Skip to content
Back to Blog

699: The 3 Secrets of Every High-Performing Team – Heather Crockett

Do you dream of having a high-performing team? You can make it happen with a few changes in your thinking. Kirk Behrendt brings back Heather Crockett, one of ACT’s amazing coaches, to share the three essentials for creating a great team and practice. A great team starts with great leadership! To learn the secrets of every high-performing team, listen to Episode 699 of The Best Practices Show!

Learn More About Heather:

Learn More About ACT Dental:

More Helpful Links for a Better Practice & A Better Life:

Main Takeaways:

  • Get the right people in the right seats.
  • Have well-documented systems in place.
  • Set clear goals, roles, and responsibilities.
  • Clearly define and document your core values.
  • Communicate consistently and frequently to be aligned.

Quotes:

“The very first secret is to get aligned. This alignment piece is so crucial and so important. We talk a lot about being aligned here at ACT, and part of it is defining your vision. What is it that you want for your patients? What is it that you want for your practice? What is it that you want for your team? What is it that you want for yourself as the practice owner — defining your vision, putting words to it, and documenting it.” (4:11—4:35) -Heather

“You have to define and document your core values. That is a huge process, but it is really important. Nothing is more important than your values. You also need to put together your core purpose. Why does the practice exist? Why do you do what you do? And then, you have to really define what it is that you're hoping to achieve. What kind of outcomes do you want this year? What goals will help you to achieve those outcomes and the targets that are associated with that? . . . Once you do that groundwork and the foundational work, then you can take it to your team and get everybody completely aligned on the direction of where it is that you're going, and then we'll put a plan in place for how to get there with your outcomes and your goals.” (4:42—5:27) -Heather

“Alignment and agreement are not the same things. They're not even close. You and I, if we work together, don't have to agree. We actually can disagree. But we do have to be aligned because any crack in alignment between you and I, if we're leaders here, blinds everyone else.” (5:37—5:53) -Kirk

“You might be thinking, ‘Well, I don't have time to get aligned.’ You don't have time not to get aligned! It's like being married or having a significant other or somebody in your life saying, ‘We don't have time for date night.’ Let's not do that . . . Alignment is a great investment for the future health of your business because you can get a lot done just by being on the same page.” (7:36—8:00) -Kirk

“[When you get aligned], you are more proactive than you are reactive. You're going to solve issues and problems before they even happen the more you're aligned, the more you have a leadership meeting, the more you have those alignment meetings with those on your leadership team, or if there's more than one practice owner. I coach plenty of clients where there are more than two doctors/practice owners within the practice and within the organization. If they don't spend time meeting on a weekly or biweekly basis, then a lot of things go awry and wrong. So, I absolutely agree with you, Kirk, that you can't not meet. You can't not have those alignment meetings. That communication is key to consistency, to be effective, and more productive with your time.” (8:02—8:45) -Heather

“Think about this. If you're working with anybody who you're not aligned with, every time you talk to them, it's a waste of time. Like, we're not getting anything done. We're just prolonging the inevitable, which is, ‘This is not going to work long term.’” (8:46—8:58) -Kirk

“Once you get aligned, then you have to communicate that alignment, your vision, and the core values consistently and frequently. You have to keep your alignment alive.” (9:35—9:44) -Heather

“Secret number two is smart . . .  Smart is, you're going to make sure that you are implementing organization, accountability, and the best practices. You're going to track specific metrics. You're going to be sure that everything that you do in this smart piece totally points you in the direction of your align piece. So, everything in your vision, what you do with the smart, helps point you in the direction of your core values, points you in the direction of your outcomes and your goals. That's what the smart piece truly is, getting those systems down. So, we talk a lot about how Starbucks is a well-oiled machine and how they're able to pay part-time employees and give them benefits that full-time team members do as well. That's because they're smart. They have really great systems in place. So, if they have team member turnover, they can come right back in and pick up where they left off because they have crazy good documented systems. So, that's where the smart piece comes in.” (9:50—11:02) -Heather

“Another thing to consider when it comes to smart is, what are we building? So, let's go back to the aligned piece. Where do I want to go? Why did I create this practice? And then, the smart is the actual business plan, the accountability, the details, the disciplines, and the best practices that go with that.” (11:24—11:41) -Kirk

“You definitely want to get paid more for your time, and working weekends and evenings to serve a practice that writes off almost 50%, that is not smart. That's not why you went into this. There's a fire in your belly, in your heart, about why you did this, and that fire goes out when you're doing it not smart — like you're working evenings and weekends, and you look at your bank account and you go, ‘There's no money in here. Yet, costs are rising,’ and all that.” (12:09—12:43) -Kirk

“We recommend that every single team have a weekly team meeting. What is it that you're going to do during that weekly team meeting? We take those priorities for that 90-day cycle, and we break it down into 13 weeks. You're going to meet and you're going to sit down as a team for 13 weeks, ‘This is what you're going to do this week. This is what you're going to do next week. This is what you're going to do the next week,’ and you'll find that you're going to start accomplishing those small milestones, and it happens every quarter.” (13:58—14:21) -Heather

“Secret number three is healthy. Now, this one is loaded. Healthy is really making sure that you put the right people in the right seats so that you have a really cohesive culture. Well, here's the thing, and we've talked about this before in previous podcasts. The right people, those are the team members that fit your core values. You love being around them. There are no pet peeves happening or going on. And then, in the right seat, it means that that individual, every single individual, is doing what they do best. They're in their unique ability. They really shine and they get the results that the practice needs.” (15:49—16:22) -Heather

“Eighty percent of your frustration comes from the Function Accountability Chart because the majority of you haven't even documented it yet and you haven't explained your expectations out loud. You haven't used your out-loud voice yet when you're talking to your team members about what it is that you expect from them. And I will tell you right now, if you're holding back because you don't want to hurt their feelings, that is totally the wrong way to think. Team members now, they crave that. They want to know exactly what's expected of them, down to a daily task list. When they know that and that clarity is there, it's awesome.” (22:03—22:40) -Heather

“I can't remember where I heard it, but communication is culture. So, however much you're communicating within your practice is really going to show how much culture there is and what your culture looks like.” (26:25—26:34) -Heather

Snippets:

0:00 Introduction.

2:15 Why this is an important topic.

4:05 Secret #1) Get aligned.

9:48 Secret #2) Be smart.

15:34 Secret #3) Be healthy.

16:41 The Function Accountability Chart, explained.

26:19 Final takeaways.

Heather Crockett Bio:

Heather Crockett is a Lead Practice Coach who finds joy in not only improving practices but improving the lives of those she coaches as well. With over 20 years of combined experience in assisting, office management, and clinical dental hygiene, her awareness supports many aspects of the practice setting.

Heather received her dental hygiene degree from the Utah College of Dental Hygiene in 2008. Networking in the dental community comes easy to her, and she loves to connect with like-minded colleagues on social media. Heather enjoys both attending and presenting continuing education to expand her knowledge and learn from her friends and colleagues.

She enjoys hanging out with her husband, three sons, and their dog, Moki, scrolling through social media, watching football, and traveling. 
Kirk Behrendt

Kirk Behrendt

Kirk Behrendt is a renowned consultant and speaker in the dental industry, known for his expertise in helping dentists create better practices and better lives. With over 30 years of experience in the field, Kirk has dedicated his professional life to optimizing the best systems and practices in dentistry. Kirk has been a featured speaker at every major dental meeting in the United States. His company, ACT Dental, has consistently been ranked as one of the top dental consultants in Dentistry Today's annual rankings for the past 10 years. In addition, ACT Dental was named one of the fastest-growing companies in the United States by Inc Magazine, appearing on their Inc 5000 list. Kirk's motivational skills are widely recognized in the dental industry. Dr. Peter Dawson of The Dawson Academy has referred to Kirk as "THE best motivator I have ever heard." Kirk has also assembled a trusted team of advisor experts who work with dentists to customize individual solutions that meet their unique needs. When he's not motivating dentists and their teams, Kirk enjoys coaching his children's sports teams and spending time with his amazing wife, Sarah, and their four children, Kinzie, Lily, Zoe, and Bo.

    Subscribe to our newsletter