"Change starts in our mind!"

 

~ Judy Kay Mausolf

 


 

About Judy Kay
Judy Kay's expertise is helping others get happier and more successful! She coaches dentists and their teams how to become better leaders, work together better and deliver service with more passion and fun which ultimately result in growing their practice.
Her approach is different.  Instead of focusing on what you are doing wrong, Judy Kay focuses first on what you're doing right, encourages the positive that's already there, and then replaces the negative habits with actions that will help make the biggest difference for your practice!
  
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Judy Kay Mausolf

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Where is Judy Kay!
  
2015
January 22-23, 2015, Houston, TX
January 24-25, 2015, Atlanta, GA
February 19-20, 2015, Middletown, OH
February 26-27, 2015, Chicago, IL
March 20, 2015, Walnut Creek, CA
April 23-25, 2015, St. Paul, MN
May 5, 2015, Edina, MN
May 7-8, 2015, San Antonio, TX
May 27-28,2015, The Woodlands, TX
June 5-7, 2015, Portland, OR
June 11, 2015, Seattle, WA
June 25-26, 2015, Naples, NY
July 16, 2015, Burnsville, MN
July 30, 2015, Durham, NC
August 7, 2015, Mt Pleasant, MI
August 11-12, 2015, Puyallup, WA
August 14-23, 2015, Sonoma, CA
August 28-30, 2015, Nashville, TN
September 10-11, 2015, Hoboken, NJ
September 14, 2015, Overland Park, KS
September, 19, 2015, Las Vegas, NV
September 22-23, 2015, Pearland, TX
September 25, 2015, Champaign, IL
October 2-3, 2015, Washington, DC
October 7-8, 2015, Bemidji, MN
October 15-16, 2015, Rockwall, TX
October 20, 2015, Woodinville, WA
October 23, 2015, Fort Lauderdale, FL
October 27-28, 2015, Willmar, MN
November 3-4, 2015, Washington, DC
November 9-10, 2015, Raleigh, NC
November 19-20, 2015, Worth, IL
December 18-20, 2015, Palm Springs, CA
2016
January 6-7, 2016, Atlanta, GA
January 12-13, 2016, Shelby Township, MI
January 21, 2016, Denver, CO
January 27-31, 2016, Boston, MA
February 4-5, 2016, Lexington, SC
February 11-12, 2016, Ashland, WI
March 5, 2016, Memphis, TN
March 11, 2016, Slidell, LA
March 17-18, 2016, Vancouver, BC
March 29-30, 2016, Pearland, TX
April 6-9, 2016, San Francisco, CA
April 16, 2016, New Orleans, LA
April 23-24, 2016, Asheville, NC
May 5, 2016, Toronto, Ontario
May 20, 2016, St. Louis, MO
May 28, 206, San Antonio, TX
June 10-12, 2016, Santa Fe, NM
October 20-23, 2016, Denver, CO
November 4, 2016, Detroit, MI
2017
February 23-25, 2017, Chicago, IL
June 9-11, 2017, USA
December 2015 
5 Core Culture Characteristics that Nurture Change!
 
You may have heard the quote; "The only thing that is constant is change!" It is true, change is inevitable but not always positive or successful! The reality is that some work cultures support positive and successful change, while other cultures sabotage change. There are many factors involved, such as team workload, other current changes in progress, team beliefs about change, clear communication about the change, benefits of the change, appropriate training, coaching and support provided during the change, etc.
 
I help dental teams nationwide successfully embrace change. This newsletter is dedicated to learning how to create a culture where change can be a more positive, successful and sustainable experience!  Please also visit The Progressive Dentist Website at http://theprodentist.com to view additional information on nurturing change in their December issue. 


 

Inspiration

Change requires us to have courage to face our fear of the unpredictable unknown! Regardless of how dysfunctional, unhappy, unproductive or toxic the current culture may be it often feels safer to keep the status quo. The known almost always feels safer than the unknown. That is why the value of the change must be clear to those expected to make the change. It is important for the value and benefits of change to rate an 8 or above on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being high. Otherwise, the chance for the change to be sustained is limited.

After working with dental teams for many years I have found 5 consistent characteristics in the cultures that support positive and successful change.
  • Trust in leadership
  •  Clear and consistent direction
  •  Structured plan
  • Adequate training and practice time
  • Realistic workload
The number one core characteristic that supports change is trust in the leadership. If the team members trust their leader(s) they will be more willing to step into the unpredictable unknown. Leaders can build trust by embodying the following traits: 
  • Model the waddle is the number one leadership principle - in other words lead by example
  • Have a clear and consistent direction
  • Be transparent and keep the team in the loop as much as possible
  • Be open to suggestions and feedback
  • Address any obstacles, fears or concerns the team may have
The second core characteristic is to communicate a clear and consistent direction. It is important to use a decision strategy to avoid emotion driven decisions in the heat of the moment. I teach the following four strategic steps: 
  • What's in the best interests of the patients, practice and the team - not any individual and long term
  • Think about 10 months and 10 years instead of next 10 minutes or 10 days
  • What is practical and realistic based on time, people and money currently available
  • What is the precedence being set - if we can't do it across the board for everyone on the team it will feel like favoritism and divide the team
  • What is the level of passion which we are willing to support the decision - will we support it when push comes to shove even if it may result in losing an employee or a patient
Set your team up to succeed by communicating the change clearly and concisely. I suggest the following communication process:
  • Clarify expectations
  • Ask questions to make sure everyone understands
  • Write objective down in bullet points if more than a couple of things
  • Set realistic expectations for completion time and date
  • For more involved or longer tasks schedule a check in
The third core characteristic is for leadership to work with the team to develop a well-structured plan. If you want the team to embrace a change ask for their suggestions and feedback on how to implement the change. If you want the team to have ownership give them authorship as well. A well-structured plan is well thought out and clearly defined. I teach teams the R.I.S.E. Implementation Process to help them work together to create a well-structured plan. R.I.S.E. is an acronym for Review, Implement, Sustain and Evaluate.

  • Review - What is it we are currently doing and WIIFTT - What's in it for the team if we make the change
  •  Implement - Define the what who, when, where, why and how and create standard operating procedures
  •  Sustain - In order to sustain it is important for the new change to become a habit
  •  Evaluate - Is the process still working effectively.  If not what is the value and benefits in a change
The fourth core characteristic is to schedule appropriate and adequate training and practice time. I have found that the most positive and successful changes happen when the team has time to train and practice.
Team meetings are the perfect opportunity for training and practice time. Utilize your team meetings to: 
  • Review and update systems/protocols
  • Implement new ideas
  • Monitor yearly goals
  • Practice, practice, practice - including verbal skills, role playing and physical walk through
Team meetings are most effective when you:                      
  • Schedule often enough
  • Schedule time enough
  • Schedule when most can attend
  • Get feedback from the entire team - encourage solution focused suggestions on how to overcome potential obstacles
The fifth core characteristic is to be realistic with the workload. It will be very difficult to get the team excited about embracing something new if they are already swamped and consistently running behind. It is important to evaluate whether there is enough time, money and people to implement the change successfully. Even the most committed employees will become resistant to change if they are consistently overwhelmed.

Embodying these 5 core characteristics will nurture a culture where change becomes a more positive, successful and sustainable experience.   I invite you to visit The Progressive Dentist Website at http://theprodentist.com to view my more in depth article their December issue on nurturing change. 


Contact Judy Kay today if you would like to learn how she can help you build a cohesive team that  support each other and the practice, become better leaders, and deliver service with more passion and fun!