Overcoming Imposter Syndrome in 2 Easy Steps

Imposter phrase. the a syndrome. I have to be honest–I’m not a fan of the Alas, it's a thing even though it’s been a thing since dawn of time–some marketer just needed to coin it like Hallmark holiday to help you feel bad about yourself. Off soapbox. Like it or not-I felt it when I was you -you feel it today–let’s overcome it together.

First, I know this is not an easy ask of you. Whether you’re a D1, 2, 3, or 4, I get it. Job one is head down and get your DDS OR DMD. I also know dental school isn’t always the safest space. It isn’t always the least stressful place. And it isn’t always what you want to wake up and face. In truth, I still have random pre-clinical flashbacks of crushed waxups, and the overwhelming feeling that I’m not good enough.

That said, I remember a very specific early fall D2 day. We had a few holdbacks join our class. They, of course, had friends who moved on to D3. As we sat around and talked, I remember thinking, “If that crew advanced to D3, so can I.” That moment was a defining one. That strategy became a mantra as I looked one, two, three years ahead at every goal I had. “If they can do it, so can I.”

That was for me and can be for you–the first step to thriving. Knowing as hard as it seems, that you can and you will do it. From there, if you’re going to overcome imposter syndrome, I need you to actually look to your future. I need you to imagine your life as a young dentist. Think about who you want to be. Think

about what kind of dentistry you want to do. Don’t worry about your inexperience. Don’t worry about changing your mind. Don’t worry or overthink any of it. Just think, as you sit here in this moment, who do you want to be as a dentist, as a leader, as a teammate, as a person? How do you want people to view you? What do you want them to say about you when you’re not around? If you could draw up YOUR perfect dental day as you sit here now, what does it look like? What procedures do you picture doing (even if you’ve only seen them in class)? Picture your practice. What’s your style? Modern? Traditional? Are you comfortable with tried and true? Do you see yourself being cutting-edge? Do you love people and want a small team? Larger team?

Do you like a consistent week? Do you prefer to mix it up?

Take some time alone. Answer those questions for you. There’s no wrong answer. There’s only your ideal answer. Summed up, that’s called your vision.

From there, why do you want what you want? Is it to have balanced time? For family? Friends? Travel? Is it that at all? Maybe you want a 70-hour/week, all-in, dentistry-focused life. All of it is right. As long as it’s right for you. You see-regardless of our different whys, I believe we all seek the same thing. A self-determined future.

Build your mental picture of what you want, where you want it, when and why, and you’ve just completed step one in overcoming imposter syndrome. When you know where you’re going, you have the power to define who can help and how you’ll get there.

It’s always been easy to see graduation as a finish line rather than a starting point for learning. It’s even easier to view it that way today when one adds up their debt and several social media groups pouncing on the fact that schools should be better.

Don’t get me wrong–dental school needs to provide us with a strong foundation. It cannot, no matter what you’re hearing or experiencing, provide you with more than that.

Sorry…facts.

Most dental schools arm us to do basic restorative basically well. Some arm us with some prosthetics, including implants. There’s a win in those schools. There’s also a caveat to all of it. Procedure reps help us on the mechanical side. So yes, as a student, the more reps, the better. But why you do the what and how you do it matters more. Please re-read that. Why you and I do what we do and why we do it the way we do it matters more than the reps.

It’s the difference between a professional, a doctor, and a tooth mechanic. You do not want yourself or our profession to be viewed in that light. That is how we fall into a lesser division of medicine. That is how and why insurance companies dominate choices many of today’s dental pros operate.

Go on Facebook, and you’ll see two dozen experts selling you the “how to fix”:

• Poor insurance reimbursement
• Lack of patients
• Less than stellar associate treatment
• Poor case acceptance Your need for speed

That’s nice. But you know what’ll help you far more? What will crush your imposter syndrome?

Investing in your diagnostic and treatment planning abilities so you can confidently walk into any room and prescribe (even if you’re referring out because the experience hasn’t come yet).

\*This is how you gain 95% complete care-case acceptance.

\*\*This is also an incredible path to building patient referrals from specialists, by the way!

When the top docs see you as a top doc, they’ll send you endless referrals.

Understanding material science: Few dentists have a real grasp on when to use what materials on which patients and why. When you’re one of those few, patients and colleagues will respond.

Working on your communication skills: If I told you how many dentists (of all ages) believe patients say no, maybe, or yes, and then cancel because of money or insurance – you’ll fall over. Patients say no or yes based on our ability to build real value for what we do. When they understand what we understand, as deeply as we understand, they say yes. The key is understanding their why. When you and I know every individual reason why patients choose what they choose, we hear yes almost every time. Imagine how hearing yes all day, every day, will cure that insecure feeling you have.

Do the work

If you’ve heard me speak before or read any of my articles, this will sound familiar to you. It’s not going to be easy. But it is going to be worth it. The top 2% in any profession, not just dentistry, know they must do the work.

You are capable of being in that top 2%!

So…Head back to the beginning of this article.

Make a list of all the questions I asked.

Answer them for you.

Give it a week and go back to them to make sure it all makes sense. If it does, proceed; if it doesn’t, tweak.

If you have questions-DM me @ignitedds on Instagram.

Then re-read our second step. What can you commit to learning more of RIGHT NOW?

What can you prioritize learning immediately following school?

Have it under control? Great. Have questions on where to learn what you want to learn? DM @ignitedds on Instagram. We know the best of the best in all lanes of dentistry–it’s why a team of dentists who graduated anywhere from a year ago to twenty-nine years ago gets us. :)

Look in the mirror and smile. You have already done a lot of the work! The actual future learning and future reps will come easily now that you’ve invested the time to build your playbook. Great job!!

Imposter syndrome, as I said, is a phrase I’m not a fan of. Alas, we called it out, and we built a plan to overcome it. Sprinkle in a few great mentors to keep advising you, keep encouraging you, keep pushing you to be your best, and keep picking you up when you fall, and you’re in a great position to succeed. I only have one question for you before we part ways today…

Will you do it?

Think Like a CEO and Unlock the True Power of Your Practice

Doug Fettig, CPA, MBA

IRESIGNATION.

n dental my travels colleagues, across I sometimes the country encounter speaking an to attitude your fellow

of…

Resigned to working longer hours to maintain the same level of income. Resigned to dealing with endless turnover and staffing shortages within your dental team. Resigned to accepting what insurance plans decide your skills are worth. Resigned to feeling inadequate as you juggle bringing in a producing dentist, running your business, being there, and enjoying the moments with your family.

I believe that these unfortunate scenarios are the result of a very simple, yet very powerful, dynamic. You don’t view yourselves in the correct context. You see yourselves as being victims of forces beyond your control (e.g., DSO expansion, insurance driving down reimbursements, rising student loans).

You don’t appreciate the incredible value that your skills have in the marketplace. You live your life with a scarcity mindset rather than an abundance mindset. You fail to see that you are the leader of a dynamic and vibrant workplace.

Think about that for a second. You are the CEO of a business just like any other business owner. You can create a vibrant, dynamic workplace and positively impact the lives of your team, your patients, and your community. WHAT A GIFT!

I realize that you did not receive much (if any) training in dental school on how to run a business. I realize that the emphasis was to get through dental school so you could earn a paycheck and start making payments on your skyrocketing student loans balances. I realize that you weren’t imbued with the idea that you would become a business leader, a CEO, whose most joyful path to a fulfilling and profitable career would be as a great leader of your own company.

But, as much as we’d like to, we can’t change the past. However, we can learn from it. We can assess what needs to be done, and what needs to change, from this point forward. You must disassociate yourself from the idea that your goal was achieved when you graduated from dental school. That “If I build it, they will come.” The idea that if I hang out a shingle the rest would take care of itself.

That doesn’t work anymore – the competition is too fierce, and the financial and emotional stakes are too high for you to be in a passive role regarding how your professional life will play out. Not to mention the impact it has on your personal life.

When I speak to dentists, I ask the practice owners to raise their hands. Then I say something like, “Congratulations! You are now all CEO’s! From this day forward you will think of yourselves as CEO’s! Never again will you think of yourself as ‘just a dentist’”.

Gee that’s great, Doug, but what does it mean to think like a CEO, and why does it matter?

Glad you asked - there are many traits and positive aspects to altering your self-perception and thinking to that of a CEO including:

• Inspiring you to start running your practice like a true business
• Making you more willing to utilize benchmarks and set incentives/goals for your team
• Opening you to the power and benefit of bringing in dental industry experts to help you run your practice more efficiently and profitably
• Providing the discipline to use ROI (return on investment) calculations when considering decisions to invest in technology
• Unlocking the use of tools such as a SWOT (strength, weakness, opportunity, threat) quadrant to assess your practice holistically and strategically – running your practice proactively rather than reactively
• Seeking formal leadership training to enable you to create a great work environment for your team
• Thinking outside of your individual “island” and joining with other independent practitioners to gain economies of scale for services and supplies

Think for a second about those bulleted items above. They are all tools and techniques that CEOs around the world use to run their businesses more efficiently and profitably. Why should you be any different?

Think what it would be like to have the decision of a major investment (not expense!) in technology to be considered by determining whether the return is worth the investment. Instead of listening to the argument that the investment (not expense!) is “not in the budget”. The budget is irrelevant if the investment will generate a return far greater than your monthly payments – it would actually improve your cash flow! One of my favorite sayings is, “You can’t cost cut your way to prosperity.” It’s never been done.

Think what it would be like to structure a compensation and bonus plan that creates positive incentives for your team to maximize overall productivity, profitability, patient satisfacand knowledge of your dental rep, to view them as a consultant versus an order taker, to help you grow your practice. If you win, your dental rep wins! And yes, experts cost money – they need to eat too! But if your dental expert isn’t bringing you more value than they cost well…you are using the wrong expert!

Perhaps they forgot to mention/emphasize to you in dental school that you were all CEOs in the making. That you would have the privilege of running a business and impacting the lives of others. That you had control over your destiny and your future.

It’s time for you to join the vibrant, dynamic, creative community of your fellow CEOs from around the world. Changing your mindset and seeking out the resources to help you unlock your potential as a leader will bring untold benefits to you, your practice, your team, your family, and your community.

By the very nature of what you have achieved – running a business – you are already a CEO. Now it’s time to start leveraging your role and reaping the rewards, both financial and emotional, that will follow!

Doug’s passion is inspiring dentists to “Think Like a CEO”, unlocking the keys to becoming a dynamic leader, growing their practice, and achieving their retirement dreams. Doug utilizes an engaging and humorous style in presenting to dentists across the country about the business of dentistry, leadership, the power of technology and tax incentives, and retirement strategies. To book Doug for your next event you can reach him at dougfettig@dentaldollarsandsense.com or via his website at www.dentaldollarsandsense.com.

tion, and patient care? What would the impact be if your team’s behavior was motivated to align with the goal of providing excellent patient care and collaborating with each other for growth?

Think what it would be like to receive top-notch leadership training and to use your enhanced leadership skills to create a more positive work environment. Might that have a positive impact on your staffing issues and any team “drama”? Don’t you owe it to your dental team (and to yourself, to your family, to your community) to create the greatest work culture that you can for your team?

Think what it would be like to take a broader view of your industry and your place in it. There is a growing movement among independent practitioners to band together to achieve leverage and economies of scale that can only be achieved in the marketplace via size and influence. That’s why DSOs are a successful business model – they gain efficiencies and increased profitability through economies of scale. Solo dentists or small group practices are now joining forces in a variety of business structures and groups such as GPOs (group purchasing organizations), dental buying clubs, DPO’s (dental partnership organizations) and the like.

Think about utilizing industry experts to help you grow, just like every other CEO in the world, be it in areas like marketing, legal, accounting/finance. Think about embracing the skills