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This week on the Practicing with the Masters <\/em>podcast, my special guest is Katherine Eitel. Katherine is the creator of the Lioness Principle, who\u00a0has 25 years of experience as a personal performance coach. Katherine works to help individuals, speakers, trainers, as well as dental and healthcare practitioners achieve extraordinary results in their lives, leadership and practice.<\/p>\n Katherine\u2019s revolutionary training company, Lioness Learning, strives to help professionals access and harness the tools for\u00a0intuitive leadership, instinctive greatness and phenomenal non-scripted communication skills. She\u00a0specializes in teaching leaders and their teams to craft their own mission statements and recognize and create their own environment for success. Katherine also leads the Lion Camp Leadership experience at the San Diego Wild Animal Park, which has become one of the premier Team Retreat experiences for progressive work teams nationwide.<\/p>\n Today, we learn how to inspire and lead our teams to embody our mission for our practices, while recognizing that we can only lead others to the degree we lead ourselves. Katherine explains the importance of ensuring our hiring process and that\u00a0our expectations for our teams are clear to ourselves and our team. Good employees don\u2019t care that the bar is set high.\u00a0They simply want to know where it is and that you aren’t trying to change them\u00a0and are\u00a0clear on what you need, without judgment. To the very last minute,\u00a0this episode is full of easy-to-follow leadership steps for\u00a0creating the practice and life that you have always dreamed of.<\/p>\n Welcome to Practicing with the Masters<\/em> for dentists with your host, Dr. Allison Watts. Allison believes that there are four pillars for a successful, fulfilling dental practice: clear leadership, sound business principles, well-developed communication skills, and clinical excellence. Allison enjoys helping dentists and teams excel in all of these areas. Each episode she brings you an inspiring conversation with another leading expert. If you desire to learn and grow and in the process take your practice to the next level, then this is the show for you. Now, here\u2019s your host, Dr. Allison Watts.<\/p>\n Allison:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Welcome to Practicing with the Masters<\/em> podcast. I\u2019m your host, Allison Watts, and I\u2019m dedicated to bringing you masters in the field of dentistry, leadership, and practice management to help you have a more fulfilling and successful practice and life.<\/p>\n Katherine, I really appreciate you being here. I know you haven\u2019t been feeling well and I\u2019ve been so excited to have you and I appreciate you coming. Anybody that has heard you before is excited to hear you and anybody that hasn\u2019t heard you is in for a real treat. If you don\u2019t know Katherine, she\u2019s the creator of the Lioness Principle. She has 25 years of experience as a personal performance coach, helping individual speakers, trainers, as well as dental and health care practitioners achieve extraordinary results.<\/p>\n Her revolutionary training company, Lioness Learning, helps professionals access and harness intuitive leadership, instinctive greatness, and phenomenal non-scripted communication skills. The Lion Camp Leadership experience at the San Diego Wild Animal Park has become one of the premier team retreat experiences for progressive work teams nationwide. You can sign up for Katherine\u2019s weekly newsletter and inspirational message on her website. I know you guys have her information because I sent it to you.<\/p>\n Katherine, we are thrilled to hear you tonight. I know you and I already talked about what we were going to talk about today a little bit. I\u2019m really thrilled, it\u2019s one of my favorite things. But if you want to just kind of start us out by telling us a little bit about the Lioness Leadership and how it\u2019s different from other approaches, that would be great.<\/p>\n Katherine:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Okay, good, well, I\u2019ve always addressed the leadership issue with dental teams and work teams in the healthcare industry but it never really had a distinction, and certainly not the title of Lioness Leadership until I found the Lioness Principle. I did that sort of accidentally. I had been asked to put together a course that you\u2019ve attended, Allison, which is a course for people who are trainers, or want to be trainers, and it\u2019s to help them, teach them material in a more interactive and more productive way.<\/p>\n I was looking for a story that would kick that workshop off, and I ran across \u2026 my son was actually watching a Discovery Channel program about how lionesses teach their cubs to hunt, and how they teach them that skill. In this program, scientists had identified seven steps that the lioness took her cubs through pretty predictably in a really short amount of time, really small window of time, and in a very, as we know, hostile environment.<\/p>\n It occurred to me, watching that, that those steps were actually the perfect analogy for how \u2026 at the time it occurred to me that it was the perfect analogy for how great teachers teach others. But what it has grown into, and what I have discovered about it, is that it\u2019s actually also the perfect analogy for how great leaders lead because great leaders are almost always great teachers. At some juncture, those roads cross usually.<\/p>\n So it has taken on a life of its own. And I\u2019ll tell you what it is at the core. At the core of that story, the cubs, it\u2019s evident, actually were already born with the instinct to hunt. So in fact, she\u2019s not really teaching them that skill, though that\u2019s what it looks like she\u2019s doing, and probably what she thinks she\u2019s doing. But in truth, what she\u2019s really doing is creating an environment where she can have all the right components that actually teases out of those cubs what they already know, and shows it to them.<\/p>\n I believe that\u2019s exactly what we do as leaders. Our job is not to necessarily have all these perfect answers or a perfect leadership system. In my own efforts to be a good leader in my company and in my family and in my community, I have discovered that it truly isn\u2019t something that we\u2019re doing as much as who we are becoming. That\u2019s what helps us become better leaders, who we are becoming personally. Because I believe we can lead others to the degree that we can lead ourselves.<\/p>\n In other words, if you can\u2019t inspire yourself on a bad day, or when you\u2019ve lost a big client, or the economy has taken a dive, or something tragic has happened, or you\u2019ve received bad news, or someone has quit unexpectedly or wronged you, or whatever it is\u2014if you don\u2019t have the ability to reframe that, retool that, and lead yourself out of that to a better place, then you will not have the ability to do that with others. That\u2019s my belief. It\u2019s really personal growth, is where it originates. And to the degree that we\u2019ve grown personally, I think it is definitely commensurate with our ability to lead others to some sort of a vision or some accomplishment of a goal.<\/p>\n That\u2019s really where the Lioness Principle fits in. It assumes and sort of asserts, if you will, that the people that are looking to us for leadership, and ourselves also, have intuitive wisdom, intuition, have intuitive greatness, internal greatness, that I think often goes untapped. I think we have, just as humans, and definitely as Americans, I think we have forgotten how much natural intuitiveness we have and I think we have a workforce that wants and needs, they think, to be told what to do, and how to do it, instead of how to think and how to be.<\/p>\n That\u2019s where the Lioness Principle comes in. How do we help ourselves to do that more? Then, by example, and by asking the right questions, communicating in the right way, how do we help other people tap into their own greatness and bring that in and play a bigger game at the office and really in life in general. That\u2019s really the difference I think. It\u2019s not a list of things that you need to do as a leader, it\u2019s more of some ideas about how we want to be. And what we want to become.<\/p>\n Allison:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 It sounds like also creating a learning environment.<\/p>\n Katherine:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Definitely.<\/p>\n Allison:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 A learning environment, having the tools available, and I\u2019m curious what goes into that, creating that \u201chow to be\u201d thing.<\/p>\n Katherine:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Well, here\u2019s the thing, I think people want two things from us as leaders. They want clarity about what it is we want from them, what it is we need from them, what we\u2019re expecting, what we\u2019re hoping for and what we\u2019re looking for. They need clarity. Then, coupled with that, they need to be inspired. Or, they want to be inspired, and I think they do better when they are inspired.<\/p>\n A good example, I tell this story in my leadership speech, it\u2019s one of the first stories I tell there and I\u2019m going to tell it just in a straight method. When I tell the story in the speech, it\u2019s actually in third party, and I reveal that it\u2019s actually me I\u2019m talking about at the end of the story.<\/p>\n I\u2019ll just start out the story by telling you that the girl in the story is definitely me. It was one of my very first jobs. I took a job in college as a dental assistant, and so I was young. I was 20 years old or so, and the gentleman that I went to work for, he was a general dentist. I don\u2019t remember if he had been extremely clear with me about a vision for the practice or anything like that. But I think I had been given pretty clear instructions on my job.<\/p>\n I had worked there for a few months, and I remember one day, he had come back from\u2014he had gone to the Pankey Institute\u2014so this is 30 years ago, or plus. Back then, he came back with all of this new knowledge of implants and bonded restorations and a little bit about all-porcelain restorations, all of that stuff was very new on the scene at that time. He was super excited. A few weeks after he had been back, we had the first full-mouth reconstruction case he had diagnosed and had accepted. We were getting ready to start that case this morning, and we did.<\/p>\n We\u2019re rocking along in the morning, and he\u2019s prepping, and I\u2019m suctioning away, and more than an hour has gone by. My mind is wondering, my mind is drifting, and at some point, something happened in the procedure where he needed an instrument that I did not have on the tray. So he waited, because he assumed that I was seeing the same thing he was, tracking with him, which I was not.<\/p>\n I don\u2019t even know what he\u2019s doing, or even register that this is happening. He finally makes a motion to me and I don\u2019t understand the motion. I look him kind of puzzled, and my mind is off on what 20-year-olds think about: if I can get my paycheck in the bank at lunch, or I have a date that weekend or whatever.<\/p>\n Finally out of frustration, he says something to me, which of course I then jump to, but of course the patient also hears as well. He leans back, \u201cIt\u2019s not on the tray.\u201d I jump up, I run to sterilization, nobody can find it. He told me years later, \u201cI could hear cupboards slamming and drawers opening and people scurrying.\u201d He said, finally, I came back breathlessly, slid into my chair, and handed him the instrument and kind of grinned a sheepish grin, and we went on, we went on working.<\/p>\n He made a decision then. I didn\u2019t know it, but he had made a leadership decision. At the end of the day or toward the end of the day, he said, \u201cBefore you go home, could I just steal a couple minutes of your time? I just want to talk to you privately.\u201d And I knew, or I was pretty sure, that it would be about my lackluster performance that day. He brought me into the consultation room after everyone had gone home. When I walked into the room, he had this huge smile on his face, which was not at all what I was expecting.<\/p>\n He said, \u201cHave a seat. I appreciate you staying for a few minutes. I just wanted to tell you that I think you are a remarkable young woman. I think that you are incredibly bright and enthusiastic and energetic and articulate,\u201d he gave me all these nice things. \u201cAnd I think if you decide to become a dental assistant as your full-time, lifetime career you\u2019re going to be \u2026 If that\u2019s what you decide to do and you put your mind to it, you\u2019re going to be really something. But unfortunately today\u2026\u201d And I was very confused by this because I\u2019m thinking, well, I don\u2019t know what this is all about, but I\u2019m waiting for the other shoe to drop.<\/p>\n So then he said, \u201cBut unfortunately,\u201d and I thought, well, here it comes, he said, \u201cI\u2019ve decided that I no longer need dental assistants in my practice.\u201d And I said, \u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d and he said, \u201cWell, I really don\u2019t need dental assistants, so I\u2019m going to let you go.\u201d<\/p>\n I said, \u201cOh, my gosh, I don\u2019t know what you mean by that, but I know that I didn\u2019t do very well today and I know that I really need this job and I can do better. And I promise I will do better. Please, just give me another chance. I\u2019ll concentrate, I\u2019ll really do better.\u201d He said, \u201cYeah, it wasn\u2019t a great day today, it really wasn\u2019t. But it\u2019s not just that, I\u2019ve made a decision.\u201d And I said, \u201cWell, I don\u2019t understand.\u201d<\/p>\n He said, \u201cWell, let me help you. Let me just be really, really clear. I need someone but what I\u2019ve decided I need is a colleague. I am going to start interviewing for a colleague position tomorrow. Let me explain to you what that means. That is somebody that is as excited about what we\u2019re doing and the future of what we\u2019re doing, as I am. That couldn\u2019t peel their eyes away from that prep if they tried. That wants to be taught how to read X-rays, that wants to be taught to look at things through a dentist\u2019s eyes. Because you\u2019re smart enough to do that, but whether you want to do it or not isn\u2019t my choice. That\u2019s your choice.<\/p>\n \u201cBut I know, as of today, what my choice is. My choice is the bar is here.\u201d And he puts his hand way up high. \u201cAnd you can totally reach this bar but it is going to be something nobody else is going to be hiring when they say dental assistant. Because it\u2019s not that. It is somebody that I can teach to recognize the difference between a good margin and a bad margin. That will never bring me an impression where the whole lingual margin has been torn off and ask me if we\u2019re going to retake the impression. They\u2019re someone that already knows that that\u2019s not going to work, and comes in an announces that it\u2019s torn and we\u2019re going to need to retake it, and you\u2019re all set up to retake it in the other room. I need that kind of person.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re not going to give injections or pick up a drill, but I can teach you how to recognize decay or a gross abscess, and I want someone who\u2019s putting brochures from different courses on my desk, and begging me to go. I want a colleague on the other side of the chair. I\u2019m going to have a colleague, no matter what it takes. I hope it\u2019s you, but if it isn\u2019t you, you\u2019re going to be fine and I\u2019m going to be fine. It\u2019s just not the right time. You\u2019ve got a great future ahead of you and this may or may not be the right time for you. So I want you to go home and think about it, you\u2019re welcome to call me with questions, but I\u2019m going to start interviewing for this position tomorrow at 7:30. I hope you show up, but if not, then here\u2019s your check.\u201d<\/p>\n I remember, I said, \u201cNo, no, no, I\u2019ll show up.\u201d And he\u2019s like, \u201cAll right, but we\u2019re going to have a formal interview, and we\u2019re going to talk about whether you\u2019re ready for this.\u201d So I tell the audiences, I remember walking out to the car and thinking, \u201cWhy do I feel so good? Why am I smiling?\u201d Because I\u2019m positive I just got fired. Absolutely positive. And I did end up working for him for seven more years before I actually got married and moved.<\/p>\n But I told that story a few years ago, I spoke at the Texas Dental Association, which is where I\u2019m headed in the morning, this was within Texas, and he was in my audience. He came up to me afterwards and said, \u201cYou know, I don\u2019t remember that being that big of a deal.\u201d I said, \u201cWell, it might not have been a big deal to you, but it was a huge deal for me.\u201d Life-changing, a life-changing conversation.<\/p>\n Because what he did for me was that sweet, sweet combination of describing an expectation to me in a crystal-clear way that I could not misunderstand it, and of course he continued to clarify that for me in the days to come. But he also inspired me. He basically fired me and I left feeling better about myself than before I sat down. If you asked him if he was a good leader, he would tell you, \u201cAbsolutely not.\u201d But I\u2019m going to tell you that he surely led me and I learned something from him that I\u2019ve never forgotten, and that was that that\u2019s what people want.<\/p>\n They want real clear expectations and often tough expectations. Good people don\u2019t mind the bar is set high. But they want to know what it is and they want to know that you aren\u2019t trying to change them. You\u2019re just clear what you need, and you\u2019re not making a judgment as to whether they\u2019re going to reach up. That was the beautiful thing of that, is he wasn\u2019t judging me. He wasn\u2019t going to say I was just some ditzy blonde, 20-year-old nothing. I hear that sometimes, young people don\u2019t have a good work ethic, that\u2019s just not true. There are great, great young workers out there. I think there\u2019s a whole lot less great leaders that know how to communicate with any age group about how to be really clear.<\/p>\n As a matter of fact\u2014I know I\u2019m jumping around, but\u2014I just about two hours ago had a conversation with a young gal at a national practice that I consult with, and she is 22 years old, and one of the brightest stars that I have seen in the dental field in a long time. And she is just on fire at this practice. It\u2019s just a really good reminder to me, that there\u2019s no blanket statement we can make about work ethic.<\/p>\n What we can say is, as leaders, it\u2019s our job to get the right players, right people, in the right seats on the bus like you hear. That\u2019s really incumbent upon us to make sure that they\u2019re clear and they are inspired by us and there\u2019s very, very little judgment about where they are in that equation. There\u2019s this complete assumption that they\u2019re going to be fine, and we\u2019re going to be fine, but the question really on the table is, \u201cIs it a good fit right now and is it a good match? Are we in alignment at the moment?\u201d<\/p>\n I don\u2019t know if that\u2019s really answering your question about creating the environment, but that\u2019s a great place to start, I think, is to examine are we clear with what we need and what we want, with no justification. He made no justification. He didn\u2019t care if another doctor in the world wanted it that way. He just suddenly that day got clear he did. He wasn\u2019t making any apologies or justifying it in anyway, but he wasn\u2019t also going to judge me if I wasn\u2019t ready for that kind of responsibility or that kind of relationship. It was a beautiful conversation, a very substantially\u2014what\u2019s the word\u2014forming conversation for me as a human.<\/p>\n Allison:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cool. Wow. I have had very few moments in my life where I\u2019m that clear, I think.<\/p>\n Katherine:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I know, I know.<\/p>\n Allison: \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Then to be able to describe it to the other people, that\u2019s another thing. You might feel clear in yourself but then to be able to share with them exactly what you\u2019re seeing or wanting is another piece of it.<\/p>\n Katherine:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I think that goes back to what we just talked about, and that is that before you could ever help someone else be clear. You must be. Right? Doctors ask me all the time, \u201cShould I hand out my vision statement? Should I type it up?\u201d It\u2019s just such a silly thing, right? Because it\u2019s not about the paper, it\u2019s not about the timing, it really is. If you have a really fantastic vision, I think putting it in writing is a great exercise but if you have great clarity, you don\u2019t need to read it to anybody.<\/p>\n You can sit down in a very brief conversation and say, \u201cOver the next few years, this is what I\u2019m excited about creating, a business that does this for me, that serves people in this way, that delivers this product and service, that does it in these hours, that gives me this income, that works with these kinds of people, in this kind of facility, on these days of the week, and I take this much time off, and I donate this much to this charity I love.\u201d<\/p>\n But whatever it is, you don\u2019t need, usually, to be reading\u2014it\u2019s not a marketing tool. Right? It\u2019s a way to express to your team that this is what I\u2019m building. And if that excites you as much as it excites me, then I\u2019d love to have you on board. If it doesn\u2019t, then, there\u2019s nothing wrong with you or me, it\u2019s just not a good alignment, and we need to call that. So I think it\u2019s about alignment, but we can\u2019t have alignment if we don\u2019t know what we\u2019re aligning with.<\/p>\n That\u2019s where that clarity, you have to have it first, whether that is what kind of home life you\u2019re going to build. Leaders are leaders, it\u2019s not just business. It\u2019s in our lives everywhere. So you\u2019re sitting around your dinner table and your family is not organized or functioning in the way that makes you happy, then there\u2019s a leadership conversation that needs to happen. First of all with you, and then secondly, with that group of people that are looking to you for that direction.<\/p>\n I think that\u2019s where people\u2019s lives change, is when they get that clarity and they\u2019re able to deliver it to others in this way that leaves them feeling better about themselves and hopeful about the future. Whether it\u2019s with you or not with you. All the best things that I have in my life right now have come from those kinds of conversations, where I said, \u201cI don\u2019t know what this is going to be for you, I don\u2019t know what you\u2019re going to decide around this, but I\u2019ve made my decision, and I\u2019ve thought long and hard about it and I\u2019m really clear and I\u2019m really at peace with it. And here\u2019s what I\u2019m going to create. I hope you can join in or not, either way we\u2019ll both be fine. But this is where I\u2019m going.\u201d And I\u2019m clear.<\/p>\n So in business, in relationships, in all of that it\u2019s just been freeing, and so we\u2019ve built good stuff. Really, at the end of the day, that\u2019s what we\u2019re after.<\/p>\n Allison:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 When we talked a little bit yesterday, you were kind of weaving in how beliefs play a role in this, and how important they are. Can you talk about that a little bit with us?<\/p>\n Katherine:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I think they are incredibly fundamental to how we lead. But the reason that is so, is because our beliefs make up, and I think define, what is possible for us. What I mean by that is, whatever we personally believe to be true or not true, right or wrong, or good or bad, whatever those beliefs are, they put the bookends on what is possible for us. Because outside of that, we don\u2019t really look, right?<\/p>\n So in other words, when the economy took a crash, there were some speakers out there saying, \u201cWell, the recession was just in some people\u2019s minds, that\u2019s just how they saw it, but you don\u2019t have to see it that way. And if you don\u2019t see it that way, then it isn\u2019t.\u201d Well I think that\u2019s hogwash. I think there absolutely was a recession and we\u2019re still working our way out of that. Those are pretty neutral facts, actually. But it\u2019s the meaning we give to those facts. It\u2019s not the fact that it happened or that it\u2019s here.<\/p>\n I think if someone dies, they died. I don\u2019t think, if we don\u2019t believe they died, they didn\u2019t die, I think they died. Someone dying that you care about, or your office burning down that you just built and just loved, right, burns to the ground in the night. Whatever it is, it\u2019s the meaning we give to that. Because whatever we decide is true about that event, defines what is possible out of it.<\/p>\n So if what you believe is that that recession was going to have some sort of negative impact on you long term and that you would just have to hunker down and get through it until it got better, if that\u2019s what you believe to be true, then every possibility exists within that framework. And that\u2019s it.<\/p>\n So how you speak to your people, how you speak to your vendors, your patients, your family, all of it is going to revolve and be contained in, within those walls of those beliefs. So there\u2019s no question we all have them. What I\u2019ve done, and what I try to teach my clients to do, is to just notice that we have them. I think a lot of us go through life thinking that it\u2019s just the truth, and that it\u2019s everyone\u2019s truth, and it\u2019s not.<\/p>\n Once I understood that we\u2019re all sort of making this up as we go along, that we are all brailling our way through this world, through all of these neutral things that happen, and these neutral facts that we\u2019re presented with and all of the things we see and smell and touch and taste. We\u2019re interpreting it through our life experience, through what we\u2019ve been told, through our culture, and we come up with a definition of it and an interpretation of it.<\/p>\n I just started the practice, once I kind of clued into this, I started practicing noticing and I don\u2019t worry about it unless I\u2019m feeling bad. The way I feel as a person is my barometer and my guide to what I need to question, if that makes sense. I think that bears repeating. How I\u2019m feeling is what determines for me what I\u2019m going to examine and what I\u2019m going to question. What I mean by that is, if I\u2019m feeling really happy, really successful, really fulfilled, really prosperous, I am going to assume I am right where I am supposed to be and everything is in alignment.<\/p>\n But the minute that I don\u2019t feel as prosperous as I think I should be, or I want something that I can\u2019t get, or I just had a long-term employee of mine, she had a second business and it is now booming, which is fabulous because she\u2019s like family to me, but it boomed so much she couldn\u2019t do both jobs. So I lost her as a full-time employee. Suddenly, this place I had been tremendously happy suddenly became an issue for me.<\/p>\n So anytime I\u2019m feeling stressed, worried, angry, anxious, sad, concerned, unfulfilled, any of those negative emotions, I start to question now, or start to at least notice, what I believe to be true. When that happened, when she quit, gave me her notice, I instantly had fear. I said, \u201cBut what am I afraid of? What do I believe is true about this?\u201d Well, clearly I didn\u2019t think I could find someone who could take care of me and my business the way she had in just a few weeks\u2019 time, that could be as smart as her, and as intuitive as her, and as terrific as her. That was where that fear was coming from.<\/p>\n The first thing you have to do is just start being aware that we have a belief that\u2019s causing this negative emotion. Then once you identify what it is \u2026 I don\u2019t want anyone to think that I\u2019m suggesting that every time you question a belief, you\u2019re going to decide that it\u2019s wrong. Because that\u2019s actually not the truth. You may sometimes question your belief and say, \u201cDo I still believe that? Do I think that\u2019s the only way that story could go?\u201d And sometimes you\u2019ll say, \u201cYep, I still think that\u2019s true.\u201d<\/p>\n If I\u2019m standing on the top of a twelve-story building looking down at the concrete below, my belief is that if I jump off I\u2019m going to kill myself. I\u2019m pretty sure if I question the belief I\u2019m going to come up with the same answer. I think it serves me, that belief serves me.<\/p>\n But most of the time, people never question their belief. So when you question it, a lot of times you find out, man, there are some other ways to challenge that belief and to say, \u201cWell, what if that weren\u2019t true?\u201d What if it weren\u2019t true that I couldn\u2019t find someone in that short period of time? Or, what if it wasn\u2019t true that I only just needed one person? What if this was the fantastic opportunity to explore what do I really need?<\/p>\n Maybe what I could do is break this job into two or three pieces and never be here again, right? Never be here where one person leaves and all of my support goes with her. What if I examined this and came up with a much different way of supporting my company in a way that really is better than it ever was? What if I went about finding that and who has done it that way, and how can I talk to them?<\/p>\n And suddenly, do you see? There\u2019s all these possibilities, I\u2019m feeling much more inspired, much more on track. I know I\u2019m on the right track and more in alignment because I\u2019m feeling more hopeful and better. That is where possibility lives is in that moment, when you begin to question those beliefs. As a leader, you\u2019re constantly being faced with challenges and things that are working or not working. I think when we model and we expect the people who work with us to embrace this idea of, \u201cThings aren\u2019t working the way we want, so what beliefs do we have around what patients will do, what they won\u2019t do, why it\u2019s working this way and why it\u2019s not.\u201d That\u2019s where possibilities live.<\/p>\n I had a client recently say, \u201cWell, my new patient count over the last five years is 50% of what it used to be. Everything I put money into doesn\u2019t work anymore. Direct mail doesn\u2019t work for me, ads in the newspaper don\u2019t work for me, and I\u2019m not doing that social media.\u201d And I said, \u201cOh, really? Why?\u201d And he said, \u201cFirst of all, it\u2019s just a colossal waste of time.\u201d And I said, \u201cOkay.\u201d And he said, \u201cYou don\u2019t agree.\u201d And I said, \u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter if I agree. What I would ask you\u2026 are you up for a couple of questions?\u201d And he said, \u201cSure.\u201d<\/p>\n I said, \u201cSo, what if that were not true? What if I could have you talk to someone who doesn\u2019t really spend any more time than you are doing these other things, on that strategy, and it\u2019s not their only strategy, but it\u2019s part of it, and they\u2019ve actually had huge measurable success with it? Would you be open to looking at that?\u201d \u201cWell, I guess so.\u201d And I said, \u201cWell, I would only recommend you do so if you\u2019re truly open to the possibility because you\u2019re going to hear what you want to hear.\u201d<\/p>\n So if you\u2019re looking for options, you\u2019re going to hear more than if you\u2019re looking for reasons it won\u2019t work. This is just a good example of, you can imagine what the staff meetings must have sounded like when they were all trying to figure out how to get more new patients in the practice. Until we examine that belief, or question it in some way, as a leader, then we\u2019re stuck. We\u2019re just stuck.<\/p>\n I think it\u2019s a huge part of leadership, is recognizing and definitely playing in that playground of questioning our beliefs and expanding the possibilities that are available to us. Again, great leadership is an extension of our own personal growth. So to the degree we do this in our personal lives, we become way more comfortable doing it in our business lives, our professional lives.<\/p>\n Allison: \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Yeah. I love what you\u2019re talking about. It\u2019s the art of asking good questions [laughs].<\/p>\n Katherine:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Of yourself and others, right? Because the answers we get are commensurate with the quality of the questions we\u2019re asking.<\/p>\n Allison: \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Yep. The hard part, Katherine, I think for me is, that being present enough in the moment to be aware of \u2026 I don\u2019t know, it seems like so many of us, and maybe I\u2019m just projecting on other people, maybe it\u2019s just me, but we kind of get into this auto-pilot thinking. We\u2019re not even aware, like you said, you\u2019ve become almost sensitized to when you\u2019re not in a good place, so then your awareness kicks in and then you are asking yourself questions in that moment. But it seems like, I don\u2019t know if you have any suggestions for that, becoming present in the moment and becoming more aware in the moment. How did you get to that point where you were?<\/p>\n Katherine: \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Please don\u2019t think that I\u2019m perfect at this because I\u2019m not. As a matter of fact, I don\u2019t think we ever really will be. The human condition is that we\u2019re very physical beings, and yet we can play in this more emotional, spiritual realm, if you will. There\u2019s another piece to us, a more intuitive piece. I definitely spin out. I catch myself spinning out sometimes and getting into this downward spiral of how bad things are, they\u2019re disintegrating, I can totally do it. I remember during the election I did it a little bit \u2026<\/p>\n But it\u2019s just like anything else. It\u2019s like physical fitness or just deciding at some age you want to have more energy so you\u2019re going to eat differently or pay attention to your hydration or anything like that is a good analogy for we\u2019re not going to probably do it perfectly all the time, but it\u2019s a practice. It\u2019s absolutely a practice.<\/p>\n What happens with a practice is you get way off track and then you get on, way off track and then you get on, but the more you do it, the easier and the quicker you get there. I relate it to a cork. I sometimes feel myself getting pulled down, pulled down under the water. And then all of a sudden, I just am like, \u201cThis is heavy. Why is this so heavy?\u201d<\/p>\n I was asked to do this project and at first I was really excited about it. But from the moment I got started on the project, it felt heavy. I was having to force myself to do it, I was staying up at night to do it because I\u2019d put it off and put it off, and finally after weeks of \u2026 Then it was like, \u201cYou know what? I don\u2019t want to do this. I don\u2019t want to do it.\u201d I didn\u2019t realize what it was and it is not in alignment with what I like to do, and what I really think I\u2019m naturally good at.<\/p>\n And the minute that I said so, because the first thing I thought is, \u201cWell, I\u2019ve already gotten myself here and I\u2019ve made a commitment and there\u2019s no way out of this commitment. So I\u2019m just going to have to do it.\u201d Well, that felt heavy, like the cork was way under the water. Then all of a sudden, I thought, \u201cNow, wait a minute, that\u2019s based on a belief.\u201d That\u2019s based on the belief that there\u2019s no way out of this, where everyone will still be whole and okay. What if that weren\u2019t true? What if there was? And what if other people on this project are feeling the same way?<\/p>\n So I opened up the conversation and guess what? There were other people feeling that same way. Now I wasn\u2019t able to get out of it completely, but I was able to reestablish my role, change my role, the cork floats to the top, I feel much better, and I\u2019m on my way. It\u2019s that practice of stepping out and saying, \u201cWait a minute, this is not feeling good here. So what do I believe is true about this? What other options might there be? What other possibilities might there be?\u201d<\/p>\n Sometimes you don\u2019t know. So then I ask myself, \u201cWho might know? Who could I talk to that might shed some light on this or help me?\u201d They\u2019re there. Those people are there. I want more new patients, I want some new ways to do it, but I don\u2019t really know. This practice in Nashville, they have two doctors. They don\u2019t take one PPO, they had 104 new patient calls this month. They converted 78% of them to some kind of a new patient appointment. Not all comped exams, but they could hardly see them.<\/p>\n Allison:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Wow.<\/p>\n Katherine:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Do you see what I\u2019m saying? They are doing a number of things that other people maybe wouldn\u2019t try or wouldn\u2019t do, but it\u2019s just blown my mind because that practice is open to ideas. She\u2019s a D personality, she will try anything. It\u2019s really paid off.<\/p>\n Their struggle is how to handle all the prosperity, not where to find it. It\u2019s just a great example of that. I want your audience to know that I\u2019m not at all saying that I\u2019m perfect at this. But the more you practice it, the quicker you start to recognize it and the quicker you start to get back into the flow of what you like and what you want and what works well for you.<\/p>\n I can\u2019t coach every dental office in the country, right? That\u2019s not possible. So my job is just to find where I\u2019m going to be in best alignment that I\u2019m having a ball, and they\u2019re having a ball, and we\u2019re a perfect match for one another, and my job\u2019s just to find those twenty. And then I\u2019ve got everything I want, and so do they, and off we go. So it\u2019s the same for dentists, it\u2019s the same for cosmetic surgeons, it\u2019s the same for trainers and speakers and the people that I deal with. It\u2019s no different.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a practice, Allison, it really is. You can\u2019t expect yourself to be present in every moment. I don\u2019t think we\u2019re quite wired that way. We\u2019re the only creature on the planet that can even imagine a future, right? It\u2019s just the human animal, and that\u2019s really fabulous for us, because we get to dream. They don\u2019t dream about the future. They also don\u2019t worry about it.<\/p>\n Allison: \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Right.<\/p>\n Katherine:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Sort of the flip-side of the coin. And they often don\u2019t really spend too much time, I mean they might have a memory of a past, some animals. But most of them don\u2019t spend much time there. But we do. I think it\u2019s just a practice that gets better as we do it.<\/p>\n Allison:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Yeah. Just like everything. I do tend to be kind of \u2026 and it\u2019s funny, I don\u2019t hear it until you reflect it back to me that I\u2019m being perfectionistic [laughs].<\/p>\n Katherine:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Yeah, we expect so much. If you say \u201cI\u2019m perfectly evolving.\u201d<\/p>\n Allison:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Right. I do have another question. I was curious if you could get back into, you know, you were talking about the belief systems and before that we were talking about communicating with our team. So we become aware in the moment of our beliefs, and we start to, at least become aware and ask ourselves better questions. Then we are communicating more clearly, right?<\/p>\n Katherine: \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Right. And I think in operating and communicating in more possibility, which is where that inspiration piece comes in, right? So that someone comes to us with an issue, as a leader, if we practice with ourselves figuring out, okay, so, where is this issue coming from, and what beliefs is it based on? If we practiced that with ourselves, you can\u2019t even believe how easy it is to do it. As a matter of fact, it\u2019s much easier to do with others.<\/p>\n So even a little practice with yourself will make you really good if you\u2019re a manager or you’re an owner of a business, really good. And this has been taught to me as a consultant and coach. When people come to me, immediately my mind starts to go to, \u201cWhat beliefs am I hearing swimming around in that conversation?\u201d Because they\u2019re right there for you to see.<\/p>\n You\u2019ve said some already this evening. You believe you are a perfectionist and you believe that often has a negative impact on you. Right? And I pick that up, do you see what I mean?<\/p>\n Allison:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Yeah. [Laughs]<\/p>\n Katherine:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 So when you\u2019re talking to someone, and I\u2019m not saying I judge the beliefs, I\u2019m just saying, I start to hear, \u201cOkay, this is one thing she believes is certain, and this is another thing she believes, either about the world or dentistry or me or her coworker, or this piece of equipment, or whatever.\u201d If somebody comes and says, \u201cThis just isn\u2019t working. This software is complicated, and it\u2019s, blah blah blah blah.\u201d And they\u2019re going to rattle off things they believe are true. It could be that they are.<\/p>\n Allison:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Yeah.<\/p>\n Katherine:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 But if we haven\u2019t even questioned it, a leader is going to not try to fix it necessarily. A leader is going to say, \u201cWell, okay, let\u2019s just step a couple steps out of that, we\u2019ll get a bigger view here. It\u2019s clear that you\u2019re frustrated and that is a really good sign that we need to pay attention to it. So let\u2019s look at what do we believe is happening here that\u2019s causing you to feel this way.\u201d Okay, so we get that out in the open.<\/p>\n \u201cWell, I just believe it\u2019s too many steps to schedule an appointment, and it just takes too long to balance the books,\u201d whatever the issues are.<\/p>\n \u201cCould we just explore, what if there was a way to do it in this software simpler and we just don\u2019t know what that is yet?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell, I\u2019m sure there isn\u2019t because I\u2019ve already called their company and talked to a trainer and she didn\u2019t have anything to tell me.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOkay, would you be willing to see if there are any other practices like ours that have figured out a better way to do it? Would you at least be willing to talk to them?\u201d I mean, hopefully you\u2019ve got people who would be willing to\u2014when you begin to put some possibilities out there, right?<\/p>\n So at least now as a leader, I\u2019m saying, let\u2019s at least expand what we\u2019re willing to look at to solve this issue. It could be that you all come to the determination that it is too complicated and you\u2019re going to buy a new software. But do you see how, when I try to go in there and fix it, she never learns how to do this? She never learns how to back herself out of an issue with a bigger view and ask some better questions.<\/p>\n Allison:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Right.<\/p>\n Katherine:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 To expand her possibilities. Once I\u2019ve done it with people a couple of times, I do this with my teams all the time, they\u2019ll say, \u201cI feel so much better.\u201d And I\u2019ll say, \u201cGreat. So before we leave this conversation, can we just recap what we just did? Because I want you to know, you\u2019re going to be here again about some other issue, and I want you to see what we just did. So that you can do that again and you can help others do it.\u201d<\/p>\n That\u2019s the Lioness Principle. Once you start to show them that they had the ruby slippers on all along, right? Then they start to be able to be better leaders to the new person that sits beside them in a year that you just hired. It all flows downhill. I think it\u2019s a really important piece.<\/p>\n Allison:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Speaking of that, Lisa, my office administrator, has raised her hand, and she\u2019s so good in the process of training a fairly new person. Okay, Lisa.<\/p>\n Katherine:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Hi, Lisa.<\/p>\n Lisa: \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Hi, Katherine. I am truly enjoying this call. Thank you so much.<\/p>\n Katherine:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 You\u2019re welcome.<\/p>\n Lisa: \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I actually think you may have answered my question in this last section that you were just speaking about. My question was, is it healthy to have an office, or even in our life\u2026 I try to surround myself with people that are encouraging and want to move forward and see vision, because it inspires me and that motivates me, it\u2019s where my energy flows. And I wonder if it\u2019s okay, if it\u2019s just normal, to have people in certain functions in our lives, or people in certain functions of our team, that don\u2019t just do that. That they just show up, do the work, and leave. Is that okay?<\/p>\n Sometimes it feels like a drag for me, and I\u2019m wondering if it\u2019s my own resistance to that person not doing what I hoped that they would do, or what I think is fun and energizing and exciting. Am I putting that projection on them? Or is it okay that they just want to come in, do a great job, and leave?<\/p>\n Katherine:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I think that is an incredibly good question. Here\u2019s my take on it, a couple things. You\u2019re the manager, not the owner. So it\u2019s primarily, fundamentally, Dr. Watts\u2019 call in that if she has said, in her vision conversation, if she had said, \u201cOne of the most important things to me is to have people on my team that every time I see their face, I feel inspired.\u201d Then that person would not be a good fit.<\/p>\n Or, if you, in terms of friends, or really significant relationships, I don\u2019t think we can give our kids back, we\u2019re kind of stuck with them, you know what I\u2019m saying? Our parents, you know\u2026 In terms of friends or things, if it\u2019s important to you feeling good and really happy and fulfilled, then, yeah, I think it has to be that way.<\/p>\n But if what\u2019s most important in the vision is that things get done a certain way, and people are at a minimum pleasant and positive, at least not negative, and that person does their job to the degree that you and Dr. Watts are really satisfied with their work, and the caliber of their work, and the accuracy of their work, and all of that, then I think that works too.<\/p>\n It really comes down to, is that piece essential to you really, really loving showing up at work every day? Because I have some people that I\u2019m working with right now, that I would say to you, would probably not be my choices for going on a personal trip. They\u2019re just not interested in the same things I\u2019m interested, they\u2019re not interested in some of these kinds of conversations, but they are really positive, they\u2019re definitely not negative, and they\u2019re very good at what they do. So for the role I have them in, it\u2019s very satisfying to me, and I get those other needs filled with other people. So I\u2019m really happy with them. And I\u2019m not looking to them to fill that. Does that make sense?<\/p>\n Lisa:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Yes. It does. And one of the pieces that you added just before I answered the question, you were talking about \u2026 what I heard from what you said, was that we can teach them this new way of seeing things. When you talked about backing myself out of an issue to see a new possibility and an answer and you were talking about teaching that to someone, there was a hope there.<\/p>\n And you did speak to it, it really is just me expecting that this is an okay way to be, for this environment, or for whatever thing it is, and letting go of what I wish other people would feel. I just feel like they\u2019re missing out. I feel kind of bad for them.<\/p>\n Katherine:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Yeah, so, we have to let that go, right? We have to just completely honor that their timing will be their timing and it\u2019s just really not our journey in that sense. But be careful, because sometimes we\u2019ll accept things that really, especially in terms of a professional relationship\u2026 I\u2019ve seen practices hang onto people, that their work is good, sometimes excellent, but the feeling when they\u2019re around them, is so harsh, or so negative, or so down, that I just finally have to say, \u201cYou\u2019ve got to own the fact that you want more and you\u2019re not happy with this environment.\u201d<\/p>\n I had a client one time say, I\u2019ve got this, you know, she wasn\u2019t necessarily an office manager, but she was an administrator, and she was very integral to the conversation at their morning meeting. In other words, she was explaining why people were scheduled, and she was really leading those meetings.<\/p>\n She was a grumpy person in the morning, especially in the morning, kind of always, but for sure in the morning. She kind of was proud of it. She would talk about, \u201cI\u2019m just not a morning person, I don\u2019t really kick in until two cups of coffee later.\u201d And she was just this really negative, grumpy person. He hated it. So, I said to him, \u201cLet\u2019s address it.\u201d And he said, \u201cI have before, and she doesn\u2019t think she is. She\u2019ll say to me, \u2018Well, I\u2019m not negative, that\u2019s just who I am.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n And I said, \u201cIt\u2019s not up to her. Does that make sense? It\u2019s not up to her, you don\u2019t feel good. You can\u2019t change her, but you can say, \u2018Okay, here\u2019s the deal. This is the way I want to feel at my morning meeting. I want to walk in and I want to be laughing, I want to look at everybody and feel a certain way. I want to have a certain feeling, and I don\u2019t have it. You may think that you\u2019re positive, but in terms of how I feel, it isn\u2019t there. And it\u2019s just not happening.<\/p>\n \u201c\u2018So here\u2019s what I need: I think you do an awesome job in every other respect, and if you can find a way to make me feel that way in the morning meeting, we\u2019re going to be set. But it\u2019s up to you. I\u2019m happy to help you with it or not, but I have to have it. And I\u2019m going to give you a week to figure out how to show up at my morning meeting and leave that meeting, and have me walk out of there feeling on top of the world. And if you can\u2019t do that, it\u2019s not going to work.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Because I said, \u201cIf it\u2019s that important to you. If it\u2019s not that important to you, then stop talking about it. Stop thinking about it, and stop worrying about it. And accept it and know that you accepted it, and don\u2019t be mad at her.\u201d<\/p>\n That\u2019s what I tell employees all the time: \u201cNobody\u2019s making you put that key in that car and drive to that practice. So for you to be mad at your coworkers or your boss because they\u2019re a certain way, is ridiculous. It\u2019s ridiculous. Nobody makes us do that, right? You can go and find a better place for you anytime. But if you put your key in the car to come to work, you are saying, \u2018For today, I\u2019m signing up for this program the way it is. And I take responsibility for that decision.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n I think leadership is in every position, and certainly in our lives, we are the leader. It\u2019s all up to us. I often have those conversations. I\u2019m willing to talk to you about anything except how we\u2019re going to change the other person. Because it\u2019s just not going to happen. But what we can do, is be more clear about what we need and do it in a way that lets them know that we\u2019re good either way. We\u2019re good either way.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve had people come to me and say, \u201cI think I deserve a raise, and they\u2019re not willing to give me a raise. And here\u2019s why,\u201d they lay it out. \u201cWhy I think I deserve it, and I need this. I need it to send my kids to the school that I want to send them to. To do the things \u2026\u201d<\/p>\n And I say, \u201cThen you have to be ready to own that. You go in, you make your case. You let them know that you want to work here, you\u2019re open to the conversation of what we need to do to make it so that it works for the practice and it works for the doctor and it works for you. But by this date, you need to be making this much for it to work for your life. Are you ready to own that and all that comes with it? Because once you reach up and own that, it\u2019s a powerful place to be.\u201d<\/p>\n And to know it works both ways. I think we often feel like we have to convince the other people that they should come to our side of the light. And really it\u2019s not so much that, as it is just describing it in a way that allows\u2026 A great example, I had a doctor that revealed this vision to his team. One of the items on the vision was that he was passionate that they go to a team retreat once a year where they went and did something extraordinary. Like they were going to go do zip-lining one time, and they were going to go on a cruise, and every year they were going to work for this big adventure thing that they were going to do. Probably around a dental convention, but it was going to be \u2026 that\u2019s what he wanted.<\/p>\n Everybody was on board except for, they had a gal that soon after quit. So, they were hiring. They had found a favorite and they wanted me to talk to her on the phone. So I did. Then I spoke to them, I said, \u201cWell I really liked her, what did you guys think?\u201d And they said, \u201cShe was actually our favorite until she read the vision.\u201d I said, \u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n And they said, \u201cWell, she said that she couldn\u2019t do any kind of travel that involved evenings or weekends because she just could not be away from her family if it involved an evening or a weekend, ever. So she\u2019s clearly not a team player and she doesn\u2019t understand what we\u2019re committed to. She\u2019s just not a team player, so she\u2019s not our gal.\u201d<\/p>\n And I said, \u201cWell, that\u2019s interesting, because here\u2019s what I found out about her. What I found out was that she and her husband care for, I can\u2019t remember the number, but it was like three or four handicapped foster children. And that was part of her life vision. And so how they did it, is she worked days during the week, and he worked evenings and weekends, and they switched off taking care of these children.\u201d And they were like, \u201cOh.\u201d But do you see how quick it \u2026 she wasn\u2019t a good fit, they were right about that, she\u2019s not a good fit for them, but not for the reason they think.<\/p>\n The greatest leaders will say, \u201cThis is what we need. And we\u2019re okay either way, whatever you decide. We just need you to know that there\u2019s no judgment about it, but we need this. I need someone that shows up like this at my morning meeting. I need someone that makes me feel this way at my morning meeting. I need someone that\u2019s going to be excited about going away for a week doing an adventure trip. And if that doesn\u2019t work for you, that\u2019s A-okay. Just probably not in alignment with where we\u2019re going.\u201d<\/p>\n So it\u2019s just about aligning, and that requires us to be clear and inspirational and we leave the judgment\u2014we don\u2019t need everybody to see it the way we do. We just need just enough people to, just the right people to.<\/p>\n I want to apologize if anybody came on board late and they didn\u2019t hear that I\u2019m fighting a case of bronchitis, so if I sound gravelly and sniffly, I apologize.<\/p>\n Allison:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I liked what you were saying, Katherine, about \u2026 or at least the way that I caught it, was you started to say, we just kind of describe our side of the light. Like if Lisa has what she thinks is the better way, that her sharing the better way might inspire them to come over to her side of the \u2026<\/p>\n Katherine:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 You have to believe they\u2019re okay either way.<\/p>\n Allison:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Right.<\/p>\n Katherine:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 And so are you. Now, if their work is not satisfactory, of course, that\u2019s a completely different conversation. And I wouldn\u2019t accept less. And it may be that the attitude or the positivity or enthusiasm\u2026 it may be that what really you need to really feel happy in that work environment, is to have a full team of enthusiastic people. Any adjective is subjective. What I might consider really enthusiastic, someone else might not.<\/p>\n Again, when we say enthusiastic, what does that mean? We have to really be clear about that and trust that\u2014or maybe understand that everyone\u2019s not going to hear that with the same image and understanding that we see it. It\u2019s very possible. But if that\u2019s critical to you, then it\u2019s absolutely okay to keep looking until you find that person. And that\u2019s enough to say this isn\u2019t a good fit. It\u2019s really us questioning ourselves to say, \u201cIs that good enough that I could live with it, given all these other good things right here?\u201d And that means that you really do feel good when you\u2019re with them. It\u2019s good. And that\u2019s just only a question you can answer yourself.<\/p>\n Allison:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cool. Thank you so much. I know we are coming to the \u2026 or actually we are past a little bit, time, so if anybody wants to get ahold of Katherine, is there anything, Katherine, you want to say to close down?<\/p>\n Katherine:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Well I just think everybody has the ability to lead from wherever they are, as do all the people in your life. I think this world is hungry for better leaders. Hungry at every level: teachers, people who are on the front lines working, and people who own businesses, we\u2019re hungry for leaders. I think it\u2019s a worthwhile effort and worth the time to look for ways to improve our own leadership abilities and to model that in our conversations and in our examples to others, because I think the world is hungry for it. I think it\u2019s a worthwhile effort, it definitely is.<\/p>\n I think it can be more fun and easier than we think. More of a game that we play with ourselves. I sometimes talk about the fact that people would be hard-pressed right now to draw me into an argument because it\u2019s kind of a game with me to not be drawn into an argument. Whether that\u2019s someone throwing me a barb from an audience, or whether it\u2019s someone I\u2019m in a relationship with \u2026 because it\u2019s a fun game to play, to stay sort of neutral and not drawn into that. It\u2019s the same with leadership, it can be a really fun, positive game to play. And a lot of good can come from it. I would encourage everyone to do that.<\/p>\n If you want to be in conversation about anything, I\u2019d love that. A couple different ways, my website is LionessLearning.com or KatherineEitel.com, it will take you to the same place. We do have a free weekly, we call it a Monday Morning Stretch. You can sign up at the website, and it comes every Monday morning, really early, into everyone\u2019s inbox. It\u2019s just some musings and some insights that I\u2019ve been learning about leadership, communication, some skills, frontline skills, communicating client-service skills type things, but most of it\u2019s just some things I\u2019m learning or remembering in my journey. We\u2019d love to have you sign up for that.<\/p>\n If you are a dental office or a healthcare office, I do team retreats and coaching. If you are a speaker, or a consultant, or trainer, we offer some train-the-trainer and train-the-speaker courses as well. Check them out on the website and let me know how I can support your leadership growth. I\u2019d be happy to do it.<\/p>\n Thanks for listening to Practicing with the Masters<\/em> for dentists, with your host, Dr. Allison Watts. For more about how Allison Watts and Transformational Practices can help you create a successful and fulfilling practice and life, visit transformationalpractices.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/div> <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" This week on the Practicing with the Masters podcast, my special guest is Katherine Eitel. Katherine is the creator of the Lioness Principle, who\u00a0has 25 years of experience as a personal performance coach. Katherine works to help individuals, speakers, trainers, as well as dental and healthcare practitioners achieve extraordinary results in their lives, leadership and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_cloudinary_featured_overwrite":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[303],"tags":[309,305,304,307],"yoast_head":"\nWhat You’ll Learn From This Episode:<\/h3>\n
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Listen To The Full Interview:<\/h3>\n\n
Featured On The Show:<\/h3>\n
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Full Episode Transcript:<\/h3>\n
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<\/a><\/p>\nLeading Yourself and Others to Intuitive Greatness with Katherine Eitel<\/h3>\n
CLICK HERE TO READ THE TRANSCRIPT (10,092 WORDS )<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n
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