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Show Notes

Artificial harmony is what happens when teams work alongside each other day in and day out, but never actually talk about what needs to be said.

Kiera and Dana walk listeners through why getting to the root of problems in a practice is so critical — from not just a teamwork point of view, but for the business itself — as well as where to start to turn your practice into a place where honesty and trust happens regularly.

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Transcript:

Kiera (00:00)

Hello, Dental A Team listeners. This is Kiera and today’s a lucky day. I have the one and only Dana on the podcast with me. I love this. Dana, you happen to fit right in my podcasting schedule at the perfect time. So I’m getting more Dana time. You guys are getting more Dana time. Dana, how are you? Welcome to the podcast.

 

Dana (00:16)

excited to be here. I know it’s rare. Like it’s rare anymore that I get a ton of podcasting time, but especially podcasting time

 

Kiera (00:22)

Okay.

 

Dana (00:23)

with you. So I was super excited when Marisa confirmed it on my schedule. So

 

Kiera (00:27)

I was

 

too. I was because Marisa has them in like I like to start early and I like to just run. And so Dana tends to have a break between coaching calls that I’m able to like slip a podcast in. So always excited and I agree. Like Dana, we’ve had a we’ve had some good ones. And I wanted to get you on the podcast today because I feel like you’ve been doing some awesome things with teams. I feel like there’s been this new wave of Dana going into offices because I think as a consultant, our job is to reinvent ourselves over and over and over.

 

Like who Dana was when she first started versus who Dana is today. Like that is a complete evolution. Who Kiera was, who offices are, like there’s an evolution of that. And I think that this is the even the new evolution of team. I think the teams are shifting. I think that there’s a new emergence from like even when I started the company to when you started to when we are here today. and I think you’ve just been doing some awesome things. So let’s dive into like what are some of the fun things that we’re doing for teams? What are some of the ways that you’ve been able to turn teams around and get to maybe like, cause I feel like a lot of people struggle with

 

artificial harmony is probably the best way to say it where teams are working day in and day out where they’re not saying what needs to be said. And then I feel like Dana, when you and I get on calls or we show up in offices, instantly like the floodgates are open and we just get a dumping. And it’s like, okay, well, clearly there’s a lot you want to say, but how do we get that to be the norm in the practice rather than the abnormal? So Dana, take it away. Like, let’s talk about some of the offices you’ve been working with, how you’ve been able to like

 

Crack that nut and get more to the root cause of problems and get teams to really gel and jive with each other better than I think we ever have.

 

Dana (01:55)

Yeah, this is a really exciting topic because I think it comes up in like a variable of different ways in like, okay, people want to have stronger leadership, right? They want more accountability for their team. They want a cohesive team or a culture that people love and are super excited to show up to every day. And it’s funny because we might not think that this kind of all ties in together, but I’ve been talking so much to teams about just.

 

Saying the things that need to be said, communicating with each other, solving like root problems versus just

 

like you said, that artificial harmony.

 

Kiera (02:34)

Yeah.

 

Dana (02:35)

and I was just talking to an office actually this morning and and they’re kind of creating their quarterly meeting agenda. And they’re like, well, what do we do? And you know, we feel like the same people participate and the same issues kind of get brought up. And like we never kind of get beyond like that surface level. And so we kind of talked about how just having open, honest conversation about that and really building an and

 

Increasing team, I feel like it all kind of very like boils down to like team trust and like communicating and saying all the things that need to be said. And I said, could you have a great like if you don’t address this, could you have a decent meeting, right? Where you come up with good goals, you come up with good action items, you walk away feeling pretty good. Yeah. But when you don’t have that trust and vulnerability, and when you don’t open and have that communication, are your meetings great?

 

Probably not. Do we solve the things that need to be solved? Probably not. Do we solve them forever, right? And we’re all on the same page and we’re super committed and then we’re able to hold each other accountable? Probably not. And so I’ve been working a lot with a ton of teams, with leadership teams, even with owners on. We have to be able to say the things that need to be said to be able to truly.

 

Be committed together and truly set goals that are going to move your practice, move your team in the right direction the most.

 

Kiera (04:04)

Mm-hmm. And Dana, I love that you brought that up because I think, gosh, I’m like gonna like date myself and go back to like when Tiff and I first met. And I grew up in a family where artificial harmony was like status quo. Like I feel like there’s a a pendulum and you either are like artificial harmony or you’re like kind of like mean spirited and like a little cutthroat. Like kind of is the that pendulum swing.

 

And I grew up very much artificial harmony, right? Like we had like my siblings, we’d all run to my mom rather than like having a knockout drag out with each other. And as we’ve evolved when I met Tiff, she was very much an anti like no cure. We’re just like gonna go to the root cause of this, we’re gonna hash it out. And I it was very foreign and uncomfortable for me. But getting a taste of it, I was like, wow, that was so much more efficient. And that was so much easier. And I feel like I can know what’s going on with Tiffanie now.

 

I feel like I’m not sitting here, and especially with us being in a virtual team, it was my first time running a virtual team. And I was like, whoa, like I really need to know what’s going on rather than what I think. Like, there’s no vibe check. Like, Dana, you and I don’t get a vibe check with each other often. It’s like, hello, maybe there’s a little like snide slack comment that goes through, and you’re like, okay, like let’s check it. But that’s all you get. You don’t really get that vibe check. And once I feel like you you cross the bridge into trust and vulnerability, saying what needs to be said.

 

You can’t go back. Like you are so, I don’t think annoy’s the right word, but you’re just like, wow, there’s like such a more efficient way to do this. Even my sisters, I remember a couple summers ago, my little sister, she was like still sitting in artificial harmony. And like went for it. I was like, all right, let’s talk about it. I understand I can have a little bit more direct approach. I think I can maybe soften. And my little sister was like, no, like this is good. Like us having a hash, like, what’s your perspective? What’s my perspective? Like, let’s come to that root cause.

 

You

 

and I are gonna be so much more bonded together. We’ll have so much more trust with each other. I’m gonna know that what you tell me is really truth, rather than sitting here guessing, wondering, wishing, hoping like my mom doesn’t need to come in and intervene between us. Like neither of us want that. And I think you can relate that to offices where no one wants the office manager or the doctor to come and intervene. Like Dana and I should be able to talk it out. We don’t need Tiffanie to come in and mediate. Sometimes you do, but if you can get that as the status quo of a practice, it is fascinating to see meetings start actually become very enjoyable. People aren’t bored in these meetings anymore.

 

actually say what needs to be said. We like you said, Dana, I feel like it’s like it’s the good to great. It’s the like mediocre to excellent. And I think we’ve even watched it evolve in our consulting team. Like I was like, all right, we had a moment where I watched our consultants not give feedback that I I thought that they would have given. And it was such an amazing eye opening for me of like, all right, consultant team, like let’s talk like how do we get more trust and vulnerability? How do I as a leader make it to where this feels like a safe space for you to say what needs to be said and

 

We worked on it this quarter and it’s actually really fun to see it in our company evolve and in teams have it evolve. So, Dana, how do you like virtually and in person get teams to feel safe to start to change? Because to say what needs to be said, to healthy debate it out, to trust one another that you’re not gonna go talk about me to my neighbor. And if I say something that’s very off topic, like I always pull the example in an office, I’m like, all right, everybody, we’re working Saturdays, and it’s like crickets. And I’m like, okay, well, clearly we don’t have trust.

 

‘Cause I know none of you want to be working Saturdays. Like, let’s have this and this is a good example. But I’m just curious, like, how do you even like broach this? How do you even one, I guess, like let’s back it up. How do you know if your team has true trust and vulnerability? And then two, how do you start to bring more of that into the table?

 

Dana (07:32)

Yeah, I think it is just I usually take a gauge of okay.

 

I’ll notice in teams, right? That we’ll come up with action plans or that we’ll come up and it’s like we we lack sort of follow-through, right? And then there’s after conversations, or there’s like, well, I didn’t really do this because I had all these questions, or I didn’t. So like that is kind of a sign to me in my team meetings and in my meetings with teams that, like, okay, we’re not really saying the things that need to be said, or we’re not because we aren’t moving forward, right? We aren’t implementing, we aren’t getting to the point where, yeah, like we had this really great meeting, we came up with these actions.

 

Items, we’re super excited. We went and tackled them, right? So

 

Kiera (08:12)

Mm-hmm.

 

Dana (08:13)

when I have a team that kind of struggles to do those things, or they’re constantly like, well, we started and it fell off, or we did like to me, that is a sign of we aren’t getting to the bottom of things, we aren’t getting people committed, we aren’t getting people bought in, so things aren’t being said. So just like you said, that crickets where like that work on Saturday.

 

kind of conversation, then I just start to ask questions. And I think where it gets to kind of be an eye-opening point is so many times people

 

feel like I had in an in a virtual team meeting, a team member’s like, well, you know, I don’t say the ideas I have or I don’t say the issues because I don’t feel like as a team member I have like the authority to, right? So then it’s just looking. So then I looked at the doctor and I said, okay, do you want to know the things that are frustrating your team? Do you want to know the things that are stressing them out? Do you want to know where they feel like things are?

 

in inefficient. And of course the answer was absolutely yes. Like I don’t

 

Kiera (09:10)

Uh-huh.

 

Dana (09:10)

want my team members beating their heads against the wall on the same things if we can come to a team meeting and we can solve it together.

 

And then on the flip side, I’ve had the conversations of when it comes to like leadership holding back or owners holding back on the things that they want to say. It’s truly asking the team like, do you want to know what the expectations of you are? Do you want to know if you’re doing something that frustrates an owner or stresses them out? Or do you want to know that you are aligned? And every time, right, everybody is like, yes, yes, I do.

 

Kiera (09:41)

Yeah.

 

Dana (09:42)

Then it is giving them the tools, right, to

 

Kiera (09:44)

Mm-hmm.

 

Dana (09:45)

be able to create that with themselves.

 

And for them to really realize that it comes from there is a lack of trust or a lack of vulnerability on one side, both sides. And like, is it between leaders and teams? Is it between team members and team members? Is

 

Kiera (10:02)

And you

 

Dana (10:02)

it and it can always be strengthened and it can always be improved? But I think just getting to like, hey, this is an issue and let’s talk about it.

 

Kiera (10:12)

Absolutely. And I think Dana, you you brought up a lot of highlights of like they’re not following through on their accountability. People are like, I want an accountable team. And if you go to like Patrick Lenciani’s Five Dysfunctions of a Team, which is where a lot of this is pulled from, like bottom layer of that triangle is trust and vulnerability. Then it’s healthy debate, then it’s commitment, then it is peer-to-peer accountability, and then it’s winning and hitting results. So when I think about that, it’s like if people are not being committed, it’s because they didn’t hash it. So they’re like,

 

I don’t want to do that. And what happens is you get the side hallway conversations of like, Dana, I’m not doing that. Are you doing that? Like, there’s absolutely no way. We’re trying to cut those side hallway conversations. And that’s where we tell teams. I tell all teams, I’m like, here’s a safe space. Like, you guys get to say whatever you want to say. I don’t care what it is. It’s always with respect, it’s with professionalism, and it’s in the best interest of the practice. Not Dana’s best interest, not Kiera’s best interest. We have different perspectives. Let’s bring them to the table. But all of us are here to make Dental A Team or

 

Whatever your practice’s name is, it we’re here to make it better. So as long as like those are ground rules. But I tell everyone like you have an open voice, you have an open space. And if you choose not to say it today, well, bummer, you committed to this. So you’re gonna commit, you’re gonna follow through because that’s who we all are and that’s how this team operates. But next meeting, when you’re like, Dana, I don’t wanna do this, we talk about it. And also as coworkers, if we hear someone saying I don’t want to do that, you say like, hey, dang it, like I hear you. Next time bring it up because like we all committed.

 

That’s how you’re going to fix. And like people have to get on the same page and it gets awkward. But I’m like, if you can get 1% better every meeting, team members get very bought in. Team members then start to realize like, like I tell people, if you’re not having a little bit of spicy fireworks in your meetings, you don’t have enough trust and vulnerability. There should be some spice. There should be some fireworks. It’s not like yelling, it’s not like Dana and I are going at it. It’s a Dana, like, let’s talk Saturdays, right?

 

Dana’s

 

like, all right, cool. So we want to work Saturdays. I don’t want to work Mondays and Tuesdays. Like, let’s talk about why we want to work Saturdays, why we don’t want to work Saturdays, what’s really like ultimately in the best interest of the business. I’m like, cool. Could Dana and I get to a point where if Saturdays really are a great practice, like practice plan, we don’t necessarily have to work it. Like, that doesn’t mean Dana and I have to go work it. Like, could we go find hygienists that want to work Saturdays? Like, yes. So instead of having teams shut it down, it’s a let’s.

 

Let’s innovate, let’s create, let’s figure out what’s in the best interest of the business. But all of us need to have a voice and then all of us commit. And then that’s where I love the peer-to-peer accountability. Instead of it’s leadership accountability, it’s peer-to-peer. So if Dana’s like hearing me talk, smacking those sterilization, she’s supposed to call me out. And I think teams building up to this, teams realizing that this is normal. What’s fascinating, I will say this for myself, it actually improved my marriage, it improved my family relationships, it improved so many things because I realize.

 

that that’s healthy. Like that’s actually a healthy culture. That’s that is a harmonious whole culture, even though you’re like, whoa, that doesn’t feel like it, versus the ones that are sitting there silently. And when Jason and I started getting more into this, I’m like, tell me. Like I remember sitting there and I was like, I love having a good spice even with Jason. I love to be like, tell me what you think. What do I think? Like let’s get to that. And I recognize some people like myself can be a bit more bold. and so I think the bold personalities need to recognize that some of the quieter personalities

 

give them a space to also speak up and quieter personalities, we need your voice. We need your perspective. Like it it’s not you, it’s just your perspective. So we can all get on the same page. But it’s it’s fascinating to watch the churn. And what I see is team members are going to rise up and some are going to rise out. They’re going to be like, this isn’t for me. I want to go back to the place of artificial harmony. But leaders when they start to see this is how this is how teams solve their own problems. This is how meetings become effective. This is how your business starts to actually like move, make traction.

 

evolve. Like you start to actually have functioning and and teams that don’t turn over because they actually say what needs to be said and they’re not sitting in that artificial harmony. Dana, what are your thoughts on that?

 

Dana (14:05)

Yeah, I I agree with you and I love there are gonna be team members that can come in and they can really take this on and they can embrace it. And then there’s gonna be team members who use it like they put their just their big toe in it. And I just did this recently in in person with an office and it was an office where they like really wanted it. They were like, Yes, we know that we need it, we need to say the things. but it was really scary for them because they

 

cared about each other and so they never wanted to, you know, that fear of like, well, are they gonna hear my intention? Are they going to understand that like I’m saying it because it’s for the good, right?

 

Kiera (14:39)

Mm-hmm.

 

Dana (14:40)

So what we did, and this was really cool and really helpful, and they’ve had so many of these conversations since I was in there, and I can’t tell you how proud of them I am. We basically came up with a code word, and the code word is I’m saying something that is uncomfortable for me to say because I anticipate that maybe it’s going to feel negative, maybe it’s going to

 

feel abrasive, right? But my intention is if I say this thing, then we can solve it together and we can move on, right? Those so like that is the

 

framing behind this code

 

Kiera (15:16)

Yeah, uh-huh.

 

Dana (15:16)

word, right? And for them, they picked something that makes them laugh. So they just it’s a flat tire conversation, right?

 

Kiera (15:21)

Yeah.

 

Dana (15:22)

And so they always say like, hey, flat tire, and then say the thing, right? And that’s just their way

 

Kiera (15:27)

Mm.

 

Dana (15:28)

of really just making them comfortable with this whole philosophy of we’re going to say the things that need to be said. We’re going to do it kindly and professionally. But it was kind of like their little lean in tool that

 

Kiera (15:38)

I love it.

 

Dana (15:39)

they use. Now I said we can’t ever use flat tire of a like, hey, I was supposed to do

 

This, but flat tire, I didn’t, right? We can’t use it to get out of accountability for things, but it really is just to set the tone of I’m gonna say a thing that I’m scared to say that’s hard to say, but I hope if I say it, we can grow together, right?

 

Kiera (15:57)

I love that.

 

Dana (15:58)

And so I love that as a tool, and I find myself kind of using it in a few offices since then, and they can pick their own word, it doesn’t have to be flat tire, but you’re right, this is hard for some team members to really get on board with because I do think that.

 

When they genuinely like each other as humans, this can be uncomfortable at first. So even using a tool like that, hey, we’re not gonna not have the conversations or not say

 

Kiera (16:22)

Uh-huh.

 

Dana (16:22)

the thing, but maybe I need a crutch to get there.

 

Kiera (16:25)

Yes.

 

Well, and Dana, I love that because I think I think most teams actually love each other and most teams want to work together. Most teams respect each other. And I think if we can even reframe that to me having the conversation with you, like let’s go to the book Raving Fans. They said the worst thing that can happen to a business is for people to leave and not tell you. And you might feel like someone telling you and giving you feedback, like that’s actually the best thing that can happen to a business because that means they believe in you that you’re willing to change.

 

And so I think if we even reframe of the way I really love my team, the way I really support my coworkers, the way I really show them that I trust them is by having these types of conversations. Me not saying anything actually like is a disservice. None of us, like I ask every team, I’m like, how many of you enjoy like walking on eggshells around team members? Like we all know what that feels like. We all know when someone’s like upset with us, but we don’t know how to have that conversation. We’re like, what did I do to this person? Versus someone where it’s like,

 

Dana, like I feel like things are a little off. Like flat tire. Like, can we have a conversation about this so we can solve it together? That shows so much more camaraderie. That shows so much more professionalism. That shows so much more, like to me, that’s a maturity of a team. There’s like, I feel like it’s like layers, right? Baby teams,

 

Dana (17:36)

Mm-hmm. Yeah.

 

Kiera (17:37)

toddler teams, middle school teams, high school teams, college teams. Then you get into professional services like teams. Like you just think about like,

 

Even

 

think about the type of communication all those different layers are going to have with each other. And maybe that’s also a way for us to graduate into those different layers of communication with each other. But I will tell you, as someone, and I think that that’s something I’m very proud of, is I am a very like people pleaser. I love people like me. I’m very much sit on that artificial harmony. And sometimes, like even with Britt, like my hair, I’ll like push it up and I’m like, all right, Britt, this is a moment where I’m really stressed. Like I need to say something to you. And I’m like,

 

Every ounce of me wants to say it, but I don’t want it to ever land wrong. So just know, like right now, like this is me like pep talking myself to go into this combo. And I appreciate that Britt will giggle because she knows like it’s so hard for me, but I just need to say what needs to be said. And I think for teams, like this is a muscle and a skill that’s really going to take you from where you are to where you ultimately want to go. Like this is that bridge. And you can either sit on one side of the river or you can dip your toe in, you can step on the bridge, you can start having the conversations.

 

And what’s wild is your team culture will start to shift and evolve in ways you’ve never imagined and you’ll never look back. Like it’s not like you might have some knockout, drag outs, but you’re like, you what, I’d rather know than like not know. And you start to get into this where it’s like, cool, let’s have a conversation. Like you said, tell us about the flat tire office. How long has it been? What’s kind of been their experience, highs and lows, and where are they today?

 

Dana (19:07)

Yeah, yeah. So this it we did this more recently in an in-person. It was probably like three months ago. And

 

Kiera (19:14)

Mm-hmm.

 

Dana (19:15)

they’ve had, I think, teammate to teammate conversations. They’ve had leadership to team member conversations, and they’ve had team member two leadership conversations since then. And I can tell you, like they are more committed, they are tracking things, they are, you know, they’ve got a board where things are like red and green. We did it for just like a visual for them. There is more green.

 

On the board since then than I’ve ever seen, because they truly, truly are using morning huddles to like work through things and just communicating at a level that I’m so proud because I they really, really struggled with this. And I wasn’t they were committed, right? But I had seen them fall off in commitment before because they did struggle with this. And so watching them really be able to

 

Take it on, use that. And two, the last call that I had with them, just feedback in like, hey, I had a flat tire conversation and I didn’t even have to take say flat tire, right? Like I didn’t

 

Kiera (20:15)

Yeah.

 

Dana (20:15)

even have to use that crutch. I’m getting so comfortable with having conversations that I didn’t even have to use our funny word. And you know, they did laugh because it was like after the fact we were like, flat tire, right? but

 

Kiera (20:27)

Ha ha ha

 

Dana (20:28)

the fact that like they could just go in and say it in a meeting, right? Say it

 

Kiera (20:32)

Mm-hmm.

 

Dana (20:32)

in a not even in a one-on-one space, like this happened in a team.

 

meeting where they were talking about things, it honestly and truly has made such a difference in their ability to work together and honestly and truly commit and then hit their goals, right? And

 

Kiera (20:49)

Yeah, uh-huh.

 

Dana (20:50)

actually hit their action items. And it’s been really fun to see how proud of themselves they are too.

 

Kiera (20:56)

That’s incredible. And I hope I don’t know if you guys heard. I heard. I was watching Dana’s face and hearing you’re like, they were committed. Like you even like the little like trying to like, they were committed. And to me, that’s not committed. Versus on this latter half when you’re like, they commit and they hit, there is like a stalwartness. There’s a solid, there’s a grounded of are we like committed? Like, like we’re there, but we’re not, versus like, we know we’re gonna have the conversations, whatever we say we’re going to actually achieve as a team. Do you know how much teams love to win and actually like

 

Be confident they’re going to win, be confident that the goals we set are realistic, to challenge each other and to see a team like Dana, that was three months of a change in an evolution. And I think that’s fun. And it now just becomes a standard, it becomes a baseline. You gave them the tools to get there. And I think having a consultant, see that, give your team the tools. I mean, Dana, kudos. I’m definitely gonna take that because I think having the like word of how do I go into this conversation and making it funny that they all agree to my husband, I have the word Arkansas, and that’s like if I want him to tell me the truth.

 

And I feel like he’s like kind of like, hmm, not I’m like Arkansas. And he’s no, no, Arkansas. Like, this is really what I’m trying to say. And I’m like, okay, great. Like sometimes we all need to just have that where we can we can check in with each other. And I think kudos to you, Dana, for doing that. And to get a team to just rally and to hit great goals and to be committed. And what’s wild is this team, like I guarantee you, they’ve got the base foundation, just like Patrick, Patrick Lanzioni says, it’s the trust and vulnerability, the healthy debate, and you lock in and commit.

 

And if you will do the trust and vulnerability where you healthy debate, your team will actually commit and then they hold each other accountable. It’s like, no, we committed to this. Like we’re all in it to win it. And then you hit your results. And people want to do it the reverse order. They want to hit the results, but they don’t want to talk about the trust. And like Dana said, like we can like, we can kind of hit results, but we’re not like so grounded and solid that we know we’re gonna do it. So Dana, huge kudos to you. I think mad kudos of you giving that space and giving them the space to trust. And I think for other offices, if you’re struggling with that or your team’s not quite there.

 

This is what we’re really good at is peeling back those onion layers, helping to open up the conversations. Because yes, you come to us for wanting systems and you want case acceptance, you want morning huddle and you want to drive your production. But a lot of times the secret to that bridge is getting your team to actually communicate with each other, getting your team to trust each other, getting your team to be solely locked in and committed to what we actually say rather than like half-heartedly trying to do it because they want to please you. Let’s get people who are actually like very committed and this is their practice that they stamp off on.

 

And they own. So reach out He***@************am.com. Dana, I’m so freaking proud of you. Any last thoughts you’ve got before we wrap today?

 

Dana (23:28)

No, I think just when you want this for your team, be willing to do it yourself. owners, dentists, right? And and just it is hard, right? It can be hard to say the things, but know that when we can say the things, the traction that we can have and the movement that we can have is unimaginable.

 

Kiera (23:47)

Dana, that is like a solid mic drop. You’re right. Like it starts with leaders first. You’ve got to be willing to do it. You can’t be backbiting. You can’t be gossiping behind the scenes. You can’t be walking out of a meeting saying, I’m not doing that. You set that example. Dana, love podcasting with you. I adore you. I’m so proud of you. For all of you listening, commit. Like, let’s let’s get our teams to be functional. Let’s get them to be rocking. Let’s get them to be totally committed. And this is the first step. So try it or reach He***@************am.com. As always, thanks for listening. And I’ll catch you next time on the Dental A Team Podcast.