Is your team allergic to change? Do they sigh at every new idea you have? To start changing the way they react, keep listening to this episode! Kirk Behrendt brings back Courtney Dalton, one of ACT’s amazing coaches, to share three steps to get your team on board and excited for all of your future plans. To learn the most effective ways to get buy-in every single time, listen to Episode 817 of The Best Practices Show!
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Main Takeaways:
Quotes:
“When you talk about implementing change of any kind to your team — specifically those of us in the dental industry because we have certain personality types that might be a little bit more resistant to change — there's a way to do it so that it sticks and it gains traction and it gains excitement, and then there's a way to do it if you really want your idea to crash and burn. I like the first way better. I think that that's a much better way to do it.” (1:05—1:33) -Courtney
“If your team doesn't feel like they had a hand in the process, if they don't feel like they have a voice or a say, or even just the opportunity to be vulnerable and put their idea in the room, there's less likelihood that they're going to accept that idea, period. Our amazing coach, Jamie, shared with us this theory, and I share it with all of my teams. Alignment doesn't have to equal agreement. Meaning, we can all align around something, even if it wasn't my idea or your idea. As long as we had the opportunity to put your opinion into the room, put your thoughts into the room, you have to take that ownership as a team member to know that, ‘I shared my thoughts. I tried. I gave it my best, and my leaders or leader knows what's best for the practice. I'm going to align with their decision even if I don't agree with it, even if it wasn't mine.’ So, we have to get our team’s buy-in. We have to create an environment where they feel like they can share because that's what we really want, is to hear their thoughts and their ideas.” (2:28—3:31) -Courtney
“Start with why. Why are we doing this? Whatever the idea is, why? How can I contribute to it? How does the idea benefit me as a hygienist, or an assistant, or an administrator? How do I get some kind of benefit from this? Tell me why so I can understand where we're going with this. A lot of us in the dental world, I alluded to before, are heavy in two styles. I tell all my teams this, that for whatever reason, the majority of your team is going to end up in one slice of that DiSC pie chart, and it's in the S section. We also get a lot of C’s, myself included. We're a little bit more resistant to change. To get your S's and your C styles on your team to engage and to buy into your idea, they have to know why, period. They have to know why. You can't give them an idea and say, ‘Okay, go,’ if they don't know where we're going, or why, or how we're going to get there. Give them more. Give them why.” (4:07—5:07) -Courtney
“If you don't know why we're doing it and you just jump to the how — a lot of us do want to know how, even your S's and your C's. We can understand the idea, and we do want to know how we get there. But it's the why that has so much more power to it. I know all of our coaches would agree. We can't come in as a coach and start anything until your leaders tell you why we're even here. Why ACT? Why now? That's my favorite part of an annual planning session with a brand-new team, is seeing their leaders be vulnerable. Some get emotional, and some really open up to their teams and tell them why. It's in those moments where you can lower your guard and share where the team just really gets it. Any members on your team, if they are the right people in the right seats and you share with them, ‘Here's my why. Here's why I want to become less PPO dependent. Here's why I want to change my hours. Here's why we're going to implement a new periodontal protocol,’ if they get the why, the how is super easy and super clear for them to attach onto.” (6:21—7:36) -Courtney
“I love that phrase, right people, right seats. It just makes sense. Even if you're not in our ACT Dental world — which, you totally should be if you're not. But even if you're not, the right people in the right seats makes perfect sense. If your team shares your passion, and your values, and your purpose, and now your why, you could do anything. There is nothing that you can't present to your team. Now, the catch here is, listen to them. Take their thoughts, take their suggestions, listen to their hesitations or frustrations, and respond accordingly. That same team that we just talked about — before they were dropping their PPOs, their team was asking pretty loudly, ‘Pump the brakes. We're on board, but we're going a little too fast.’ Their leaders listened, and we dialed down. We did what was right for the team, and that made that transition so much better. So, I really think part of it is about creating a space for your team where they feel safe, where they feel like they can share their thoughts, and where they feel like they'll be heard — because if they're heard, they'll align even if they don't agree.” (12:52—14:06) -Courtney
“Ask a lot of questions. Keep a good pulse on your team on where they are. Lean into your check-ins. This is a great place to be checking in with your team individually to see what their hesitations are. ‘Are you on board? What can I do to make this clear for you?’ The more questions you can ask, the better. If they do not weigh in to the decision at hand, they won't buy in. No weigh-in, no buy-in.” (14:57—15:23) -Courtney
“Slow is smooth. We don't want to do anything for the sake of doing it. We want to do it right. So, when you're talking about changing your hours, dropping PPOs — whatever your decisions — bringing on a new technology, a new team member, a new skill, or new anything, we want it to go flawlessly so we're going to go slow. We're going to take our time. We're going to make sure the right systems are in place. We're going to make sure that we know the answers to 80%, that we're well-versed in the things that we want to say or explain. Slow is smooth, and smooth is fast. As a coach, we get a handful of clients, every now and then, who want to go fast. ‘This is not going fast enough for me.’ And I totally get it. We're going to go at the pace that we set, because if we go any faster, mistakes are made — probably careless ones that could have been avoided. So, I love that phrase. I introduce that to every client. Slow is smooth, and smooth is fast.” (16:48—17:50) -Courtney
“There are five stages [of change]. The first one, it's always awareness. I'm aware. The idea has been presented to me. I understand it's here. I understand what its purpose is. You are simply aware. When you move up the ladder to the next level, now you're at understanding where you get more of the why. You know what changes it will bring, and you know what implications will come with it. You have more of an understanding. You've had more time to sit and ask your questions and get a little bit more knowledge around it. The third stage is acceptance, where you've dug in, you've accepted that this change, whatever it may be, is going to happen. You're leaning into the facts that you know, the education, the knowledge that you have, and you've accepted that this is happening. We're dropping PPOs, we're changing our hours, we're buying a CEREC, whatever we're doing. I get it. I'm at that acceptance level. Then, you go to commitment, where you're starting to really believe in this idea. You've seen that the team is rallying. You've seen the patients are rallying. You're committed to it, you believe in it, and you're committed to the success of this idea. And that fourth stage gets you to advocacy, where you believe in it so much, you know that it works, and you know it's the best idea. You'll stand on a soapbox with your megaphone and tell every person that you can about how amazing this idea is to get others to start to grow on their stages of change with you. So, introducing these five stages to our teams has really, really given us a way to ask our doctors and ask our team members, ‘Where are you? Point on this chart for me. Where are you, so I can support you?’” (20:19—22:06) -Courtney
“Start with why. Tell your team why. Dive in. Get their buy-in. No weigh-in, no buy-in. Get their weigh-in, get their thoughts, and then check in with them. Ask them, ‘Where are you? How can I support you?’ The more connected you are to your team, the more successful your ideas and your practice will be, and the healthier your patients will be. So, all these ideas, when you piece them together, you can have the best practice. You can have the best people. It takes a leader to get there, and these are some steps in helping you become a really great leader.” (26:55—27:30) -Courtney
Snippets:
0:00 Introduction.
0:58 Why this is an important topic.
1:34 Alignment doesn't equal agreement.
4:00 Start with why.
9:41 How to get your team on board.
14:36 Ask open-ended questions.
16:27 Slow is smooth, and smooth is fast.
19:24 Stages of change, explained.
26:47 Final takeaways.
Courtney Dalton, BS, RDH Bio:
Courtney Dalton is a Lead Practice Coach who focuses on establishing a solid foundation in order for a practice to thrive. With over 15 years of experience in the dental industry, she is as passionate about patient care as she is about those who are providing it.