102 | After Show: Deeper Dive into Team Culture

Annie
Well, hey there Leah.

Leah
Hey Annie, how are you?

Annie
Well, I feel refreshed because we just spent an hour talking about building team culture and how to prevent burnout through taking care of our businesses. And I just, I feel really good about the possibilities of all the things we can do to, like, really connect with our purpose and stay fresh.

Leah
I thought it was such a good conversation, and it really, like you said, refreshing, but it just brought to mind, like so many, of the things that we know are important and we want to be doing. And I feel like we were talking about at the very end, how life just becomes this, you know, Rapid River and we're just being pulled down it. And sometimes we need these moments to be like, Okay, wait a second, what am I doing day to day? What am I doing in my practice? What am I doing with if you have a group practice, like my teammates or other people that are working with me to really create a culture that's going to keep us thriving and keep us showing up as our best self for our clients, without just getting like drug into the chaos of life and all the stressors that there are. And I just really loved our guest, Dr Sutton, her perspective on and she had the really great framework on, like, how to keep those things in mind as you're whether you have a private practice or group practice. She's had a really nice framework, I thought, for a lot of those things that we probably aren't putting together as pieces to building team culture.

Annie
Definitely, and you know, I liked so we were like talking about how it's your team is like you and you have other people working for you, but it's also like You are a team just yourself. And so having that grounding is really important. And I guess, like, it's something that you and I have, like, spent a lot of time thinking about recently, but not just recently. We were, remember we did a couple of I mean, this was, like, a million years ago. This was, like, way pre coven. I think the first in person thing that we did, we did a group practice workshop in New Jersey. We had, like, and we did a whole day fun about practice, I know. And we just were kind of like, let's just do it. And we had a big turnout for it. Also, yeah, we were, we were like, not just okay. We were like, we have to, like, teach people about group practice. I didn't have one. You did, but I didn't have one. But then it was also like, you and I working together and then working, you know, with the event organizer. Like, it was just so, so much, so many logistics. I can't believe, how did we do that? I don't know. I don't know if you were there, ask us, tell us how we did that. You don't know I was a really meaningful day too. I had, like, great conversations with people who were there.

Leah
It was really good. And one thing I remember us specifically talking about was this kind of idea around, if you're building a group practice, you are the head of that practice. You are the CEO and and I think our conversation really today kind of highlighted the fact that there's a trickle down effect, you know we were talking about, if you're the leader in an organization, and then the way you work sometimes just sets the stage for how you expect everybody else to work, which actually might not really be what you expect everybody else to do, but it kind of almost by example, is showing them like, Hey, I'm seeing the max number of clients a human could see in a week. I expect everybody to do that, even if it's not verbally stated. I think that we don't realize how much our our own self care, our own practices, kind of trickle down through examples that other people are seeing of what we are valuing and how we're taking care of ourselves. And I remember talking about that, but maybe not to such an extent, but it's really got got me thinking too with my group practice. And I know you were thinking, I could see your wheels turning too, as we were having this conversation about, I was really starting to think about like different things I wanted to do, and different ways that I kind of want to look at different aspects, you know, so I don't know, is there anything else that you took away from that?

Annie
I think just in thinking about the mindset that we bring to all of this, and being a leader, and what I feel like I was, like, conditioned to believe leadership was or like influences from, like, my working in the entertainment industry and working on the corporate side, and like, what leadership looks like, and the Sheryl Sandberg book Lean in, you know, just this idea of, like, hit it hard, go. I was so into productivity. I was like, I can, like, I can master anything I can come up with a workflow for whatever, like it was so appealing to me, this idea of like, dominance and mastery that I didn't think about, is this actually how I want to be and when, like you think about too, is like, is this what I want to model for the people that are working for me? No, there's no way to live.

Leah
Yeah, because, you know, the result is burnout, right?

Annie
Exactly. It didn't work out so well for me, and I know, like, they're thankful. I remember when that, when lean in, came out, and I read it, and I just remember feeling like, like, upset by it, but like, I wasn't sure why I'm like, I'm either feeling like a failure, or I feel like this whole thing is nonsense, but I but, like, I don't know, or let I just, but I have to be like this. This is what you're supposed to do. Like, what am I CEOs do?

Leah
Yeah, right. I feel like I felt that pressure so much. I used to follow a lot of podcasts that were like, entrepreneur podcast, and I don't know anything that felt like, really hustle and like, sacrifice everything for your mission. I always just felt like it graded against me. I tried to go along. I'm like, yeah, do everything like you can sleep when you're dead, mentality, you know. But I always had, like, a bit of a resistance, feeling like you're saying, like something just never sat right with me. And it took, you know, the lesson of figuring out, like, yeah, that doesn't work. Long term, you will hit a part your body will hit a moment where it is like, and I will no longer do this for you, even if you want to keep going and and really realizing like you're saying, that's definitely not the example I want to set for the people who work for me, because I don't want them to not be able to work for me. I love them too much. I don't want them to be like, sorry, in two years I'm completely burnt out from the workload and the expectations in this company and like I'm quitting. I'm like, I want the 100% opposite of that. I want them to have as long a career as they want to have, and feel good about it, you know. And I really like that. Our conversation focused a lot about that leadership, but also we pulled it back into like, even if you're on your own, your mentality around your work and how you lead yourself, like, is so important. We we've kind of made, I think we even did, like, didn't we do like, a funny skit about, like, the 25 hats? Yeah, we have an actor. Is that?

Annie
Yeah, that was so freaking funny.

Leah
But in that it's like, yeah, when you put that CEO hat on, like, what's the inner dialog that comes up, you know, is it hustle more? Do more you're never doing enough. Like, why are you not taking care of this, that and the other thing? Or is it like, what do I need to take care of? And how am I showing up to be, you know, productive in the most meaningful things that need to happen, you know, like the mindset in just when we put that hat on, I think could shift the whole way you experience running a private practice. And gosh, why couldn't we go back in time and talk to ourselves like this? That would be so helpful.

Annie
I know I really pushed myself so hard, and it's hard to know, though, because you're like, well, would I be where I am now if I hadn't pushed myself so hard? I don't know, but I maybe things would look different, and I would be happy. I mean, it's like you don't know, so I think you know, bringing it back to like you really can only take care of who you are in this moment right now. Out and what you need right now and that will feed your future self. Don't beat yourself up over mistakes you made in the past. But also don't work so much to satisfy some future version of yourself that you may or may not be when you get there. It's trying to be grounded in in what's happening. I that's very hard for me.

Leah
I know. And you, you know, just being in business in general, you do have to be so forward thinking, because you're, like, preparing for all the things that are coming up. And you have to, you know, budget and see if you're hitting numbers. And, like, the nature of it is very forward focused, you know, which is hard to sometimes bring ourselves back to, like, I really don't know what the future holds. I can be, you know, a smart person that's prepared as much as a human can be. But also like, how am I showing up today? How am I feeling today? What do I need today? What does my team need today right now? Like, what's in front of me? I think sometimes it's hard in our and our, you know, business culture isn't necessarily very aligned with that, you know, I think it's such a big push. And then in our conversation, Dr Sutton really pointed out so many places where not just business, but just healthcare, you know, our healthcare system and how frustrating it is to be part of that system, and how like, detrimental to Mental health of the providers that system is, it's, it was really eye opening to see her perspective. I really appreciated that, and to hear it from her, her side of things as as being a different provider than we are, you know. So I thought that was really insightful, too.

Annie
Yeah, it was, yeah, a lot, a lot to think about, and a lot to I mean, it's always a work in progress. Like, I do feel like, you know, burnout is always like, kind of right, right up ahead, like, I can always see you burnout, but I, and for me, I always know that I'm getting burned out when I start to find the babies annoying. It's not even like that. I'm just like, Oh, you're just a baby. Like, yeah, you're cute. I'm like, no, no, that's not who I am. I love babies. Yeah? So like, what's wrong? What's wrong with me? Go take a nap. And yeah, I need a reset, because this is not worth that.

Leah
Yeah? Yeah. I know I always feel like, when I'm feeling burned out, I will open my schedule and just kind of feel like, Oh, it feels like so much, even if it's not even that much, I'll just feel like I'm looking at this workload and just like, oh my gosh, this is so much, you know, I don't know if I can, can I get through this week? It feels like way too much. That's always like, my check in for myself, if I'm oftentimes, if I'm in a good place, I'm kind of like, excited and kind of like, wonder what all these things are gonna, you know, who's gonna come in front of me this week? What are they gonna need? You know, that kind of excitement, that's part of the things I like about this job is like, it's never really exactly the same. You know, you just kind of get a new something every day, a new shiny thing. But, yeah, my sign is always I open my schedule for the weekend. I'm just like, there's no way I'm gonna make it to Friday. I know I need to check in and and do something to read, yeah, Fill my cup.

Annie
Yeah, yeah, take the day off, yeah. No matter what, just be like, sometimes it's like, a day off.

Leah
If I'll see that, and I'll notice that cell, that part of myself, and then I'll be like, calling my assistant and being like, I'm going to need you to block this day, like, at least I know a day is coming that I will be able to step back or at least a half day anything. So even that future, like knowing a day is coming really feels nice.

Annie
Well, this was fun, and look forward to next month's conversation. And always like getting a chance to catch up on where, where we're both at with our private practices, with, all you know, the babies in Texas, the babies in New York, mostly, they're doing good.

Leah
So, yeah, absolutely, absolutely. Well, I look forward to seeing you next month. I'm so excited about that conversation. It's Cathy Watson Genna is always a great, a great mentor for us. All right, I feel like she's just. Such a wealth of knowledge, I always look forward to our conversations with her, because I feel like I walk away with I'm like, how am I? I've listened to her talk like 100 times, I feel like, and yet, every time I hear her talk, I come away with new things. So I like, can't wait to fill up my toolbox even more next month, same.

Annie
All right, well until next time. Yes, great to see you, Leah. Thanks everybody for listening.

Leah
All right, see you soon. Bye, bye, bye.