’s a tip who’s less dental nerd, right, then some of that stuff, that’s not who you send that podcast to. On the flip side, full disclosure, such a nerd. I did not do back office. All my teens have heard my spiel. I’ll save it. It’s our little internal secret. But man, do I love some of the nerdy stuff.

Brit and Dana and I actually got to attend a local event here in Arizona a few months ago and do some CE. And when we were comparing what courses we had signed up for, it was very much an aha moment for Brit to realize exactly the level of my nerdiness because I was like, Yeah, I can’t wait to go listen to this. Like I just yeah, I I will pull a couple pearls and it will be amazing. and it actually was, and absolutely it was a little dry. Some people left, you know, this is what happens.

but that filled my bucket because it’s it’s your what motivates you, what drives you is what drives you, right? And then knowing that being able to tune into it is so important and it can sound overwhelming. I know someone is driving in their car right now thinking about, my gosh, now I have to personalize my podcast recommendations per team member. But I promise you it becomes so easy because when you lead with that type of style and you create that culture, this is not where I need you to calendar a task.

To look for podcasts for every team member. It’s just gonna come organically and you’re able to share those observations, share those pearls of wisdom. And that’s how you get out of the weeds, right? We grow our team, we grow their abilities, and we are so aligned that that’s what helps that clarity and that confidence because we’re like one team, one dream, right? And we all know where that vision is. And this just helps to support it and and boost them up for sure.

Tiffanie (16:21)

Yeah, I love that. And so then now we’re working on that culture piece. We’ve got job descriptions clear, right? we’ve got our our culture piece really starting to fit. And I think that’s where a lot of that trust comes into play. So then dentists and owners, they can say, Okay, I trust that this is going to happen. I trust that this team member does have my back. I have full support within them and I can give them this thing. So then we start trial and erroring it. And it’s not to say

they didn’t listen to the podcast. I can’t, I can’t give them something. I can’t delegate. Like, no,

Nikki Mack (16:55)

Right.

Tiffanie (16:56)

just be realistic, right? What can you delegate over to them and like dip your toe in that water? Clear expectations on everything. So clear job descriptions, clarity around what does your culture need to look like, clear clarity around your goals, and then start delegating things off that you don’t have to do. We like to say any tasks that don’t require your brain.

Anything that somebody could do at 80% their level that could look very similar to what you want it to be, it might not be a hundred percent. Their hundred percent might be your eighty percent. but is that okay for this task? Start delegating those things off because that’s how you get out of the weeds. Your clarity, your culture, and your delegation are how you get out of those weeds and then having that feedback system. And I think Nikki, within that, like you mentioned goals. I love a good three, five, ten year goal.

not easy to sit down and be like, what do I want in three years? What I want in 10 years. Like do some prompts, ask us, [email protected]. Like we’re more than happy to help you dig into what those need to look like to work backwards. But when you have that vision, you have that goal, you know where you’re going. Same with your culture. You know what you want your culture to look like. Now it’s something that we can create. It’s something that we can do together to reach those goals and get you pulled out of the weeds.

You talked, Nikki, about knowing the team members. And I think something that we’ve done really well with the Dental A team is as a virtual company, we’ve done a lot of like one-on-one time but group time at the same time. We have a lot of meetings. I I think there are companies that have more than us, but we do have a lot of meetings. But we do know each other. We get to know each other on a personal level. So like I was listening to a book the other day and I thought, my gosh, Christy.

Absolutely nothing to do with dentistry, not business, just like the idea, the premise of it was what you believe to be true will be true, right? Hands down, I believe that. And I thought, my gosh, Christy’s gonna love this. So I send it to her, and within 30 seconds, she’s like, I had an Audible credit, it’s downloading right now. Thank you so much. Like, but I knew

Nikki Mack (19:06)

Yeah.

Tiffanie (19:08)

that was Christy, right? And I know.

Sometimes I’ll pop something into the consultant chat that I’m like, hey ladies, this is actually really cool for business or for marketing. Or I’ll be like, Nikki, this made me think of you. Or it’s my like TikTok Instagram real friend that I like sending all those things, right?

Nikki Mack (19:23)

Ha ha ha.

Tiffanie (19:24)

But spending that one-on-one time together and really knowing each other, and it’s not long. Like we get two 30 minute slots a month that’s one on one with each other.

That’s all that it takes and paying attention to one another on meetings and during different tasks, during different things, just paying attention to those pieces and who a person is really gives you key insights to what that could look like when you’re sending something along like that. And Nikki, how do you see that? Like how can a dentist step back enough to see the people to be able to to see how can they create that culture to again get out of the weeds?

Nikki Mack (20:04)

And I think some of it comes to the time that we dedicate to that culture, right? You

Tiffanie (20:09)

Right.

Nikki Mack (20:09)

know, do we have a morning huddle? do we check in with our team members? Do we have our one-on-ones? And if the doctor’s not having it, does the OM check in with the doctor, right? On those one on ones? What’s that kind of communication piece? How do we close that circle? Because it is those like random moments, those passing by. docs usually know so much about their DA because the things that’ll

Tiffanie (20:32)

Mm.

Nikki Mack (20:32)

come up, right?

in a chair working with a patient and just utilizing those and kind of capitalizing on it because that’s where it’s so funny when we talk about like getting out of the weeds but weeds are different for everyone too right like based on your skill set and kind of your interest. So as you as a practice owner or a leader are looking at your team or maybe looking at your tasks that you could possibly delegate. And like maybe you’re sitting there right now like

This eats up a lot of my time. And you’re right, someone else could do this at 80%. Like I need to

Tiffanie (21:04)

Mm-hmm.

Nikki Mack (21:05)

let it go. Let’s be smart about who we let it go to and using what we know. If I have someone who is like camera shy, hates being in the reels, hates being in the videos, you know, it’s like that’s not their jam, but they come up with them. They see the good ones, they see that content and they’re handy with like the cameras, with the apps, with the social media.

Maybe that’s my social media person because they get to film the reels, right? Takes

Tiffanie (21:32)

Mm.

Nikki Mack (21:32)

all the pressure off of them and they can just excel, plan for when we’re gonna film them. And then I as an owner, I don’t have to think about it, right? Because I’ve got things I could do differently. Same when it comes to some of our patient relationships or you know our strategic efforts. Who do I have that that they would own? It wouldn’t be weeds for them. And then I can take it off of the plate. Who is? So it’s super important to understand who you have.

And people show you who they are every day, the way we work together, the way we chat when we make our coffee before Huddle, you know, all of those kind

Tiffanie (22:05)

Yeah.

Nikki Mack (22:06)

of little opportunities. we just have to listen and kind of act on it. And also, I say this to doctors all the time ask. Just ask. Sometimes I’m

Tiffanie (22:16)

Hm. I agree.

Nikki Mack (22:18)

guilty of it myself in the past. I would be like, gosh, I don’t know if Yara would actually be into this. Like, I think so.

And you you spend all this time like going back and forth on your mind because you feel like you should just know. But guess what? Like just go ask. Never has an employee been like, I can’t believe the doctor asked how I feel about this. Why didn’t they just know? Are you kidding? The ask is such a trust builder. So if we’re not sure, ask. Ask a question. It’s okay. Because clear is kind, right? And making sure that we know where we’re coming from. That’s what gives us the confidence as the leader to pass this on, to have clear expectations.

and

then have the appropriate follow-up because that’s how it all ties together. For myself, one of the things I love about Dental A Team so much is that we don’t just work with the doctor or the practice owner. We really do be have that opportunity to spend time with the team as well and making sure that everyone understands that full circle piece. My favorite thing is to remind them that like I am here to help keep you accountable. So we’re not going to forget about this in two weeks. This is something we’re going to give a real try.

real follow up and then have real conversations about how it’s helping us. And that’s a real benefit to finding the things that stick and being able to execute not just for the first couple of weeks. So

Tiffanie (23:35)

I completely agree. I think that was a beautiful wrap. And if I had to pull action items out of what you just said, I hope doctors and listeners, you heard them as well. Job descriptions, clear as kind. Morning huddles, make sure that you’re communicating every day on some level. And monthly one-on-ones. And I heard the other day they were called feedback sessions, and I really loved that. I was listening to a podcast,

Nikki Mack (23:59)

I love that.

Tiffanie (24:00)

non dental.

and she said that she called them feedback sessions and it was a feedback loop. It was how are you doing? How are we doing as a company? What are you loving? What are you hating? What’s making your life difficult? Like what are blockers? And do you have any feedback from me as your lead? And I loved that because on a monthly basis that is way easier. Yearly reviews. I hate when offices wait till the yearly ’cause that’s tied to a metric and like we’re not a corporate we’re not Wells Fargo. Like

Have a monthly one-on-one. So if I were to pull action items, it would be clear as kind, get those job descriptions, get those morning huddles in place. If they are in place, what can you do to spice them up a little bit this week? And where are your monthly one-on-ones? Where are you getting to know each team member individually, whether it’s you or their office manager? And then I think my last piece would be really look at the things that you’re doing every day, maybe journal. Like just every time you do something, write it down and go through and highlight what do you s what do you have to do?

And then what are some things that you could delegate off and then how will you do that? Nikki, this is a beautiful podcast. Thank you so much for spending your time with me today. I appreciate you. And I just love the joy that you’re bringing to so many practices. Thank you for what you do.

Nikki Mack (25:12)

Yeah, thanks for having me. I love it.

Tiffanie (25:14)

Of course, of course. All right, listeners, you know what to do. Go leave us a five-star review. Let us know how you enjoyed today’s podcast and who you’ll be sending it to. Go send it to somebody. Like legitimately, you guys know other owners. You guys know people who need to hear this same message. You are not alone, and neither are they. Make sure that they know that. So go send this podcast to someone. And as always, [email protected], and we’ll catch you next time. Bye guys.