In this week's episode of The Uncharted Podcast, Dr. Andy Roark and Stephanie Goss dive into a letter from the mailbag. It's from a kennel technician grappling with a toxic workplace culture. This dedicated individual is working tirelessly in the kennels for experience requirements for vet school. However, the atmosphere within the kennels is far from supportive, with the kennel manager engaging in gossiping and making side remarks. Despite reaching out to the practice manager for assistance, the situation remains unchanged, leaving the kennel attendant feeling frustrated and unheard. Andy and Stephanie provide valuable insight about looking at the big picture and how to navigate these kinds of conversations. Let's get into this episode.... UPCOMING EVENTS/INFO

In this episode of the Uncharted Podcast, Dr. Andy Roark jumps into a crucial mailbag but this time with special guest Dr. Sarah Wolff. Together they tackle a pressing question from a practice manager struggling with maintaining the personal touch in client interactions after transitioning to digital communications. Sarah Wolff, a seasoned veteran of the veterinary field, embarked on her journey inspired by James Herriot's tales. Over her 22-year career, she's navigated every role imaginable in a veterinary team, from humble beginnings as a kennel assistant to the esteemed position of medical director. Through her extensive experience, Sarah has witnessed the dynamic evolution of veterinary care, but one principle has remained constant: client relationships are the cornerstone of exceptional veterinary medicine. Today, she's dedicated to helping teams cultivate these relationships, fostering excellent client experiences that enrich both the practice and the individuals within it. For more insights from Sarah, visit her online at www.DrSarahWolff.com and follow her on Twitter @DrSarahWolff. In this episode's mailbag entry, our featured practice manager voices a common concern among modern practices: striking a balance between efficiency-driven digital communications and maintaining the human connection with clients. With technology streamlining communication processes, practices risk losing the personal touch that sets them apart in the hearts of their clients. Let's get into this episode! UPCOMING INFO/EVENTS Join us for the upcoming Uncharted Veterinary Conference in April 2024, where industry leaders will converge to explore strategies for breaking through the noise and crafting compelling narratives that resonate with your community. Learn how to Stand out in a Sea of Noise and register now at https://unchartedvet.com/uvc-april-2024/. Can't make it to Greenville? Explore our new Leadership Essentials Certificate, offering 8 hours of CE and empowering leaders at all levels to achieve excellence. Learn more and access the program online or in person at https://unchartedvet.com/certificates/ Elevate your leadership skills and join our vibrant community of veterinary professionals by becoming an Uncharted member. Gain exclusive access to valuable resources and benefits, including the Leadership Essentials Certificate, as part of your membership. Join us today at https://unchartedvet.com/uvc-membership/. Upcoming events: unchartedvet.com/upcoming-events/ All Links: linktr.ee/UnchartedVet Do you have something that you would love to hear discussed on the podcast? If so, send us a message through the mailbag! Submit it here: unchartedvet.com/mailbag

This week on the Uncharted Podcast, practice management super nerd, Stephanie Goss invited special guest Bill Schroeder to come discuss something all of our practices should be getting ready for - the big slow down. We know that some clinics still have clients coming out their ears while others are experiencing a very rapid slowing of appointment volume. So many of us have been focusing on hiring and retaining team members to support our case loads that we've put things like marketing, updating reminder protocols and website updates on the back burner. Bill Schroeder owns InTouch Practice Communications (www.InTouchVet.com), a full-service digital marketing agency built specifically for the veterinary community. As an entrepreneur, international speaker, veterinary thought leader, and digital marketing enthusiast who has leveraged his love of people and pets to help veterinary practices grow and thrive - Stephanie thought Bill would be the perfect guest to talk strategy with. Bill's team and their more than 8,000 client success stories are the basis for his speaking sessions and his drive to help practices learn how to actually implement these things in your practice. Bill serves on the Board of Directors for VetPartners, teaches within the MBA program at Purdue University, and can be found teaching from many of the veterinary conference stages around the world. Stephanie asked Bill to come discuss the three most important things every clinic should be doing right now to keep clients coming in the doors. Between outsourcing google ads and online reputation management, Stephanie and Bill give you realistic tips that you can put into practice today. Let's get into this episode... UPCOMING INFO/EVENTS Embark on the last journey to Greenville with us before we venture into uncharted waters! Uncharted Veterinary Conference: https://unchartedvet.com/uvc-april-2024/ In a world filled with noise—news, content, and promotions bombarding us from all directions—your business struggles to be heard above the clamor. Amid countless messages vying for attention, how can you ensure your message stands out? How can you craft a narrative that gives your brand a distinctive voice and resonates with your community without resorting to shouting? It's time to anchor down and rise above the sea of noise. Join us this April at the Uncharted Veterinary Conference, where prominent voices in veterinary medicine and beyond will converge to explore how veterinary brands can break through the surface. Prepare to learn, share insights, and make waves in your veterinary practice. Register now to be part of this transformative experience in April 2024 at Uncharted. If you can't join us in Greenville, consider checking out our new Leadership Essentials Certificate https://unchartedvet.com/certificates/ - you can access the program online OR in person. Our team may be coming soon to a city near you. Check out the program and all our upcoming dates on the website. https://unchartedvet.com/ontheroad Our Uncharted Leadership Essentials Certificate consists of seven fundamental building blocks, empowers leaders at any level to achieve excellence. This on-demand program offers 8 hours of CE, fostering the skills necessary to lead high-performing and collaborative teams. Exclusive access is granted to Uncharted members as part of their membership benefits, making it the opportune time to join our community! Uncharted Membership: https://unchartedvet.com/uvc-membership/ Upcoming events: unchartedvet.com/upcoming-events/ All Links: linktr.ee/UnchartedVet Do you have something that you would love to hear discussed on the podcast? If so, send us a message through the mailbag! Submit it here: unchartedvet.com/mailbag Upcoming events: unchartedvet.com/upcoming-events/

Dr. Andy Roark and practice management super geek, Stephanie Goss are back with another letter from our mailbag. This time a manager writes in who is struggling with communication in her practice. This manager's newish to practice ownership DVM struggles to communicate with the team as a whole. The manager is fielding complaints from the team about the holes in communication. And to make it more challenging, the practice owner's wife is also heavily involved in the practice, despite her lack of veterinary background. This manager is struggling with knowing how to address the team's concerns when they share some of them as well as struggling to find their own place in the triangle between the practice owner, their partner and the manager. This one is a doozy, let's get into this.... UPCOMING EVENTS/INFO

On this week's episode of the Uncharted Podcast, Dr. Andy Roark and practice management super nerd, Stephanie Goss take on a new kind of mailbag. This time, our listener struggles with writing a recommendation letter but not for the reason you might think. This person cannot stop gushing over their rockstar vet tech and is wondering what even makes for a good recommendation letter in the first place. Together, Andy and Stephanie give their tips for effective recommendation letters and how to politely decline if you may not be the right person to write it. Let's get into this episode.... Upcoming Events/Info As a leader, you have the ability to shape workplace culture, influence patient outcomes, and help veterinary teams thrive in practice. Developing the skills you need to succeed as a leader in today’s dynamic veterinary business landscape starts here. An Uncharted Leadership Essentials Certificate provides you with seven crucial building blocks to lead with confidence at any level and achieve excellence in your veterinary practice. This new Certificate program offers 8 hours of CE in an on-demand format that will equip veterinary professionals to lead high-performing and collaborative teams. Our Uncharted members get special access included in their membership so there has never been a better time to join the community than right now! COME TO GREENVILLE WITH US ONE LAST TIME BEFORE WE HEAD OUT INTO UNCHARTED WATERS! The world is noisy. News. Content. Promotions. There are messages swirling all around us. In our inboxes, on our phones, on the radio, on the drive down the street. It’s message after message competing for our attention. And your business is caught in the current. So how do you make sure your message is heard? How do you tell a story that gives your brand a unique voice? How do you connect with your community without simply shouting louder? It’s time to drop anchor and stand out in a sea of noise. This April, we’re bringing big voices in veterinary medicine and beyond together at the Uncharted Veterinary Conference to discover how veterinary brands can rise above the surface. Get ready to learn, share, and make waves at your veterinary practice. REGISTER NOW TO JOIN US IN APRIL 2024 at Uncharted. Upcoming events: unchartedvet.com/upcoming-events/ All Links: linktr.ee/UnchartedVet Do you have something that you would love Andy and Stephanie to discuss on the podcast? If so, send us a message through the mailbag! Submit it here: unchartedvet.com/mailbag Upcoming events: unchartedvet.com/upcoming-events/

This week on the podcast, veterinary practice management super nerd Stephanie Goss gets to dive into another mailbag but this time, with RVT and Manager, Tami Lind. This mailbag comes from an ER Practice Manager who loves how close the team is but is struggling to accommodate giving them time off together. Stephanie and Tami navigate the very difficult world of time off requests and what to do when you simply can't please everyone. Let's get into this... ABOUT OUR GUEST Tami Lind, RVT is currently ICU, ER and Immediate Care supervisor at Purdue University and has been working at the university for the last 13 years. She attended veterinary technology school at Purdue and graduated in 2010 with a bachelor’s degree in Veterinary technology. Two years later Tami assumed the ICU and ER supervisor role at Purdue University. She received her VTS in Emergency/Critical Care in 2016. Her passion is teaching veterinary nurses and veterinary students in preparing them for their career ahead. UPCOMING EVENTS/INFO ⚓ Join us at the Practice Manager Summit – a virtual event designed to tackle the unique challenges faced by practice managers. Dive into interactive workshop sessions, peer discussion segments, and experience the energy of Uncharted events firsthand! ✨ Explore sessions on.....

This week on the Uncharted Podcast, Dr. Andy Roark is joined by veterinary practice management expert, Dr. Amanda Donnelly and together they tackle another question from the mailbag. In this episode, they take on the challenge of a veterinarian who, despite being exceptional with clients and production, struggles with efficiency in exam rooms, causing a backlog of duties. This backlog bleeds into other doctor's plates, having to have them finish his work yet the practice owner is hesitant to discipline for fear of losing this veterinarian. Dr. Amanda Donnelly offers her insight to strategize ways to set clearer job expectations, foster self-reflection, and provide effective feedback. Together, they explore external resources like mentorship programs and leadership coaching to enhance the vet's performance. Let's get into this episode....

This week on the podcast, Dr. Andy Roark and practice management wiz, Stephanie Goss, tackle the intricacies of performance improvement plans in the veterinary setting that aren't all negative. The traditional approach has been carrot and stick when it comes to performance management. We know that approach is damaging to good culture where there is an environment of self-driven improvement and goals. This time, the mailbag brings us someone from the corporate world who is struggling to find balance between uplifting their team by creating psychological safety and still protecting the practice from a legal perspective through documentation of mistakes. The duo explores the dichotomy between transactional leadership and transformational leadership, shedding light on how both are truly necessary to run great cultures. Let's get into this episode! UPCOMING EVENTS

This week on the podcast, Dr. Andy Roark and former practice administrator and veterinary practice management super nerd Stephanie Goss dive into an email they received in the mailbag. A listener of the podcast heard episode 229 where a technician was sure that the team had to be talking behind their back. Andy and Stephanie discussed having self-awareness as a skill in that episode and our listener wanted to know how to handle it when you have a team member or team members who seem to have little to no self-awareness skills. The questions boiled down to "How do you actually teach self-awareness?" Is it actually possible? Andy and Stephanie feel really strongly that for the most part it is and there are some ways that make approaching the teaching aspect a lot less of an uphill battle. This is a rowdy one, let's get into this... RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THE EPISODE DiSC Information and Assessments https://www.discprofile.com/what-is-disc Veterinary Leadership Institute's Veterinary Leadership Experience https://veterinaryleadershipinstitute.org/programs/vle/ UPCOMING EVENTS/INFO As a leader, you have the ability to shape workplace culture, influence patient outcomes, and help veterinary teams thrive in practice. Developing the skills you need to succeed as a leader in today’s dynamic veterinary business landscape starts here. An Uncharted Leadership Essentials Certificate provides you with seven crucial building blocks to lead with confidence at any level and achieve excellence in your veterinary practice. This new Certificate program offers 8 hours of CE in an on-demand format that will equip veterinary professionals to lead high-performing and collaborative teams. Our Uncharted members get special access included in their membership so there has never been a better time to join the community than right now! https://unchartedvet.com/certificates/ Upcoming events: unchartedvet.com/upcoming-events/ All Links: linktr.ee/UnchartedVet Do you have something that you would love Andy and Stephanie to discuss on the podcast? If so, send us a message through the mailbag! Submit it here: unchartedvet.com/mailbag

This week on the podcast, Dr. Andy Roark and practice management super geek, Stephanie Goss are talking about love. Love languages that is. We received an email in the mailbag from a practice owner who loves their team. They have tried acknowledging the hard working individuals in a variety of ways from bonuses to holiday gifts to celebrating during tech week and behind. They feel like nothing they have tried seems to be truly appreciated by the team and they are wondering what they are doing wrong. They want the team to not only know their value but feel it and they are reaching out for some help and advice figuring out how to solve this problem. Andy and Stephanie walk through headspace around the unique position as a practice owner in this scenario and talk through how to recognize what team members value and how they like to receive appreciation in their own love language. Let's get into this... RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THE EPISODE The Languages of Appreciation at Work: https://www.appreciationatwork.com/work-personality-test/ UPCOMING EVENTS/INFO As a leader, you have the ability to shape workplace culture, influence patient outcomes, and help veterinary teams thrive in practice. Developing the skills you need to succeed as a leader in today’s dynamic veterinary business landscape starts here. An Uncharted Leadership Essentials Certificate provides you with seven crucial building blocks to lead with confidence at any level and achieve excellence in your veterinary practice. This new Certificate program offers 8 hours of CE in an on-demand format that will equip veterinary professionals to lead high-performing and collaborative teams. Our Uncharted members get special access included in their membership so there has never been a better time to join the community than right now! Leadership Essentials Program: https://unchartedvet.com/certificates/ Upcoming events: unchartedvet.com/upcoming-events/ All Links: linktr.ee/UnchartedVet Do you have something that you would love Andy and Stephanie to discuss on the podcast? If so, send us a message through the mailbag! Submit it here: unchartedvet.com/mailbag