Team Dynamics, Holistic Wellness, and the Power of Continuous Learning with Dawn

Welcome to the Wellness Dentist Podcast. Join biological and cosmetic dentist Dr. Katie to as she explores holistic wellness through trending ideas, real stories and patient experiences. This podcast will inspire you to make healthy lifestyle choices and take charge of your dental wellness. And now, your host, the Wellness Dentist, Dr. Katie To.

Hi, welcome to the Wellness Dentist podcast with Dr. Katie to with Katie Till. And we have a special guest today, a very familiar face you probably see. Don Miller pictures on a lot of online courses, a lot of in person courses, a lot of social media, and of course my travel partner, partner in crimes and a lot of our conference and travel. So I have dawn sit down with us today to share a little bit about her wellness journey in the practice, outside of practice and personal life and professional life. So I can't wait to share. Let's dive right in. Hi, Dawn.

Hi, Dr. Katie.

So it would be fair for you to share with our audience and listener a little bit about yourself.

Yeah. Awesome. So I'm dawn and I've been with Dr. Katie since she bought the practice back in 2015. And I was in dentistry for about three or four years before that. And when she bought the practice, I was still assisting some, which was not good for anybody and helping in the front. And so along the way we've grown a lot and learned a lot. And she takes copious amounts of ce, has always taken copious amounts of ce and has always brought the team, which I think has made a huge difference in the success of the practice because we're all on the same page. So. But it's been a really fun eight years and there's some big things coming and we're both really excited about it and I'm sure lots of surprises are going to be coming for you guys in the next year or two.

Yeah. And this episode actually by demand, lots of people asking me, I want to have someone like Don as my right hand person. I want to know how to get a Don, a train of Don. It's almost like a tagline, how to get a Don. And so they request this episode to hear because they know that you cannot having success in your practice without help, especially your team. And dawn is a team leader of that team and a crucial part of my success in the practice outside of practice. So dawn, can you share with us a little bit about your role in the wellness practice that we have today?

Yeah. I at this point take charge of the team and keeping everyone accountable and making sure that they have the resources and the support that they need to be successful, which is huge. I Don't think a lot of dental teams have a person in place that can offer the team members support and be able to answer questions and have a sounding board and someone that they can rely on that's not the doctor. Because doctors should be chair side. You guys should be producing. And the team often gets kind of left to their own devices, and that can be sort of scary for you guys, too. So that's a really big part of what I do right now in the practice, is to support the team and put out the fires when they inevitably happen.

And I know Don probably make it sound like it's really easy role to get into, but Don actually been in every single role in that team, from assistant to financial coordinator to patient care coordinator, treatment plan hygiene coordinator, hygiene. Definitely not in that order. I'm just listing all the job and all the position that dawn been in. And because of that, she know the inside out of each role and be able to give the team member the support and the feedback. And that way also, she earned the respect from the team members and not just, oh, because she's a team leader now. You have to listen to dawn, right?

No, it's not like that. It was something that definitely happened over time, becoming the person who everyone was coming to with questions or who could solve the problems and things like that. But that comes with time and experience and a lot of investment on Dr. Katie's part in me and in the rest of the team. In taking us to CES that were about communication and not just about dentistry. We also did a lot of, like, emotional intelligence training and things like that that helped us be able to communicate better. Because good communication between team members, not just with patients. We focus a lot on how we're communicating to patients and forget sometimes to focus on how we're communicating with each other. But that solves 90% of the problems in a dental practice, is when you can communicate effectively and people aren't getting hurt or offended or upset about something and understanding that we're trying to grow and trying to be better and we're trying to do this thing together, and if you can get them on the same page, then it makes things a lot smoother.

Yeah. And when people asking for this episode, I remember one of the top things on their list is hiring. Because when they asking me like, you have an amazing team.

How.

How do you hire? And I'm like, ask Dawn. She hired for me. So Dawn, I had to pass that question on, which is, I get a lot when I'm going on a row, is how do you hire? And can you share with us a little bit a couple tips about hiring? Because I know people are listening closely to this.

Yeah, hiring is a big deal in dentistry, especially since COVID Right. Like, hiring has been the number one thing that I get asked by our coaching clients, too, is how do you do it? And I'll say the one thing that I've done consistently in the team, members that have been successful, that have stayed, that are here now. Cause we haven't had. We haven't lost anyone in a long time now, is that I focus on hiring the person and not about what their resume says. Because skills can be taught. Skills can be taught. I can't teach them how to be a good human. I can't teach them how to have a good work ethic. I can't teach them how to show up on time every day. I mean, we can talk about it, right? There's things that you can build on in a person. And we like to build on our team, not just as an employee, but also as a person. But I really focus on, are they going to fit with the team? Are they going to fit the culture of the practice? Is their mission going to be our mission? Are we going to share the same mission? Because one thing that's really cool about the team that we have now is that they embrace the culture of wellness dentistry, and they embrace each other as humans, and they work together really well. And I would never want to bring someone into that environment that didn't fit and that wasn't going to also have that same feeling. So I would say, when I bring someone in for an interview, when they show up, that's the first step. Right? They have to show everything.

The struggle is real.

The struggle is real. I talk to them. I'm like, tell me about yourself. What are your goals? What's your vision? What journey are you on? Tell me about why you're leaving the place that you're leaving. I don't ask them, like, tell me how you submit a dental claim. Tell me what order you do stuff for a filling. I don't really ask a lot of technical questions because that can be taught, right. And when you find that person that you're connecting with and the vibe is good, and you're like, man, I just know, like, Rayla would love this person, or, man, they would really vibe really well with Carla or whatever, then I know that this is probably a good person to bring into the team. And what's really interesting is that there's actually a lot of people out there that are interested in working in a wellness practice.

There we go.

It's really cool. They'll be like, oh yeah, you know, I do yoga or I do this or I do that and that's personal for them. And so when they look us up, that's another great question by the way. If you ask them like, oh hey, did you, why did you apply to our practice? Because I'll get the answer. Oh, I looked you guys up on Google, I found out you're biological. I think that's really cool. I want to learn more about that and that's really awesome. But when they tell me things like that, I'm like, oh, so this person believes like they're, they're into it, they like it, they want it. So open minded, they're open minded and they want to know more. And they want to know more not just for themselves, but also you know, how to help patients. So that I think has been the main thing that's gotten us some of the really awesome people that we have.

And I want to drop this pearl for you who are listening right now is when we talk about hiring we can summarize it in three things. Is an employer because employees are, you know, you see resume all the time on dental posts or indeed or any site out there. However, the first thing is you have to offer competitive pay. You cannot asking for talent when you don't offer the pay where they can take care of their bills and their family. That's I would say offer competitive pay. Second, definitely offer personal growth before the clinical and technical training so heavily you don't want to go down the path where offer somebody technical and clinical training and then find out they're not the right person for the team. So that's what don amplify. What don just share is the personal girl. Do they have the drive? Do they have the work ethic? Do they have the energy? They can show up and say you have to have the energy to be able to give. Because as you are healthcare professional, if you don't have energy enough for yourself, how do you give to the patient? How do you give to your team? So those are the things that we're looking for. And then if that's all is there and the potential is there, we will need to invest the time in teaching the technical, the clinical. But from one practice to the other, especially in our wellness practice, our system and protocols are so different, so different, so different. So we don't really rely heavily on the experience because where they come from, Maine, we have to Retrain them all over. But the personal development piece, the energy, the attitude, the work ethic, all of that is showing us who we should invest the time in and who we should hire.

Right. And experience only takes you so far too, especially when you're coming in if you haven't worked in a wellness practice before, because you can have 10 years experience assisting. And I tell everyone this when I'm interviewing them. You come in here and you are going to have to have a learner's mindset and you are going to have to want to embrace those new things and to learn them and look at this as an opportunity. And if that's not something that you're interested in, this isn't going to be a good fit for you.

That's right. And I know Don just asked about this, like, what do you do in your personal life? Wellness for the candidate that interview for the job here. So I want to pass that question to you right now. What are you doing in your personal life to take care of your wellness?

Oh, that's a great question because you.

Not just have one job. And you know, it's just the introduction. Don is a team leader at the practice and very busy practice. And then she also teaching online and in person and she also coaching practices across the country. So. And she also have a young child. Family. Right, young family. So tell us how you practice wellness in your daily life.

Yes, that's a great question. I change it up and I'm still trying to find the system that works best. What I'm doing right now though is a good foundation, is I wake up every morning and I drink as much water as possible because I try to get to a gallon a day. You know, the struggle, the struggle is real. We don't reach that every day, but that is the goal. So I drink as much water as I can. I stretch, I do a 30 minute workout routine and then I'll sit down and have my coffee and I listen to something that's personal develop. We listen to the daily fire. Daily fire. Listen to Brenda's message. I'll journal and I will plan my day as early as possible so that I can really have a head start on getting here. So setting up my morning routine and having that consistency and doing those things to hydrate and to move my body and all of that really sets me up for success. Like I feel great throughout the day when I do that. And if I miss my morning routine or miss something in my morning routine, I can feel the difference. Makes a huge impact in my day. And then I also see a functional chiropractor who helps obviously with adjustments and things like that. And he also gives us supplements which help us to stay focused and have good energy and to support our bodies. Because with as much traveling and with all the workload that we have and being there for our family and all the things, it takes a toll on you. No matter how strong you are, it takes a toll on you. So having that person to support me with supplements and with adjustments and things like that has really helped as well.

And you also see a naturopath, right? Dr. Don?

And I do see a naturopath. I try to go once a quarter to get my blood drawn and I see Dr. Dahn and she'll tell me, okay, this looks good, I'm worried about this, let's run another test and things like that. So the more that you can do to build your health profile and to stay on top of it, the more long term success you're going to have because your body won't give out on you.

Perfect. Yeah. And she really does walk the talk because we many times run into our patients at our doctor office and so they know we walk the talk because we talk to them about take the time off to take care of our body and our physical body. And we do. Right. So just like you said, we cannot just keep tapping into it and then deplete all the sources and then we would end up the one to pay the price. And by the way, she know if she's out, it's going to take a lot longer to catch up back on what amount of work and amount of to do list and things that, you know, client is like would say rely on. So we want to make sure that you take care of your body because that's the responsibility. It's not just, oh, you're selfish or self care. It is a responsibility. It's a responsible thing to do to your family, to your team and to your clients. Right?

Absolutely.

Perfect. So go back to the question that everyone asking all the time. How do I get a don? If someone inspire and say, oh my God, I want to grow up and be like dawn, what do they have to do to be like Dawn? What activity, what ce, what training, what opportunity, what anything that they can do to get closer to that goal.

That's a great question. So one of the things that helped me a lot was going to CE about communication and things outside of dentistry and not just focusing on dental ce, But I get this question a lot when we're out and we're Training and we're teaching. How do I get someone like you? So I'm actually putting together a course.

Nice.

On what I do and how I do it and what my systems are and what I have found that works from aspects of, you know, managing a team and leading a team and creating a good office culture and a happy place for people to be, for them to want to come to work and to find their own joy. Because these people are humans. They have families, they have loved ones. And what we help them with helps them and their family. And they recognize that. Right. And that's one of the reasons that they. That they like to be here. But also, how do I work all of those jobs and how do I, you know, do all of those things without burning out, without going crazy and staying on top of all of that? So that's what I'm working on right now is putting all that together.

That is so exciting. Do you know a timeline when this is. Because people are going to be like, I want to be on that wait list when that score. Because even last year we had somebody already been asking and say, are you thinking about getting a course together to teach? So beside the course, is there anything else they can do right now? Can they involve in any organizations or doing anything that get them expanded knowledge, be able to implement that in their practice right away?

So they're definitely wellness training out there on our own website, of course. And then the certification that they can get through the IABDM to become a certified professional in whatever category that they fall in. And there's also the canva course that we have on the website. If you need help with marketing or creating things for the office, things like that. There's definitely stuff to get started, but I'm going to try and get it done by the end of the year. That's my goal.

Wow. Now it's out there. It's a public commitment now.

Yes.

Yes, it's out there. Before the end of this year, Don will have this course ready. And in the meantime, I can tell you, you are the certified biological team members.

Yes.

Yeah.

Yes, I am.

Yeah. She said that she's not assisting, but trust me, when we have team members out, Don would flip the room assisting suctions and do all that. And that's what the leader is about. You set example, you show you serve right. You sometimes eat last, talk last, speak last. Because you put your team first and you won your team to thrive. And you encourage people to go out there and do more than what they. Job description? Yes. Everyone on the team are being encouraged by dawn to do more because if the team is successful to grow, Dawn's job is a lot easier. And also she has more satisfaction in what she's doing.

Yeah. You have to trust your team. You have to trust the people.

That's a big ask.

It is. It's a huge ask. You know, you trust me with a lot of stuff. Yes, a lot of stuff. And it was hard for me even to let go of things and to, and to let team members like handle the AR and present big cases to patients because I was doing all of that and I'm a big control freak. I'm a huge one. You are right. And well known fact and letting that go and teaching them and training them and getting them to a place where they could do it on their own and feel confident about it. And me taking the stance of instead of like, okay, well I'm the only one who can do it saying, okay, I have to teach this person, person how to do it. I can't be the only one who knows how to do it and I want them to do it better than I do it.

That's right.

So that I feel good about walking away from it.

That's right. Awesome. So Don, how's the audience and our listener can get in touch with you.

So you can always email me anytime. I have, I don't know, six email accounts probably the email. Yeah. Dawntieto dds.com you can reach me anytime there or find me on social media. I'm very, I'm very easily found. I'm in, I'm tagged in most of her posts so.

And we will put her handle Instagram on the episode also so you can follow dawn and follow her journey and watch out for look out for her course by the end of this year.

Yes.

Thank you so much Dawn. Great conversation with you. It's so nice to have a sit down time and not just in the car or on the airplane talking about sharing what you'd been doing and what you been so wonderful to the team and to all our coaching clients and our members. So thank you so much.

Thank you for having me.

So please subscribe and listen to our future episode. We have so many wonderful guests coming on and everyone have a great day. Be well.

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