Anne: Hi everybody, it's Anne Duffy and welcome to the Just DeW It podcast. I'm very excited to have my guest on today. She is in charge of the Masterminds of DeW Life, our do Life community, and she has done. Just an incredible job, I've gotten to know just how incredible this human is and how important she is to our organization.
But before we get started, before I introduce her, I'm gonna tell you a little bit about her, and I want you to meet Angela Sullivan Davis, a powerhouse in dental practice success with over 30 years of experience from expanded function dental assistant. To business coach. She excels in transforming practices and nurturing talent, a passionate speaker and educator.
Her mission is to empower dentists and their teams making her an invaluable resource for anyone looking to elevate their dental game. That is so you. Hi, Angela Davis Sullivan, how are you?
Angela: I'm good, Anne. Thanks for having me.
Anne: Oh my God, you're so awesome. I still remember meeting you at the ADOM circle table.
I mean, We knew each other before that, but just having that one wonderful conversation with you or that, pow wow and then seeing you speak on stage when I was a judge at Dentistry's, got talent down in Fort Lauderdale. Yeah, I think it was like two years ago. You were so amazing and I was just so blown away by.
Angela. So I had no idea that you could command a room like that and speak with such authority and fun and entertainment and just, really you did it all. You gave us goosebumps and you just have had a fantastic career and I'm thrilled that you're, with me today.
And that with the dos and so committed to how we grow our community.
Angela: Absolutely. I love do, I love the women and just the connections and the conversations and the support that help you celebrate when you're winning and help build you up when you're not winning.
Anne: Yeah. It, It's is really something special to have that sisterhood.
I mean, I guess that's the best term for it. Well After I was matron of honor my little sister's wedding, first time she was married, ever, and first time getting engaged and all that at 66. it was just the most yummy thing. to be able to have my speech about what it means to have a sister, a true sister.
And I feel so lucky, Angela, that I feel like we have sisters within our community now that we can depend on them no matter what. You can't have enough sisters,
Angela: Love it. It's good. And it's been good for me since the day I joined When you first started it, I'm like, okay, this is it.
Yeah.
Anne: You've been there for the beginning. I know. I just love it. But let's go back. there's so much I wanna share about you today because you've, got so much experience behind you, but what inspired you though, I mean, here you are a dental assistant you decided to go to a business and development coach to become the business and development coach in the dental field.
What? inspired you for that transition? That's a big leap.
Angela: and there's a piece in there too. So I was expanded functions dental assistant for many, many years, and then I became an office manager. Okay. So in that path. So I did some insurance. I was a new patient coordinator, and then I was running a practice.
And this magical thing happened. We had a consultant come in, a business development coach come in, and I loved it. Not everybody did. Anytime you have somebody with outside eyes coming in and gonna ask us to do something different, but I tapped into it and I said, that's what I wanna do next. And so I just.
picked on her to death. What do I need to do? What do I need to read? What do I need to, and you know, and she just kept giving me stuff and giving me stuff. And I took it all and said, okay. And then when, the opportunity presented itself, I was able to be a coach. And then the real learning started right with you working in a practice and helping other practices and I just thought it was so important.
From where I started to help other people see that you don't have to be the doctor or the office manager to have an impact on the patients on yourself. They had this mentality of I'm just the dental assistant, or I just do the insurance. So much more than that. And to build up leaders within the practice, no matter what your job is, or you have a title or don't have a title, what can you do to really change the lives of those around you?
So
Anne: well that's very doish by the way, because part of what we say and every career path is invited to join us, is that every career path is so important. I honestly don't think there's any one career path in the dental office. It's more important than another. It's like everybody working together it was interesting that, just in Oklahoma, one of the gals at our round table discussion was a dental assistant and we went around the room and said, what did you love about dentistry? And she said she loved having this quality time that she could spend with the patient because the doctors checking hygiene or whatever, doing other procedures and different operatories coming back to her operatory.
But she had the time to be able to really get to know the patients The dental assistant is such an integral part of the team. And I think the dental assistant also knows everybody's position. way more than hygienist. I, and I'm a hygienist. I'm in my little operatory, and I think I'm the vice president of the company, but not really.
But, it's just so interesting to me that I feel like that the respect for the dental assistant and what they bring. To the party is just we're giving it more respect, but it has been undervalued before. And then office manager, I did that one day in my 46 year, one day, one day in my 46 year career, because I'll tell you, you'll love this.
I know that the office manager was out sick and the office called me, can you come in? I said well, sure. I mean, how hard could it be? Oh man, that's. another one of the hardest jobs ever to do because you have to wear a thousand hats. And, for us and even in, when you're doing the clinical end of dentistry, you're wearing that one hat laser focus.
So you've gotta be in charge of everything. So I think you make the best coach. When did you actually start coaching? How many years ago was that?
Angela: I started coaching in 2007.
Anne: Wow. you've got a lot of experience, sage experience. And is there anything you haven't heard or solved
Angela: I think that I haven't heard it.
I get something new and go, wow, that's a new one. Okay. You know, Changing, but yeah. It makes me constantly looking for resources. I read constantly and having this network of other women who are coaches who we're not in competition with is great to say, you know what? I haven't run across this. What am I missing?
What do you think? you know? Let's bounce some ideas off. ' cause it's hard. You dunno everything. You just can't know everything.
Anne: No. And you know, the other thing is the principal, the answers in the ladies room. Yeah. You know, It's always there with our ladies. But I know that there was a pivotal moment that you had in your career that significantly shaped your approach to coaching and practice management.
And if you had to pick one pivotal moment, what would it be?
Angela: I love building leaders, so when, I can connect with someone and I know that I can help 'em get over that hump or get over the.
The fear a lot of times of being in that leadership role and seeing them actually soar when they get to the other side. Mm-hmm. Then I'm able to look and go, yes, now you're where you're meant to be and you can do these things, and just building that confidence, helping them find it. Tapping into their own abilities and strengths really.
Oh, it's just the best. And it happens with team members, it happens with doctors, but that's the best feeling. And then of course, you know, it's profitability for the practice and stuff, but the bigger piece is the people and the impact you have on them. And then that spreads 'cause they have an impact on those people.
So you're just spreading that leadership.
Anne: It's the pebble in the pond, right? I mean, when I was doing research recently leaders aren't necessarily born. They can be made because a lot of, especially if you've got a coach like you, that you see something in them and then you show them how to pull that out how to really.
Tap into the strengths that, will help them soar. we were talking about strengths, and I wanna talk a little bit about that. First of all, strength finders is on my heart for dues and I wanted to bring strength finders to dentistry. So you know what you're good at, and you validated by that.
But when you talked about how you love to learn and you just love information, input, and learner, are on your top five. Yeah. So you no. That is one of your strengths. But the cool thing about that is if that's a strength and you take that on and bring skill and experience with it.
You are able to communicate that to others so well. ' cause you've brought in all the input and then you discern what you need to keep and what you don't need to keep and what's important, what's not important. And you can communicate that for someone to be able to understand it. Angela. And that's what makes you such a great coach.
I think again, seeing something in somebody and then helping them see their path to leadership and being able to explain it to them that they actually. Believe it. Yeah. Because so often people always think everybody else has strengths and I don't and if they know where they are, they really don't believe them.
but they need somebody like you that can actually help them see that clear path forward.
Angela: but it took some time, but somebody else to see it, notice it, validate it for you, and just that little push that go, yeah, you can do this
That can happen to others.
Anne: Yeah. and you know, it's it's so funny because you never know when it's gonna happen. Don't you love it when you get somebody young, they're really young, and then you could like, tap in early Versus someone like me that I was in my forties and I didn't even know that I could even think about my strengths Yeah.
Or my vision for my future, because I was always just trying to. Work on everybody else's future. You know, you've got kids and a husband and you're taking care of and all that, your patients. It's just, broadens the opportunities in front of But I know that you'll go into an office they call you.
And how do you foster leadership skills within the dental teams, and why is that important for the dental practice?
Angela: I love going onsite. I don't think there's anything that can replace being there in person. A lot of things you can scoot through if you're on a Zoom or on a phone call. And, And say, yeah, we do that every time. But when you're boots on the ground and you can watch, you don't even have to say anything. I do a lot of just observing. I. Don't even ask a question yet. And I just watch and They know I'm coming to do that. So of course every team member's got their best foot forward, right?
Mm-hmm.
Anne: Yeah.
Angela: Which is, makes them nervous and you can tell if it's not something they do naturally like, oh, I gotta do this today 'cause she's here, versus this is what I do naturally. So watching that and then I make sure with doctor's permission that I've got time to meet one-on-one with each team member.
Anne: Where
Angela: I get to talk with them and say, tell me what you love about it here. What is your strength? Where do you struggle with? If you could create your ideal job description or where would you spend your time? And try to connect with them. Not that it always works out, but it gives you a lot of information about that person and sometimes an outsider.
Me can see things in team members that doctors and other team members can't see yet. They're buried in it. It's frustrating. She doesn't do this. But when you can tap into that real talent and go, and what if we did this and this, how would that help patient care, teamwork and this person be elevated?
So really tapping into each person as a person, working towards their strengths, and then all the systems come into play after that and getting rid of, that narrow thinking that, oh, if she sits here and that's her job, she should be the one that does treatment plans or financials, but maybe not. So what's, what do we think outside the box?
What about Brie over here who is amazing with that? how can we coordinate that to make that work? So getting out of that norm of, that's the way we've always done it.
Anne: Yeah. That's the way
Angela: so and so before me trained me. you know what I mean? it's just like. we could probably do something different.
What do you have to lose? And just really tapping into that. And then of course, with the doctor, I ask some tough questions. What do you want? What are you looking for? And you know, a lot of times it's not always about profitability. Even for the doctors who call me to come work for them, they're like, I want my team to be happy.
I wanna take care of my team. I wanna make sure the patients get everything they need and. That true mindset becomes the probability will come, but a lot of 'em start with the people. Of course they wanna introduction or collections, but typically well, that all
Anne: comes, right? That just comes,
Angela: yeah. A lot of them reach out because of the team and themselves.
They know they're not leaders. Mm. They know it. not fooling anybody, and so when they know it finally and could admit it, then it's like, okay, now we can really have some fun and get them working on that piece of it because. You become a good leader and we train up these team members. They'll follow you to the ends of the earth and take your patients and that profitability comes.
Anne: Yeah. Well, you know, another, thing that just struck me, because how you come in, which I love your number one strength is deliberative. So you're actually viewing everything and you're not even saying anything. You're listening the input that you have, and you're taking all of this in and then you're gonna think about it then you're gonna create a plan so that everybody can work well.
That is such a great asset for a coach to have that natural ability of being able to really tap into what's really happening. you touched on that also, like some coaches now I think dentists think, oh, I don't need to get a coach 'cause I can just chat g pt.
How do you let a good team member go? You can tap into that with, that's not the same as belly to belly, eye to eye feeling the energy. There's something about energy when people are in a room and you can feel him and smell them and taste them and all of those things.
There's nothing that can replace that.
Angela: No, It'll never go away. And I find too, because look, a lot of my coaching after that is virtual, but I have guidelines like we're doing Zoom. I want eyes on you. So Doctor, do you have a camera? Do we have a good computer? Do we have speakers?
I mean, You wouldn't believe how many don't. And it's like, okay, well that's the first thing we're getting. 'cause I want eyes on them. But I do that after I've met them in person.
Anne: Yes. That's the key. cause Zoom works for you and me 'cause we know each other. We've sat next to each other.
Yeah. Then it works. technology's great, but there's nothing like getting in. And I love that you say that that's so important to you and your coaching. Do you travel all over or you, I know you're in Florida. Do I know you and you have a lot of clients in Florida?
Angela: I do travel all over sometimes further than I want, but. If it's the right client and it feels like a good fit for me and for them, then yes, I will go where you are kind of thing.
Anne: Yeah. Yeah.
Angela: I think that's important. Again, in that initial conversations with doctors do we match up mm-hmm. am I the right person to help you get what you want.
Another great thing about having friends in this industry is if I don't think I have the right. Stuff for them. I have friends that do. Let me introduce you too. She's gonna be great for you and she's in your area, or she's closer. She really specializes in that piece. And I'm not afraid to say no to somebody to put them with the right person,
Anne: that's just a, a beautiful mindset to have, Angela, and why you're so. sought after. And also so popular, especially within the Duke community because, you know, you've done so much for us and seen people where they need to fit to thrive, That's something that I think is, a beautiful, thing about you.
And just having some sage, experience to draw from. I've seen couple of guys and gals that, they've been in dentistry for five years and they decide they wanna be a coach. And it's like, You gotta get a little experience in there because experience is, a good teacher.
and you can take it from input. That's how you do you input all this information, not necessarily reading or hearing, but also just experiencing in your life to give you that,
Angela: Bring up a good point. 'cause it is about, I don't think there's a better lesson than experience.
Mm-hmm. And going through it yourself. And when I come and meet with teams, look consultants, coaches, whatever you wanna call us sometimes we have a bad rep Yeah. Based on the experience of one or many people in that practice that you're going into. And I can meet 'em where they are. Mm-hmm. I know what it felt like.
When our doctor told us one day we were having a consultant come in. I sat there, I listened, I heard I've been that person. And look, I've been coached and I've been coached hard by a dental coach and then other coaches as well. But I know that this is scary. Here's how we're gonna get through it. Our consultant and coach made me cry one time.
I talk about that story in my book, but you know what? I pushed through got better and I'm better for it now. My intention is not to make you cry. I didn't cry because I was mad. I was just overwhelmed and wanted to get it right. You know what I mean? You're so invested in it. So I think that those experiences along the way.
Build your muscle for coaching others wherever they are. Yeah.
Anne: Build your toolkit for sure. But I, speaking of that, coming home to a better practice, tell us about your book came out about
Angela: it's been about three years now, I think.
Okay. Time for number two. Time for
Anne: number two. Yeah, things have changed a little bit, but tell us about the book and some of the key insights and little nuggets that our listeners today can take away.
Angela: the title to me meant first off, yes, we know that we spend a lot of time.
At that practice. Mm-hmm. It is like a home. Yeah. And it can be a dysfunctional home. It could be a happy home, it can be a crazy home, but it's home and it's what you know. So coming home to a better practice is about what do we need to do as leaders to connect with our team so that they can meet us where we are and help us meet our goals as a practice.
And a lot of times that means communication. And sometimes we're really good at it and sometimes we're not good at it.
Anne: Yeah.
Angela: So how do we have that? And so we talk about the importance of one-on-ones. A lot of DI doctors fear that.
afraid of one-on-ones. If you schedule 'em regularly, you're not calling 'em in just when they're in trouble.
Yeah. And then they don't feel like they're just getting one-on-one time with you. When they're in trouble for something, what schedule it? It's a check-in. It doesn't have to be exhausting. It doesn't have to be about money. If we take that off the table and make this part of it, you get better at it, and then the team's prepared for it as well.
Those are the two objections we hear all the time. If I get one-on-one with them, they're gonna ask me for a raise, and then what am I gonna say?
Anne: Yeah,
Angela: but it's just about feedback.
Anne: Well, If you don't do one-on-ones often, which I will tell you, I never really had any one-on-ones unless I requested it for a raise.
Yes. I mean, I would go back and chat a little bit about this and that and the patients, but I mean, just about my ability I've learned now looking back, that would've been very helpful because then they would just come naturally. I would know what was expected. I mean, A lot of times it was just, I assumed that I was doing everything and you know, we know that's one of the four agreements you don't wanna break is don't assume anything.
Right. And it's just, good communication and it's gonna make. You said this in the beginning, most docs want their team members to be happy and fulfilled and stay in their career, and stay in the practice But you can't do that if you don't have any communication. on both sides, what does the doc expect and what does the employee expect?
And what they could both give.
Angela: Absolutely. we're terrible at, not all of us, but a lot of us about those check-ins. Onboarding new people and then keeping talent. And we don't set those expectations up on the front end. by the time we hire somebody, typically we're already behind the eight ball.
Anne: Yeah. Yeah.
Angela: So we don't have clear expectations. They're doing it the way they did it someplace else. We're upset because they're not doing it our way. Oh my gosh. Did we ever tell 'em our way?
Anne: That's a very good question. We
Angela: did not. So slowing down we talk about the value of having team meetings as a group.
You think we're together all the time. Why do we need to have these meetings? Doctors also afraid of Lost production for that hour or two hours. What if it turns into a, you know, what session? Mm-hmm. And we lose control. No. How do we create. Structure guidelines around what we're gonna talk about each, time, and giving the team the courage to bring up things so that we can work on a solution.
So it's not a gripe session, it's, here's my challenge. What could we do different?
As a team. And it takes a while to build that trust because. We're all bringing something with us and maybe they were shot down, maybe they were yelled at, maybe they were not allowed to speak. So we don't know where everyone is coming from when it's time for that team meeting.
So setting that structure and how you do that, and then what's gonna work best for your practice? 'cause it's not gonna be the same as the guy or girl next
Anne: door.
Angela: Let's figure out what works for you. So going through those steps and really just about building up your leadership, what's it mean to be a good leader in your practice?
And we talk about, you know, the listening and how do you really listen to your team and soak that in and not take it, personal when they have a challenge. You know, Just what can I do different? And just really listening to those things, observing those things, and being willing to do something different yourself as a owner or leader practice to get the results that you want from everybody else.
it's a easy read. It's a fun read. It's got tons of stories in it from my personal experiences, Love it. And here's the thing, they're real. Yeah, they're not always pretty. I mean, I, talk about crying in a team meeting. That's pretty raw.
Anne: That's pretty raw. And also it's beautiful to read and to, know that the person that's reading that I'm not alone.
Yes. I'm not alone feeling this uncomfortable and I'm not alone that I don't know how to lead or no one taught me how to lead because that not really taught early on it's some experience, That's why I think if you're a young doc listening or you're a dental school right now, or even mid-career, it's never too late to start with a coach, and it's never too early to start with a coach.
I feel like Angela, and I think you can back this up, the most successful dental practices that I've come across. Have had a coach for a long time and it's almost I think like an interior designer in a sense. I just came up with this, just this moment, but you can go buy furniture somewhere and it never fits.
You wasted a lot of money and a lot of time because guess what? You are not an interior designer and you don't know how to measure out a room. And the same thing with dental coaching, you need somebody that has been in the trenches that can help you with your career and your practice from day one.
And I would say be tied with that person if you have the right coach, because you're gonna be so much more successful than if you try to go it alone. What do they say? You know, If you wanna go fast. Go alone. If you wanna go far and have a long career that you look back on and say, wow, I impacted so many people's lives.
You need people to go with you and to help you along the way. We don't know everything.
Angela: I talk about the sports analogy a lot with coaches. I mean, Just look at a football team. They've got a ton of coaches for every little thing that happens. I don't think what people realize that in the Fortune 500 companies and big businesses, they have coaches, they're just not talked about.
Just like in dentistry. well, it's talked about more, I guess, now than it ever has been, but it's not always been talked about. It's like you, they just assume that you got doctor in front of your name, that you're gonna be this great business person as well. Oh yeah. That's so far from the truth.
So we talk about that like, okay, look, super Bowl teams have a team of coaches. And when they win the Super Bowl, the players don't get together and go, okay, now we got it. And get rid of the coaches. You know that you keep them or you add more to them or you tap into that. And that's what I love about some of my other friends that are coaches that have special niches that they can tap into.
'cause I can say, Hey, let me bring so and so in to help you with this part. let me bring this person in for six months to help you with this part because we don't know everything. Yeah, I would tell you the most successful practices have always coaches, sometimes multiple coaches.
And even when they come late in their career and they've never had a coach before. I helped this one guy who was ready to retire in two years. We had a lot of work to do and we ramped it up. And sold it. And that's what he wanted. And he said, I wish I would've had a coach my entire career.
Anne: Yeah. I would imagine, how many times do you hear that after you've coached a team up and just help them? I, you know, what I really love is coming home to a better practice. It just gives me goosebumps coming home to a better, it just sounds so lovely, like coming home for the holidays, coming home.
it just sounds like it's a lovely place to be. And why shouldn't it be? Why can't it be? And it can because we can learn. But we have to, find our teachers. Yes. We have to find our coaches. And um, it's way easier to do that than learning all on your own and being the only person that you're listening to.
you're not only just an amazing. DeW your amazing mom and sister and daughter. I've seen you do so much with So an amazing friend, and you've been a, a great advocate and mentor to so many in our industry. I just love getting to know you better. I, I just.
Cheer on your career and, can't wait to see how many practices, owners and team members you're gonna be helping in the future. And not only that, the dos by the way, the dental entrepreneur women. Angela, how do people find you?
Angela: Easy. It is www adaptive dental solutions.com
Anne: and you're on LinkedIn.
And we'll have
Angela: LinkedIn and there's some Facebook and Instagram groups, the same thing.
Anne: Amazon. Your book is on Amazon, coming Home to a Better Practice by Angela Davis Sullivan. And, we'll have all this in the show notes and we can't wait to see you at the Dew Retreat.
you know, we're all coming together in November in Charlotte, North Carolina please join us in Charlotte at the Valentine Resort this year because, we are gonna be just loving on each other, helping each other, growing locking arms. There's just something special when women get into a room that live by certain principles of, no gossiping, no scarcity mentality.
You know, All for one, one for all. it's really special and we hope that you know that you're welcome to come sit at our table with us and we will learn from you. Right? Angela you're never gonna stop learning 'cause you're a learner and you got input and what was your one Oh and discipline.
Did you know discipline is one of your strengths that's one of the most unusual strengths. Everybody wants discipline, but not many people get it. Congrats on that, God, for giving you that, strength and discipline. These are really strong, my dear. I'm excited about getting to dive into those a little bit deeper next time we talk.
All right, Ange, listen take care. Good luck. Enjoy this spring and I will look forward to your next article in Do I've got your book, so I'll look forward to going through that again today and finding out some more nuggets. And if you want more from Angela, reach out to her.
Thank you dear, and we'll see you next time.
Angela: Thank you, Anne.
Anne: Everybody listening. Don't forget, keep doing. You. Love you all. Take care.
