The Whole Veterinarian
Is it impossible for veterinarians to aim for more balance? The Whole Veterinarian podcast helps to share experiences and start a dialogue about how we can grow as people and professionals. As a female equine solo practitioner, mother and business owner, I've seen the challenges that face us. I want veterinarians to learn how to be happier, healthier, wealthier and more grateful for the lives that they've created. Together, let’s learn how to develop a life we love.
The Whole Veterinarian
VET TRUCK CONFIDENTIAL: Cultivating Open and Honest Team Communication
Is your veterinary team feeling overwhelmed and disconnected? Discover how a simple two-word check-in can transform your team meetings and create a supportive work environment. Inspired by Brene Brown, we share practical advice on gauging your team's headspace and offering them the support they need.
...
See other episodes on running effective meetings featuring Dr. Kim Harmon.
Episode 65 Part 1
Episode 66 Part 2
...
About the series!
Join us on Vet Truck Confidential, a candid and engaging podcast series where we explore the real-life experiences, challenges, and triumphs of equine veterinarians on the road. Each episode dives into the heart of veterinary practice with insightful conversations and stories from the field. Whether you're a seasoned vet or just starting out, get ready for an inside look at the world of equine practice like never before.
...
Send a text and let me know what you think about the episode!
Connect with Stacey or find more from The Whole Veterinarian!
www.thewholeveterinarian.com
If you want to have a small part in supporting the production of the show, click here to Buy Me A Coffee!
IG @thewholeveterinarian
Listen on your favorite podcast player here
Thank you for your time and support!
Thank you. People learn to be happier, healthier, wealthier and more grateful for the lives that we've created. Welcome to the Whole Veterinarian Podcast. Hi. Welcome to another episode of Vet Truck Confidential with my friends and colleagues Dr Kelly Zeytoonian and Dr Misty Gray. Let's just jump right into the episode. Hope you enjoy. Hi, ladies.
Misty Gray:Hello.
Stacey Cordivano:Oh God, Kelly's already frozen Jesus.
Kelly Zeytoonian:No, I wasn't. I just was tired, I just was like open mouth breathing.
Misty Gray:I have no idea what it is we're actually doing. Okay.
Stacey Cordivano:All right. So, yeah, I have an idea. I want to start this a little differently, because I heard about this idea for starting team meetings from our guru Brene, and I want to try it with you guys. Is that okay? Yeah, let's do it. So she suggests doing a two-word check-in to start your team meeting. So I'm going to ask you both, and I will share two words that describe you know how you're doing headspace, and then, in theory, we'd start our meeting after that. So Misty looks deep in thought. So, kelly, you're up.
Kelly Zeytoonian:Anxious and optimistic.
Stacey Cordivano:Okay, misty.
Misty Gray:Overscheduled, but also optimistic.
Stacey Cordivano:Okay, I think mine too will be. Is overscheduled the word for no having? What's the word for having too many things on my to-do list? Okay, I'll just go with overwhelmed and excited. So that's it. That's all you do. But as the team leader, you would take note of any negativity or negative words and then make a point to follow up with your team members on ways in which you can support them. So for Kelly, I would pull her aside or give her a call as she hopped in her truck and say hey, kelly, I know that you said you were feeling anxious today and I want to know what is one or two ways that I can support you in helping to alleviate that anxiety today or this week.
Kelly Zeytoonian:My response would be I like to have answers and be able to solve problems immediately and think through my responses. Be able to solve problems immediately and think through my responses. So don't give me tasks or new exercises without advanced warning, because I like the time to plan ahead and sort of think through my response.
Stacey Cordivano:I think that's an excellent point. Yes, probably, if you're going to do this with your team, you should give them a heads up right, like I did, spring it on you guys for kind of fun effect, but probably not the most psychologically safe way to get people to answer so great. Okay. Well, now I know next time I won't spring any new intros on you for the book.
Kelly Zeytoonian:But you know that could be, you know in in work settings, right? Like don't put me on the spot asking me to do this thing without giving me a little bit of time to think it through so that I give you the most appropriate and like logistically making sense answer, for I don't know, like scheduling things, yeah.
Stacey Cordivano:Right. So like an email would be better to you than like hey, kelly, I'm calling you on the phone. Like can you go?
Kelly Zeytoonian:like do this for me, yeah, like if I'm in the middle of the day and I'm out and about and I can't sit and look at the calendar, then I might give the office team a quick answer just to feel like I've answered them, because I also have that habit of like wanting to get done and then go to the next thing, but really like having the time to look at it in front of the computer. I can say, well, this makes sense for this and that, and I would feel better about meeting everyone's needs because I was better set up to like have all the information in front of me. Yeah.
Stacey Cordivano:Okay. So then with Misty, probably this isn't going to help you, given our distance, but maybe probably this isn't going to help you, given our distance, but maybe. But if you were working together, like hey, misty, I noticed in the meeting today you said you were overscheduled. Are there a couple of things I can pull off your plate or we can talk about how to delegate to other team members?
Misty Gray:yeah, I would just say that I am looking at my over scheduledness and there's not, but sometimes just having somebody recognize, like commiserate for a minute about it and maybe giving a tip for future days, these things that are scheduled are things that I committed to myself in an effort to not say no.
Stacey Cordivano:Are we doing that? Are we making an effort not to say so, yes? So my reminder to you would be this is the year of no, not the year of not saying no, yeah, yeah, so we can have a short conversation about that, yeah. We all need that reminder.
Misty Gray:It's just today, but you know what, when I think about my private practice days, um, that would have also gone out like frequently. I would have felt the refrain that I was overscheduled, and it probably would have been helpful to have someone brainstorm with me ways to delegate stuff either to the office staff or the technical staff, things like that. So Cool.
Stacey Cordivano:Yeah, I think I thought it was. When I heard it, I thought it was a really cool idea and a way to just develop deeper connections with team members and show support. And again, we've talked about this before, like leadership is hard and that takes time and got to kind of schedule that into your own schedule as a leader. But I think it's important.
Misty Gray:All right, I have a question how do you assuming usually it's the team leader that is leading all of the meetings how do you ensure that that stays authentic and genuine and doesn't become a like way just to I don't know get negative attention? Or have you solved my problem? Like what, if every meeting you showed up to and you were like, okay, today I'm going to say this and this because I need my boss to solve my already busy boss, to solve my problem? Is that a concern?
Kelly Zeytoonian:Well, I think you could maybe do other work and other exercises right. So maybe it's not every meeting. Starting with this question, I think there's other ways to ask how somebody is doing without asking how they're doing right. So, as an example, another question that we sometimes start on doing our staff meetings is like rate your past week, month since the last meeting on a scale of one to 10. And somebody says maybe eight. And then I like to follow up with well, what would have made it a nine? And that's a way of them sort of saying, maybe for you, misty, it would have been like having my schedule be a little bit more efficiently planned or not having quite so much on my schedule. And then I'll also ask you what would have made it a seven? So what would have made it worse? And I think that's a way of indirectly asking people, kind of you're getting people's pain points from them out of that. So you know, maybe it's rotating the exercises. I like that.
Stacey Cordivano:I think that, going back to your specific question, I mean I think inherently veterinarians are hard workers, right? I don't know that we're like looking for people to solve our problems and if it really is like consistent every week, that like I'm looking for, that like maybe that's a deeper dive with the person of whether it's a good fit for like both sides. It's a good fit for like both sides or like do they actually need other help? That like outside help, that you know counseling or support in some other way. So I don't know, I I personally wouldn't be afraid of of that happening, but I guess in some world I could see it happening and and then it's like a kind of a symptom or a sign of a bigger issue, I think.
Kelly Zeytoonian:I wholeheartedly agree with that and have personally experienced that where, like you, just have an individual who just is constantly upset, unhappy, disturbed, worried. Upset, unhappy, disturbed, worried, anxious We'll use that word as well and that's when you do need to start questioning are there external factors that you can't support or help and you need to get that person external help, or are there internal factors and it is maybe not the best fit? The core values aren't there, and so you're constantly going to be butting up against issues, and I know that we'll have a future podcast about core values, so that'll be exciting to talk about a little bit more.
Misty Gray:Yeah, Do you have like fun meeting icebreakers that aren't. Is there value to that too? Not just like probing meeting icebreakers, but also just lighthearted? Yeah, I think there probably is Probably no fun at these meetings Fun.
Stacey Cordivano:Fun. We don't allow fun here. No, I think there probably is. I have a pretty small team so it sort of doesn't need to be forced, but in a bigger team I'm sure, well, you have experience in a larger team. Do you have you guys done in your past done any fun, more fun, icebreakers.
Misty Gray:We did highs and lows. That's not fun necessarily. That's kind of the same line, I think, of the one to ten and the other. I did do some job interviews, one time for a non-veterinary role, and one of the interviewers asked the interviewees if they were animal, what animal would encompass their personality, and like that got some really interesting and funny. I mean, like obviously it was at an equine practice so a lot of people said, oh, worse, but not everybody you know. Like there was cute and funny ones.
Stacey Cordivano:Yeah, good.
Misty Gray:I think hey.
Stacey Cordivano:I think we all agree that more, more high quality team meetings probably can benefit every equine vet practice. And these are just a couple ideas on ways to get started. If you feel like you're not good at them, I'll also put a link to the episodes where the practice culture talked about how to run a good meeting. It's like a two-parter that was released on the whole veterinarian last year. That also is helpful, but that's a much deeper dive into different aspects of running a meeting. But yeah, I just thought it would be fun to try on you guys, and now I know that I need to give Kelly a warning.
Kelly Zeytoonian:I don't want to be wrong. I don't want to give the wrong answer about my feelings.
Stacey Cordivano:Don't you know? This is a psychologically safe environment. There are no wrong answers. Okay, all right, ladies, good to see you. Talk to you soon.
Misty Gray:Bye.
Stacey Cordivano:Bye. Thank you so much for spending some of your precious time with us. We so very much appreciate it and truly hope that it helps you just a little bit. We hope you are doing well and we will talk to you again soon.
