Cassie Kellner [00:00:01]:
Welcome to The Bloom Effect. I'm your host, Cassie Kellner, former chairside assistant turned team coach and founder of Everbloom. This podcast is all about the real stuff, honest convos, leadership lessons, and the heart behind thriving orthodontic teams. If you're ready to grow, lead and bloom, let's dive in. Welcome to the first episode of 2026 of the Bloom Effect. You guys, I'm so excited to be back, I can't even tell you. I'm also back in my office because I can walk on my boot if you haven't followed along. I broke my foot at the end of last year and it was a bananas time for me. And I'm back. I'm back in my office. I can walk upstairs, you guys. Okay, enough about me. So we're gonna try and keep this episode short and sweet, and there's a few things that I want to talk about, and I'm really excited because I'm going to share some things that. Some questions that people had for me that they sent me on Instagram. So the first thing I want to talk about is I wrote a newsletter blog earlier this year, which was, what, a week ago? I really wanted to challenge people, right? I know that we see all of these posts. It's like your word of the year, which, by the way, I do have a word of the year. I really feel strongly about this. I've been doing this for years now. It's just a way for me to really have a goal that can go into different parts of my life, not just my business, but being a mother, being a friend, being a wife, all the things. And so we see everybody's word of the year, because I think it's what a lot of people are doing as they should. And honestly, I really, really love it. But here's the thing. Most people pick a word of the year and they post about it, and maybe they put it on a sticky note. I don't know. I'm not a sticky note girl. But if that's your thing, go for it. Maybe they put it somewhere where it's visible. Maybe they're putting it in a sauna. Maybe it's this massive poster board. Who knows? And then, guess what? Life happens. And you're running a practice and things get chaotic, and you're running in a world, right? Your entire world. And that word disappears. Like it's gone, right? Let's say by March, by April, May, certainly June. And so this year, I want you to do it differently. I want you to pick a Word. Yes. Pick a word. But I actually want you to use this word with your team. Okay. And a really, really good place to start. Again, this was in my newsletter is with some reflection, like, let's just reflect on 2025. Some people had like the best year of their lives and. And others really struggled and some are just in between. Right. I want you to really start doing true 2025 reflection with your team. Right. So I do this with my family, which I think is fun because my kids are 5 and 6 and my husband and I do it and we say it out loud, but we do like the Peak and Pit exercise. Like, what's your Peak? What's something that was really wonderful and then what was your pit like? What happened? Right. We also do rose and thorn. We do all the things. But for this exercise, I think peek and pit work really, really well to set your intention and your word for 2026. So think back on 2025 with your team, like, really think about it the whole year. Not just the end, not just the middle, like the entire year. I think people are also not doing this enough. They're thinking about, like maybe the last six weeks. Let me tell you, my last six weeks were pure hell. I broke my foot, my family was sick. I mean, it was bananas. My business was thriving. I actually, that's a lie. I launched one of the most, if not the most successful on site meeting that blew up with my colleague Lindsay Quinn. And I called the Ortho Society, if you haven't heard of it, by the way, shameless plug orthosociety.com and we sold the first cohort out in less than 72 hours, which was absolutely bananas. And then a few days later, I broke my foot and everything went to let's get real. But I can't just focus that. My 2025 was a really, really good year. And those last six weeks of 2025 are not going to change the way that I feel about my entire year. So this is why I think it's really important for you guys to really think about your entire year as a whole. Okay, what, what was the Peak? What was your highest point of 2025? When did you feel proud? When did you feel aligned as a team? When were you like, this is why we do this work? When did you feel like that? At what point were you guys like, yes, this is it, right? And then your Peak. Your Peak is your toughest moment. Your struggles really talk through. Like, when did you as a team feel really down where you guys were like, oh, gosh, is it always going to be like this? We are really struggling collectively as a team. Or maybe something happens, right? Really think about those, those really tough, tough moments, and then you're going to share them as a team. Listen, I talk at nauseum. I know this, you guys. I know that I can be obnoxious sometimes because I'm like a broken record. And I'm going to be a broken record for the rest of my, my, my career. Clarity and communication are everything. And I'm going to talk about that a lot this year, as I always do. But here's the thing. When you share this as a team, something happens. So, as you know, I said, I sent this out in my newsletter and it's also on my website if you go to Blog Life, it's at the footer of my website, DiscoverEverbloom.com and this goes into much more detail on how you guys can do this exercise. What was really cool, I love this, by the way, is when I send my newsletter out, so it goes out to almost a thousand people. I'm really proud of that. That's like, organic stuff. And I get responses and I don't. I can't. I have to be honest. Like, it really makes me so happy. Do you know how many people sent in? Cassie, I love this. This is my word of the year. Like, I don't do that when I get, like, newsletters. I'm not responding. Maybe I should. But anyway, keep responding, you guys, because I really, really love it. And I had a team. A dear, dear, dear, dear, wonderful, highly intelligent powerhouse of a female orthodontist message, email me. And then she sent me a text message when she got back into her practice. And they did this exercise. She did this exercise just for my newsletter as a team. And I wrote back in all caps like a psychopath, like, oh, my gosh, this is amazing. And what they wrote down was absolutely incredible. Like, they really dove into their Peaks and their Pits. And here's the thing, no feelings were hurt. We were like, yeah, they were struggling. Maybe I'm making this up because I don't have it in front of me and I also don't want to share it. But, like, if you guys are struggling with retention or you're struggling with having your new hires, you know, not understand what you guys do. You don't have a written playbook or somebody was out on leave. And that was a real struggle for everyone because we weren't expecting that. Maybe the Peak here is they came back, you know, I. I think that there's so many Peaks and pits that happen throughout the year and your word of the year should grow out of that, right? Your Peaks show you what you want to build on and your pits show you what you want to leave behind. And then your word of the year will grow out of that, right? So maybe it's clarity because your systems are really messy and there's no real intention, right? Maybe it's consistency because you're tired of initiatives and systems that you're putting into place fizzle out. Or maybe it's trust. Maybe it's trust because you are absolutely rebuilding your team in 2026. Which, by the way, that doesn't mean you have to fire everyone. That means you're rebuilding. You're setting the intention and the culture for your practice, right? From, from the leadership down. The word itself isn't magic, it's what you do with it, right? So here's how you actually use your word for 2026. You talk to your team, like, let's just start there, right? You talk to your team and you make this word visible everywhere. Everywhere. You use it in decision making. You use it and you check in regularly and you celebrate when you see it in action. I've even shared a real life example on the blog of a practice that made ownership and their word and they completely transformed their culture. And you can again check that out. DiscoverEverbloom.com and you go down to the bottom. It says blog life. There's a bunch of stuff on there. It's actually really fun. Hey bloomers, I've got something big to share. Our May Ortho Society meeting fell to 95 in just 72 hours. That level of demand told us everything we needed to know. So we're opening a second highly curated and geographically exclusive cohort. Join us June 4th and 5th at the Paradise Point Resort and Spa in San Diego, California. For the Ortho Society. A hands on implementation experience limited to 20 hand selected orthodontic practices. I'm co hosting with Lindsay Quinn, founder of Heartwise Collective. Together we bring 40 plus years of orthodontic and practice management experience and we build systems alongside you. Day one, team growth plans, Clear pathways for long term success. Plus your digital workflows, AI system, CEO dashboards and a 12 month operational roadmap. Day two, peer collaboration, problem solving and real time implementation. Think study club vibes. This is real work built in real time and you leave ready to execute. Applications are open, spots are limited. Link in the show notes. I'll see you in San Diego. I really want you guys to be intentional with this. And if you need help, reach out. I'm happy to help guide you in any capacity. My word for 2025, 2024, was momentum. And Everbloom was really green. And I knew I had this vision where I wanted everyone on teams to feel less chaotic and have more clarity and feel the consistency and communication and collaborate effectively. And the feedback that I've gotten from my clients in 2024 and 2025, I mean, could literally make me cry, but we're not going to do that today. The momentum and the things that I accomplished personally, just as a little old dental assistant who's been in this industry for 22 years, I wanted momentum in what I was doing. And I set an intention. And I have to be honest, I did Peak and Pit with my family, which is really fun, as I said, and my best friend and her family, because we were together over the holidays. And my Peak was definitely speaking at the AAO in 2025 and being on that stage and having a crazy packed room and my pit was breaking my foot and. And all that comes with that. Let me tell you, it was a lesson. All of you out there who have broken a limb, I mean, I see you now, but I still really loved 2025, like, wholeheartedly loved 2025. So also at the end of the year, I posted on Instagram on my stories and I was like, hey, I'm gonna do something fun for my first podcast back. I'm gonna answer some real time questions on my podcast. And I got so many answers. Some of it were my friends and they were being really funny, but I got so many answers from people I love. And people actually even know or work with, which I also love, because they're just following the. The work that I'm doing. And hopefully they're also setting their intentions. So here's some. Here's some. I had so many. How many did I choose? Let's see. I chose three or four. So here's the first question I got. I was like, ask me anything and I'll answer it on my podcast. How do I get my team on the same page without constantly repeating myself? Guys, take that in. If this is you feel this, you're not alone. And the truth is, when you feel like you're repeating yourself over and over and over and over again, it's not always. Sometimes it is, but it's not always a people problem. It's a system problem. Most practices operate on memory. Let me say that again, most practices operate on memory, right? So if you're trying to make big changes or you've made big changes, but you haven't systematized what that is, then you are going to find people in the hallway saying things like, we've always done it this way. And so in order to get everyone aligned in your practice, you have to do three very, very simple things. Set clear expectations and write them down. Not just announcing, this is what we're doing, write it down. Someone has to be able to find this. And you cannot put this in your Google Drive and have like version 76. Okay, I should have said six, seven, but I'm not going to do that. My six year old son would love that. You can you write this down. You set clear expectations and that is what it is now when you update it, you now have your updated version. You don't have a million and one versions. This is why I love train you all. Because we have clear expectations. This is why I live for Asana. Because we have very, very clear tasks. And it's incredibly important that the clear expectations are written and verbally announced. Okay? Because what you don't want, and I talk about this a lot, is an old school game of telephone. Oh, well, no one told me that. Oh, I only work Mondays and Wednesdays and I didn't hear this. Where is the hub? Where are you setting clear expectations so that you do not have people saying, well, I've always done it this way and no one told me. You have to have a centralized place with clear written expectations. Okay, number two, accountability. Accountability that feels supportive. Take it in. Accountability that feels supportive, right? So you use one consistent platform for tests and communication and you make sure every single process has a place to live. Right? Because when clarity goes up, repetition goes down. Right? And so you feel like you're not constantly repeating yourself. And if you are constantly repeating yourself and you've done the work and put it into a central hub, whether that is a written SOP where you're setting clear expectations or a video that explains how we do this, it's really, really important that then you know, okay, I've done the work, I've put it in the centralized hub. Now this is a people problem. Those are two very different things. Things. Okay, the next question I got on Instagram. Ah, this is the best. Are you ready? What's the best way to fix team drama without feeling like a babysitter? Somebody wrote this. Oh, I can't. Okay, so here's the thing. We all have drama in our Practice, you're gonna have drama in your practice for the rest of your career. Like, whether you know it or not, it's real. Drama usually shows up when there's confusion, right? There's insecurity or unspoken frustration. This is where clarity and communication come in. Everyone, instead of jumping in and being the babysitter or the referee on everything. And this goes for every leader in your practice. Your office managers, your clinical leads, your director of operations, your. The orthodontist, the associate, right? And so instead of jumping into referee, I want you to create a culture where communication is the norm, right? We're encouraging direct, respectful conversations. Because if you have team members who are like, oh, no, and the arms are crossed and the body language has changed, we're in big trouble. When you have. I've said this so many times. When you have a team meeting and it's supposed to be a very exciting team meeting, and maybe you're making changes or. Or you're announcing something, or you're just talking about initiatives that we've already done, and your team meeting is quiet, quiet, and you can hear a pin drop and no one's responding in a positive or a negative way, you're in big trouble, right? Because communication is gone. We've lost trust. There's unspoken frustration, right? So I encourage direct, respectful conversations. And you, as the leader, have to model it yourself. You have to. You have to help your team build emotional awareness. And it's not just clinical skills, it's emotional awareness. It's not just them being in their role. It's having the awareness to understand how to respond and when to respond and what that response looks like. And when something happens and you address it early, early, not a week from now, not a month from now, not six months from now in a performance review that you're doing, which, by the way, that should be another podcast episode. And it probably will now, I do not believe in performance reviews. I believe in growth plans. I think those are two very different things. We'll get to that at another time. But when you address it early, calmly, and you have facts, that is when people feel safe, they may not feel comfortable, right? No one likes confrontation. No one likes to be. To feel like they've done something wrong. At the end of the day, this is a workspace, right? So if we feel safe, supported, and heard, the drama almost. Almost always loses its fuel. Like, we're just, like, dumping water on it. There's no fire anymore. So again, early calm and with the facts. Okay, this is the last one. How do I get my team to actually buy into systems instead of rolling their eyes? You guys, this is all about team drama. But I can't. This is so good. Okay. By the way, if someone's rolling their eyes blatantly in front of you, that's a whole different conversation. Here's the reality, and everybody knows this. People, people don't necessarily resist the change. They actually resist the confusion and the understand on why we are making this change. Right. That is really, really important to understand. It's not the change itself. I firmly believe this. It's actually the communication and the lack of clarity that they feel. Because everyone in your practice is running a mile a minute and they want to know why. Why are we changing this? What is this going to do for us? And how is this going to make our lives better? Right. So my number one resolution for this is bringing your team into the process. Bring them into what this change is. If you're making a clinical change, sit down with your clinical lead and your clinical team members, depending on how many you have, right? If you are making a change about your new patient process, your TCs should be in that conversation. If you are making a massive change on a, I don't know, a practice management system and your scheduling team, or you're making scheduling changes or you're changing your schedule for the entire year, your scheduling coordinators, your call team should be in those conversations. They want to know why, and this is their role. We trust them to do their jobs. And if we do not bring them in and the changes that we're trying to make and have them understand the why behind what we're doing. And let me tell you something. You will get the eye rolls, you will get the resistance, right? If you build systems with them, not for them, and explain the why. You celebrate the wins when things work and you give them ownership because they've had buy in on this from the very beginning, then they feel included and the respect almost always follows. So here's my challenge to you. Do your Peak and your Pit exercise. Pick a word together, bring it into your systems, and actually live it. I loved these questions that I got on Instagram. I'm going to do this again because here's the thing. I know I'm a systems nerd. Like, let's get real. I know this about myself. Systems create culture. They create good, nurturing culture with clarity, communication, and collaboration. And your word of 2026 is part of that system. Now, my word of 2026 is inspire. And that means a million different things. I want to be inspired. I want to inspire others to make the change, the correct change. I I want to feel inspiration. I am really excited for what 2026 has to bring for me and all of you. I want to hear from you. What's Your word of 2026? You can let me know on my I posted my word of inspire. You can let me know there in the comments. You can DM me. You can shoot me an email [email protected] even if you need help with some of this, I really, really can't wait to see what all of you are creating this year. So here it is. Here's a year of intention, transformation and honestly, actually living the words we choose. Thank you so much for joining me on my first podcast of the year. I'm thrilled. I cannot tell you, the guests that are about to come this year are so inspiring. The conversations that we're going to have, and hopefully The Bloom Effect has made you feel less alone in your practice and your world. Until next time, thank you for joining me on The Bloom Effect, where we keep it real, keep it growing, and always keep it team first. If today's episode sparked something for you, an idea, a shift, or just a reminder that you're not alone, take a second and share it with your team or a fellow ortho leader. Be sure to subscribe so you never miss a convo. And if you're loving the show, leave a review. It helps more practices find us and join the movement. And if you're ready to bring this kind of energy into your practice, visit DiscoverEverbloom.com to learn more about working together. Until next time, keep leading with heart, keep building with intention, and keep blooming right where you're planted.
