Tiff and Kristy address why the doctor (or the practice lead or the OM) always end up getting sucked back in to answer questions they shouldn’t have to. The pair also gives solutions on how to curb this automatic approach, including establishing clarity, providing the right resources, and being patient when things go wrong.
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Transcript:
Tiffanie (00:00)
Hello, Dental A Team listeners. I am back here with you on the podcast. I love being here. I love what we get to do, and I love more than any of that podcasting with Kristy. And I hope that you guys have taken the time to get to know Kristy, that you've seen her on other podcasts, but also that you maybe have chosen to work with her. She's got some incredible clients. Kristy is full right now in the in the the
recording of this podcast, but she is really awesome at sneaking in some room there too. We do take advantage of that sometimes. So Kristy, thank you for being here. If they don't know you, I hope they go and figure out who you are. They go scope you if you get some more Instagram follow requests or wherever you're at, just know that's my fault. So good morning Kristy. How are you today?
DAT- Kristy (00:49)
Good morning. It's a good morning. I love starting my day, actually starting my week and getting our time together because so many times we don't we don't get to work with each other. So yeah.
Tiffanie (00:54)
Yeah.
I know. I agree.
I agree. We have like one half hour a month that we pre schedule to make sure that we can connect. but I love that I do get my podcasting time with you guys too. There's more consultants now, so it's spread out a little bit thinner. but when I when I can, I love getting my time with you ladies. So thank you. Thank you for making this easy on me. I'm actually really excited for this
Topic today. And just so you guys, you listeners, know the topics, they come from the marketing does a lot of research. Our marketing company, our marketing team within our company, does a lot of research on what some hot topics might be, what dentistry is going through right now, kind of just different areas and different facets of life. And so they do come up with some incredible, incredible topics that we love to spin off of.
And with that, if there's ever anything that you guys are experiencing in your world, I want you to know Hello@TheDentalATeam.com is the easiest place to reach out to us or on our website, TheDentalATeam.com. There's a little like chat with us. You can reach out to us and let us know what you're experiencing. We are more than happy to help dive into your cases and kind of figure out what it is. But also that leads to some great podcast topics as well. So if there are things that you want to hear more of.
or less of, by all means, please reach out to us, let us know what your thoughts are, because we'd be happy to add some things into the mix as well. So, Kristy, with that said, I'm really excited for today's topic. I think that this is something that no matter what time of year it is, is relevant. And I know that we work with a lot of leaders, a lot of CEO dentists, a lot of owners, a lot of leadership teams, office managers, regional managers.
DSOs, like we work with a slew of ranges within the dental industry. And something that I think consistently comes back for all of us. And I think Kristy, you and I actually experience this with the level and the size of practices that we get. We experience it quite a bit. And we've experienced it in our own company. Kiera, I love you. We've experienced this a lot in our own company of
DAT- Kristy (03:12)
Ha ha ha.
Tiffanie (03:16)
not knowing where to go for a decision, so you go to the person that you know can make the decision, I guess is the best way to say it. And we've got a lot of doctors that sit in a dental chair, right? They're in their chair and they've got a drill in a hand and a mirror in a hand and their loops on their head and they're drilling. And they've got somebody in the background asking them where they order their paper from, right? Or something, right? Like the the plumber. Well what plumber should I call? Because the
Toilets plugs. Like I there's a ridiculous amount of questions that are going on behind the doctor. and it and Kristy, the conversation today is is that the right person? Right? And why? Because I think we both get this question from our doctors, why are they asking them? Right? I my doctors are constantly like, Why me? Why me? Like, well, you're really special, right? Like they
I trust you so much. You're just so special. And a lot of it's self-created. We can dive into that. But when we're when we're really truly looking at the end all be all, and you've got your dentist and you've got your CEO, you've got your your different positions within the practice, what are the most common reasons or let's go off of one, Kristy, that you see most frequently? Why is the dentist the one that they go to?
DAT- Kristy (04:13)
Yeah.
Yeah. I love this topic as well, Tiff. And I think just for clarity, this can even work for your your practice leads or OM, you know, a lot of times, I I I told you earlier in one of our podcasts that we create our own problems. And I believe that a lot of times this is our own creation too. Again, not not by choice, you know what I mean? But we have to paint clarity.
Tiffanie (04:47)
Absolutely.
DAT- Kristy (05:08)
We have to paint clarity for our team on what things they are free to handle and what things you want coming to you. You know, number one, paint that clarity. And then number two, give them the resources to do it. I'm gonna try to remember the saying, but it it goes something about, you know, our job as leaders is to know how few decisions we have to make truly in a day. And maybe that's scary, right? That's a scary thought, but
Tiffanie (05:16)
Yeah.
DAT- Kristy (05:37)
Truly, as the leader, I think you have to paint that vision for your teams and then just continue to reinforce that. Because a lot of times your team's gonna have better answers than you do, even. So clarity, yeah, one hundred percent. Clarity number one. Clarity number one for sure.
Tiffanie (05:51)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. And resources.
Yeah.
And I think within that making sure that you have clarity on what w the directions that you're going for one thing, right? Like what how do I make this decision? Because I'm I'm making this decision based on on the end goal for the practice, but also clarity within every job that's within the practice. Like who who would make this decision if not the dentist? So when or if not for for us it would be if not Kiera, right? And I think that's
One, it's very easy to see. It's easy for us to see. So it's easy for us to speak to that within our own company. And then we get the luxury of seeing it within dental practices to speak to that. But just truly know, like you said, it it works for every leader in the practice office managers or whatever. But you guys, this is transferable to any business structure because, you know, unbeknownst to you, you own a business. And so your business structure is not dentistry.
Your business structure is business. And when we can realize that and take the dentistry out of the business and let the business be a business, I think that's where you guys really truly will thrive. You get so lost in trying to make dentistry the business, but dentistry is what you're doing. You're providing dentistry. The business has to stand outside of the dentistry. They can't
Dentistry can't be the business anymore. Maybe a long time ago it could. And you know, maybe you're in your grandfather's practice and your di your father was there and you've inherited some routines and some systems, but the world is different in 2026 and whatever future year you're listening to this in, the world is different, and you have to be able to separate those things. And Kristy, that's I think where that clarity comes in is the business.
Where is the business going? Because the dentistry is gonna be dentistry and the dentistry is gonna follow the trends of dental. we're gonna, you know, we're gonna get all the tech, we're gonna get all of those things, but where is the business going so that the dentistry can still happen is huge. And having the clarity around that and the clarity around who would make this decision if not the owner is huge. And to your point, that's where the leads come in, the office manager and like if you're
If you need a plumber, right? Dentists, owners, if you're the one who has to make that decision, go back to Kristy's first comment. Like, what dis what decisions do I need to make? Is it the most important decision of your day to figure out which plumber, which AC repair guy, which I don't know, carpet cleaner? Like, is that a decision that you want to make and need to make? And Kristy, I think that's where that space of like, no, actually, this would be my manager.
or this would be our clinical director, that that has to be stated and clear so that an office manager or a dental assistant knows who do I go to.
DAT- Kristy (09:01)
One hundred percent and document those things. I mean, maybe you do have a doctor that's like, My brother's the plumber, so we always call my brother. Then have a list of those items with the numbers and who to contact, you know. But yeah, and to your point too, Tiff, I think so many times we don't create the space for our doctors or leaders to have these conversations. Like running down the hall in between patients is never.
the time to do it. I mean doctors say yes to so many things they would not have said yes to just because it's like you know right there and I have to handle it but truly block time to have discussions that are truly the things that need to come to doctor to make the decision. But also as leaders watch how you preface the question. You know I need to call a plumber. This is what I was thinking. You know
Tiffanie (09:35)
Mm-hmm.
Yeah. Yeah.
DAT- Kristy (09:58)
And and then to that point too, Tiff, painting the clarity. If you have a a go-to that you want, make sure that that's vocalized. But then also going back to leaders, how many times do we just answer the question versus asking our team members, what do you think? And I know I hear this day in and day out. It's faster just to do it myself, right? It's faster to do it myself.
But I think it was you, Tiff, that told me choose your hard. And it's Britt. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. Choose your hard. And the time you take in the very beginning to train your team, this is how we do it, will go so much further in the long run. So give your team the opportunity to answer the question because then you're you're making them think for themselves and not rely on you.
Tiffanie (10:31)
It's Britt. Britt told everyone, but I love that. I use it all the time.
DAT- Kristy (10:57)
Again, going back to us creating our own problems, when we answer for our for them, you're not you're not letting them rise to the occasion and grow to the level that you're looking for.
Tiffanie (11:08)
Yeah.
I completely agree. And I think this is something that's so relatable for parents. because in my opinion, I say this a lot, and I think we are people are people and we learn the way we learn, we we hear the way we le we hear and we can grow. We do grow and we physically grow, but at the bottom of it all, we're still people. And when we again like when we treat things so differently, we think, they're adults, they should
They should know why. I have so many dentists, by the way, who have said that to me, or so many office managers that's like, why do I need to spell this out? They're an adult. Why don't they just know? And I'm like, because they're trying to figure out what you want. They're not trying to figure out how to solve this. Because if it were outside of your dental practice and they were at home, or if they were on the side of this side of the street in a broke down car, they would figure it out. They're not, they're not incapable. They don't know what you want.
And so trying to figure out what someone else wants, trying to intuit the right answer when you have not enough direction to know, but you're trying to please, you're trying to do it correct, you're trying to not ruin a business with a plumber decision, you're gonna just ask the person. And when you just answer, just like a parent, if I just answer every single time, am I giving Brody the space to grow and to learn things on his own when he was little? He
used to get frustrated with me, then he kinda he kinda just learned that I was always gonna say it. He would say, Mom mom, how, you know, how did they do this? How did they build that? How did they and he's in the backseat of the car just seeing everything. Mom mom, how did they, how did they, how did they? And I would say, buddy, what do you think? And he'd just come up with these incredible ways that they built the building, that they put the traffic lights in, that they, you know, and I'm like, gosh, that's really smart. Do you also think that
And within that thought process of how do we grow our children to become positive parts of humanity, right? And independent to go live on their own and add value to the world. We're doing the same thing for our team members. So if we want our team members to be a valuable piece of humanity and add positive impact to our business, we have to grow them.
DAT- Kristy (13:14)
Indeed. Yeah. And yeah.
Tiffanie (13:34)
and allow them the space to grow in the same capacity that we do our own children. Otherwise they're gonna stay with us forever. Right? If I always clean up after the kids, they're gonna have messy houses later, right? And I'm gonna go over to their home and I'm gonna be like, what the heck? What did I did I teach you nothing? No, I taught you that I'll clean it.
DAT- Kristy (13:38)
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah. Tiff, I love that you talk about that. I know you just have Brody, but you also have some significant others in your life. But I remember even with my son and daughter, I thought my secondborn wasn't gonna talk. And it wasn't that he wasn't gonna talk, it's because my daughter was talking for him. And so many parents can relate to that. And so your analogy is like spot on. But also I you know, I want leaders to hear this loud and clear.
Tiffanie (13:58)
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
DAT- Kristy (14:21)
They're gonna get it wrong. They're gonna get it wrong and they're gonna do it different than you. But please give them the space to do it because so many times it goes back to your Brody's mind. They can be more brilliant than we are. I'll never forget the story. I had a colleague t talk to me about buying a copier. The dentist was gonna go get this y you you probably remember back in the days the big Pitney bows, like I mean, it was on, it was a cart on wheels thing, you know.
Tiffanie (14:22)
Mm-hmm.
They're huge. Yeah. Wheels, yup.
DAT- Kristy (14:50)
Yeah, and they were spendy like a lot of money and he was gonna go buy this. And then actually what happened is he did buy it and the team wasn't using it and he was very, very upset. So then it taught him a valuable lesson that the next time that copier went out, he went to them and asked them the features that they wanted, or better yet, just give them a budget to work within and let them go buy it themselves, right? Because
So many times, doctors, we try to make those decisions or as leaders, we try to make those decisions. we're gonna cut back our hours. you're gonna work this time to this time. You know what? Just put it out to your team. This is what we're doing. We need to fill these hours. What what can you guys come up with? And nine times out of ten, they're gonna come up s with something better than we can as leaders.
Tiffanie (15:42)
Yeah, and Kristy, to your point, I think the copy machine is is brilliant. That's a brilliant thought process because on the flip side of that, our dentists right now, our owners are going, Yeah, but he was trying to do he was he got the best of the best to do the best thing for the team. He's trying to he's trying to do something. And so many of our our leaders come back to us and they're like, gosh, I'm just not appreciated. They don't care that I put so much time and energy into picking out
the best copying machine that had the best features and was going to save them time and it was going to do all these things for them and they didn't even use it. They don't care. And it's not that they don't care, right? It's not that our kids don't care that we slave over dinner every night and then do the dishes and then make sure that their laundry is done. Like they don't, it's not that they don't care. It's that they don't there's not value and appreciation on it because they don't know what they don't know the value of it. And when they go and they're able to go
Do the research and find the coffee machine that they want, they're like, this is really cool. I'm gonna use it. Thank you so much, Doc, for allowing us to get this. Right. And I think it goes back to like a goes back to compliments, right? It feels so much better to give a compliment than to receive a compliment. And when you receive something, somebody's like, here, use this coffee machine. You're like, cool, thanks. Like, I don't know how to respond to that, right? Like, okay, thank you.
DAT- Kristy (16:47)
Yep.
Tiffanie (17:07)
But when you're like, my gosh, we found the best copy machine. This is gonna save us so much time. This is gonna be incredible. They're actually gonna use it.
DAT- Kristy (17:15)
Yeah, I love that you make that statement because Tiff, we believe in meeting with our teams one-on-one. And I love the feedback loop, like reinforce the things that are good. So when your team does get it right, recognize it. What gets rewarded gets repeated, I like to say. And the things that maybe need guidance or development when they do miss the mark, approach it with curiosity instead of like, what the heck were you thinking? Why did you do that?
Hey, out of curiosity, Tiff, will you share with me how did you come up with that decision? You know, and then use it as an opportunity to guide the outcome. So again, if it was my blood, my brother is the plumber and that's who I wanted you to call, can you share with me how you made the decision to call ABC plumbing? You know, where did you come up with that? And then re guide them to the outcome you're looking for. So that feedback is is critical. Yeah.
Tiffanie (18:11)
I agree.
DAT- Kristy (18:12)
And I don't
know a team member that walks in the door and says, I wanna make my doctor's life hell today, you know? So
Tiffanie (18:17)
Yes, I agree. I agree.
And the way you said the curiosity of like tell me, tell me how we got here. And there's been so many times, Kristy, even just like with Brody, but with team members too, where I've said, tell me more about that. Like help me understand. Because my brain is my brain is focused on what I thought the outcome was going to be and what it should have been. And if I stay stuck there, you're wrong no matter what. But when I go in with curiosity and I say
DAT- Kristy (18:43)
Yeah.
Tiffanie (18:46)
Tell me more. Like, I want to know that side. Oftentimes, I would say at least 80% of the time, I'm like, cool. Actually, yeah, let's try it. Like, great, that's not what I thought I would have done, but I love that option. Let's explore it. But when we go in so hard with the like, you're wrong, you didn't make the decision I wanted you to, again, back to the beginning, it is nearly impossible to make a spot on decision based on what.
DAT- Kristy (18:54)
Okay, yeah. Yeah.
Tiffanie (19:16)
some like intuitively knowing what someone wants you to actually do. It's so hard.
DAT- Kristy (19:20)
Yeah, too.
I was gonna say to your point with that, going back to that too, is we could actually shut down our team with those remarks because it's like, what were you thinking? Now I'm like fearful to even try to make a decision, you know, so thing.
Tiffanie (19:29)
Hands down.
Okay.
And I'm gonna come to you with everything. Ever the pencil
that I order is gonna come to you because I never want to feel like that again. Immediately my brain is gonna say, Well, never gonna feel like that again. So we're gonna do the polar opposite of what I just did. We're gonna overcompensate and now you're going to be making every minor decision possible in this company.
DAT- Kristy (19:56)
Yeah, one hundred percent. It seems so easy and I mean I wish it was that easy, but truly slow down and and ask a question and approach from curiosity, it's gonna get you a lot further for sure.
Tiffanie (20:10)
Totally agree. Yeah. So actionable pieces. I hope you guys loved this as much as we loved doing it. Kristy, I know I am like I could I could do this one for hours. So I love the psychological pieces of it and communication is I think both of our jam. So I know we can go on forever. Actionable items, I would say job descriptions, clear job descriptions and roles. I think decision trees and and also organizational charts. So who
DAT- Kristy (20:20)
Yeah.
Tiffanie (20:40)
is responsible for what that goes into your job description as well, but who can I go to? Like who's my next in line that would be able to get me this answer? And then learning how to have that positive feedback and being in the question. Like how how can you ask more questions to understand rather than being in the decision already and judging? Kristy, anything you can think of that I missed there within those actionable pieces?
DAT- Kristy (21:06)
No, Tiff, truly not. I just think it's a muscle that we have to work. And I will also say, like, my greatest performing teams have developed this type of hierarchy, if you will say, because it helped and it tethers the team to them. It really does. So if you don't want team turnover, you're allowing your people to grow in a way that that
Tiffanie (21:24)
Yeah, I agree.
DAT- Kristy (21:31)
They need to grow and they want to grow. And when you master this skill of 'cause it really is a skill set, when you master it, it's a win win all the way around.
Tiffanie (21:43)
Totally agree. I completely agree. Thank you, Kristy. And I know you work on this with all of the leaders that you work with because whether you're really great at it or not, there's always room for growth, there's room for better understanding, and there's room for revisiting. We are huge, huge proponents of relearning and going back to the things that work to get you where you are, and then also integrating and implementing and changing new policies and procedures. So I love it. Thank you, Kristy, so much for being here with us today. listeners.
When you decided that you loved this, I hope you went and you clicked that five star and gave us a nice review. If you haven't done that yet, go do that. let us know what you thought. Let us know any tips or tricks that you have within this realm as well. And if you're one of these leaders that we're talking about that you just feel stuck and you feel like, gosh, I'm in this constant loop of having to make decisions, you're gonna hit decision fatigue real fast. So reach out to us, Hello@TheDentalATeam.com or on our website, TheDentalATeam.com. We've got a quick little link there that you can schedule a
free consultation with us so that we can just say, hey, these are some tips and tricks to move forward or hey, yes, you are a perfect match. We would love to work with you. Please reach out Hello@TheDentalATeam.com and you guys, we cannot wait to catch you next time. Thank you.