DISTINCTIONcast – Many Minds, One Mission: Mastering Co-Leadership in Dentistry
When Owners & Managers Align, Practices Thrive!
What happens when dental owners and office managers truly get on the same page? Join an elite panel of MAADOMs and DAADOMs—Brittany Allen, Vanessa Escobar, Laurie Spitz, and Estella Go—as they share the real-world strategies they use to co-lead successfully alongside their dentist owners.
From creating a shared vision to setting aligned goals and tackling challenges together, this dynamic round table discussion—hosted by Penny Reed—will show you what it really takes to build leadership harmony and drive lasting practice success.
Don’t miss this opportunity to learn how top dental leaders are unlocking growth, teamwork, and a stronger future for their practices!
Sponsored by: CEDR HR Solutions
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Read the Transcript Now!
Penny: Hey, everybody. Welcome to this month’s DistinctionCast, where AADOM showcases the best and brightest minds in the dental industry and in our community. I’m Penny Reed. I’m the Executive Vice President of Membership and Events for AADOM, and we are so excited that you’ve joined us today.
You’re in for a treat. We have begun having round tables on occasion where you get to hear from many minds in AADOM at the same time.
So, what is an AADOM DistinctionCast? It’s more than insights into dental management. We amplify the voices of AADOM’s Distinction holders, and these are the leaders in the trenches of dental management. And they’re going to share their insights, inspiration, real world strategies.
We’re going to have a really insightful, and I think, fun conversation today.
So, before I introduce our esteemed panelists, we do wanna give a shout out to our sponsor for today’s session, CEDR HR Solutions. So, thank you CEDR for being such a wonderful sponsor partner for us.
Sponsor: Office Drama? Handled! CEDR is your all-in-one HR solution, built for busy business owners. We create custom employee handbooks, provide expert HR support and give you powerful tools for timekeeping and payroll. Whether it’s hiring, firing, compliance or managing tricky team issues, CEDR makes it simpler.
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Penny: Alright, so, let’s kick it off. I would love to introduce you ladies one at a time here. If you would, obviously say your name, what city you’re in, and tell us what type of practice that you work in.
So, Brittany, let’s start with you.
Brittany: Okay, good afternoon. My name is Brittany Allen and I live in East Texas, closest to Tyler, Texas. And my husband and I have three general practices. So we are a multi-location private practice.
Penny: Awesome. Wonderful and welcome. Thank you.
Okay, Vanessa.
Vanessa: Hi. Good afternoon, everyone. My name is Vanessa Escobar. I am an office manager for Winter Garden Smiles in Winter Garden. We’re near Orlando, Florida, and I work with my sister and brother-in-law in a general and pediatric dental practice.
Penny: Fantastic. Alright. Welcome, welcome.
Okay, Estela.
Estela: Hi, I am Etela Go, the Chief Operations Officer here in Gold Family Dental with my husband, Dr. Robert Go, here in Anaheim, California.
Penny: Wonderful. Thank you. Thank you. Alright, and last but not least, Laurie.
Laurie: My husband and I live right outside of Boston. Our practice is right outside of Boston. We are just celebrating on the 15th of this month, our 28th anniversary for the practice. And 34 years married last week.
He’s a prosthodontist. We have one practice. We had two, we sold one. So now we have the one.
Penny: Okay, well, congratulations on both of those milestones and I’m really excited. Our theme for today is Many Minds, One Mission: Mastering Co-Leadership in Dentistry.
And I believe we’ve got a wonderful panel here today. And we have some questions that we prepared in advance here to go through this. I know it’s been many, many years ago since I was a dental office manager—longer than, Laurie, then you guys have had your practice. Are probably about around the same amount of time since you’ve been married.
I can remember there being times when, let’s say, a patient walked in the door at the very last minute or there was a situation that occurred with a team member where he and I may not have exactly been in alignment, and even trying to figure some of those things out, and he’s a wonderful dentist.
He’s a wonderful leader. Yet our office kind of made a circle around the lab and often I felt like there were times when I would be literally almost chasing him around the circle when I was newer, trying to figure out what our stance was on certain things when I was brand new.
So, one of the first questions that we have here, and we will actually start, I’ll start with Brittany.
What does co-leadership actually look like in your practice? And how do you stay aligned, especially when you guys are facing challenges or change. So, could you speak to that one first, Brittany?
What Co-Leadership Looks Like in a Dental Practice
Brittany: Sure. I mean, definitely co-leadership of course, with my husband and I. But we’ve also just recently in the past year, kind of extended that co-leadership into a leadership team with three locations and 40 employees. Even just the two of us can’t really lead to our best ability without some help.
So that’s kind of been one of our goals for 2025 is to increase our leadership, and not only expand what we’re doing with that team, but also expand what we’re teaching to our team members. So, that’s been a concentration that we’ve had this year and it’s been really fun.
Penny: That’s great. That’s great. And I have a follow up question for that Brittany. And then as we go around, would love for us to be somewhat conversational about this as well as far as others chiming in.
Could you share a little bit about what that leadership team looks like as far as how many you might have overall or how many per location?
Brittany: Sure. So our core leadership team consists of course, myself and my husband, Dr. Allen. But we also have a financial director, a marketing director, and an operations director.
And then from that, that operations team is broken into the three locations. So then each location has an office manager as well.
And this really just helps us share the load. You know, I think as leaders and managers, we want to do everything ourselves, and that’s one thing I’ve learned this year is I have to quit being a control freak and allow these super talented people that I’ve surrounded myself with to help me do this incredible job.
So, it’s been fun to kind of give them the reins a little bit too and see them start to shine.
Penny: That’s awesome. That is so awesome. All right, well, thank you. So Vanessa, I’ll repeat the question and then feel free to, you know, to answer. And then also if there’s anything that Brittany mentioned that you might wanna echo.
So, again, what does co-leadership actually look like in your practice, and how do you and your dentist or dentists stay aligned, especially when there’s a challenge or change?
Vanessa: I love this question because we have to deal with co-leadership all the time in our field. And with co-leadership, my sister, brother-in-law and myself, we like to be all on the same page. So, whether we have to collaborate together and set up meetings and figure out where are our goals for our practice, so we make sure we’re all aligning them and make sure our responsibilities are all set, specifically listed so that we know exactly this is what I’m gonna be working on.
This is what you’re gonna be working on, so we’re not jumpy, we’re not going on top of each other with different ideas or different things. We wanna make sure we’re all on the same page. So that’s really important.
And we do have these calibration meetings throughout the year. It really just depends on what’s going on in the practice, what changes we need to make.
And I know that that’s been very helpful for us. We had a meeting several years back, and it was very eye-opening to me when we sat down and really talked about our goals and where we see our office in a year, five years, ten years, because that really opened up my eyes to see, “Okay, this is where they’re leading this practice. This is where they want me to help.”
So, I think having those meetings with your office manager or your co-leadership, like anyone in your leadership group. For our office, we do have multiple team members who I consider my co-leadership, which is my assistant office manager and my clinical manager.
I consider that group itself our leadership group. And then I bring my owners and my doctors, once we figure out what’s going on, the problems, then I bring them on board as well.
Penny: Okay. Very good. And so, it kind of sounds like, so far, like for both of you, Brittany and Vanessa, that this has evolved over time. And I think that’s probably one of the things that we’re going to hear, you know, through trial and error and as the practices have grown and evolved, that it evolves over time. Okay. Wonderful. Thank you. Estela, so, what does co-leadership look like in your practice and how do you stay aligned, especially during times of change? And then also anything that you may wanna speak to that Brittany and Vanessa had touched on.
Estela: Okay. So, co-leadership in our practice is a partnership between me as the practice manager and my husband Dr. Go, ensuring we stay aligned. Being a married couple, running a dental office at first came with its challenges as one could expect. We had to figure it out quickly how we’re going to run a dental practice that reflected both his and my style.
Over the past 18 years, we had built a report of talking regularly every morning to discuss the schedule and any complex cases. We ensure that we are on the same page about our goals and challenges, and so our partnership has evolved into one built on mutual respect and shared responsibility.
Penny: I love that. And I think we’ve got the family dynamic here across all of our panelists. I think also, and in my years of coaching, I worked with many married couples. Sometimes it was a male dentist with a female office manager. Sometimes it was male and female, both dentists. I mean, every combination that you can imagine.
And I do think, especially when it’s spouse and family that that adds that extra layer of having to be extra sure that you’re in alignment. So, I love that. And that you’re have an intentional focus every single day. That’s great.
Okay. Laurie, last but not least. And while we’ll continue to go in the same order, I will let Vanessa, when we get to our next question, you’ll be first on that one. We’ll continue to go in the same order.
So, Laurie, could you speak to what co-leadership looks like in your practice and how you stay aligned?
Laurie: Yeah. One of the things you said, I don’t align with my voice here, but, one of the things that you asked was, was it something that developed over time? And it did.
You know, when we started out, we were really young. We were, you know, in our twenties. And so, you know, I’d said I’d never wanted to be part of the practice. And then my office manager, her mother was terminal and she in a heartbeat left. And then I ended up leaving my job and moving into the office.
And so, we sort of had to come up with this plan on a dime, which was sort of—we weren’t planning on that. But we basically said, okay—cause there was a door between the clinical and the front. So, we used to say, “You get everything on that side of the door, I get everything on this side of the door.”
But we also did come up with something that if we both believed in something and we both had a really strong opinion, we agreed that his opinion was the final, you know, ’cause his name was on the door. He was the one that was dealing with the patients. So, if it was, you know, if it came to that, I said that, you know, I was good with him making the final decision.
You know, the bottom line is that, you know, like we all said, you just have to have to have a solid marriage or this won’t work. Right? And you have to be able to really work together or you can’t have a good marriage.
Now the four of us all have the same thing. But the bottom line is that understanding what the goals are of the office is the key.
Penny: I hear other members of your leadership team participating there, Laurie, in the background.
Laurie: You know what I think it is that my earbuds are not on cable. Sorry about that.
Penny: Do you wanna try to adjust them and then we can go back and pick up with where you were on that one?
Laurie: That’s great. Well, yeah, if you want me to do that, I can do that. I’m so sorry.
Penny: That’s okay. You tell me. And, Chris, I don’t know if you can chime in on that.
Chris: Yeah, let’s go ahead, kind of let everybody cool off for a second in terms of the pooches in the back.
Okay, cool. I’ll tell you what, let’s pick it up. Let’s do it this way. Penny, re-ask the question to Laurie, and then Laurie, just go ahead and start your response again. So, I think that’s the best way to handle it.
Penny: Well, it’ll be better the second time around.
Penny: I’m going to get a drink of water?
Chris: Yep. Everybody get a drink?
Penny: Laurie, those were some vocal members of your leadership team.
Vanessa: Massaging my cheeks.
Penny: I always say that there are two individuals in charge in my house. One of them is the dog and the other one is my two-and-a-half-year-old granddaughter. So, here we go.
So, Laurie, I’ll ask the same question of you and feel free to chime in with your thoughts around what some of the others may have said as well. So, what does co-leadership look like in your practice, and how do you and your dentist stay aligned?
Laurie: So, one of the things that’s really important is that all of us are married to our doctor spouses, right? And one of the things that is key is that you have a good marriage that makes a good office, you know, when everybody’s aligned and then you have a good office that makes everything at home aligned.
The bottom line is that when we started, we were very young, and I wasn’t really interested in being part of the practice. It sort of happened by accident in an emergency. And with that, we sort of had to figure this out quickly. It wasn’t a plan.
So we decided that because we had a door between the front and the back of the office, that everything on the clinical side of the door was his, everything on the office manager side, the office side was mine.
And we also agreed that if the two of us disagreed about something, we had some strong opinions about whether something would work or not, I agreed that because his name was on the door and he was the one that was working with patients, that he was the one that was gonna be able to make that final decision.
And that’s really worked. And our team knows that that’s how it works too, for better or for worse sometimes. But, our team, you know, we have members that are new and members that have been with us for 18 years. We we’re pretty lucky that we have a pretty aligned team.
Penny: That’s great. That’s great. And yes, with the marriage partnership and then also the family dynamic, Vanessa, that you have, I think having the solid relationships both inside and outside of the office, one will begin to be magnified if it’s, you know what I’m saying? If the communication is not in place inside and out.
And I think while many people say that it’s easier, I think, in some ways it’s also harder because you can’t get away from it, right? For the good and the bad,
Okay. So, next question, which will stay in the same order, as I mentioned before, Vanessa. I’ll have you be the first one to answer this one.
How do you and your dentist set goals together and keep the team accountable even when things are busy or messy in the day to day?
How Leaders Set Goals and Keep Teams Aligned
Vanessa: My favorite part of the year is setting our annual planning meeting, because it really helps us direct what we’re gonna be planning for the year. And I do like to sit with our owners. So, my sister and my brother-in-law, the three of us sit down together and pretty much game-plan where we see the year going, what of our top challenges that we need to address and kind get a game plan so that when we bring the annual planning to the whole team, we share with them and we’re transparent with them, what we’re looking at at this point.
And I do like to bring in things from last year, bring things what to expect for this year. And then throughout the year we like to meet monthly at minimum. And if there’s issues, we do increase that to as many as we need. And we just see that as opportunities to sit down, recalibrate our goals, recalibrate our, any issues that we’re having challenges and really get things rolling.
And then before I have some of these meetings, I do bring my leadership team together. So, I have my clinical manager and my assistant office manager. I like to bring them together first with some of these issues and kind of get some solutions already playing out.
So, what do we think? How can we solve some of these problems that the doctors are discussing with us? Is there anything else we need to address to them we might think that is more importantmat this time to more pressing?
So, we bring to the table to them some solutions already so that we can make it a more efficient meeting and really take that time from the doctor so that they’re seeing that they have it under control. They can figure some of this stuff out on their own. And then if I need to, a little check-check. Go. That’s really all I need them to help me with.
But I do like them to know the other stuff that I’m working on because even outside of the big things that we work out throughout the year, there’s always little issues that happen and we try to get those fixed as soon as possible and not even worry them about it.
Just let them know these are some things we’ve solved. Don’t worry about that, but this is some other stuff we need to talk about.
Penny: Awesome. Hey, hey. I’m curious. What time of year, Vanessa, do you have your annual planning and goal setting?
Vanessa: I like to have mine in the beginning of December because in the beginning of January is when I have my teams, and then I do like a half day full day presentation for them with some workshops and things like that to help. But I like to at least have the doctors get together with them first so that I can plan what I need to present to the team.
Penny: Awesome. Okay, wonderful. Thank you so much.
Okay, next up Estela. How do you set goals together and how do you hold the team accountable?
Estela: So, Dr. Go and I set monthly goals together, which starts with clarity and trust. These goals range from improving efficiency to growing our patiens. We know every month we won’t hit a 100%, but we aim for 80% because running a business rarely goes exactly as planned.
To keep the team accountable, we use a shared daily accounting report that I print out, which keeps everyone on track and aligned.
We also maintained a shared Google Calendar to make discussions efficient and transparent. It’s all because I am an accountant, so I always make sure I print my accounting report all the time.
Penny: I love it. I love it. I love the Google calendar idea too. That’s great. That’s great. That’s awesome.
Okay, let’s see. So, Laurie.
Laurie: Well, when it comes to accountability, everybody has their job, right? So, we have a team meeting for two hours every Wednesday morning, either every Wednesday or every other, depending on the time.
And we find that that really helps. We’re all aligned. If there’s any issues, parking lot issues, we find that we’re able to, you know, nip them in the bud pretty quick. We’re able to all be on the same page.
And sometimes, you know, we have like two issues that we work on every quarter. So, we have quarterly goals. For example, one issue this quarter is our labs. It’s like how can we make labs more efficient?
And you go into little things like, you know, like just shipping and you don’t realize that these little things make a big difference. And so, you know, and you bring everybody to the table because you’ve got your, you know, clinical team, you’ve got your front team, you’ve got me, you’ve got Steve.
So, when it comes to accountability, we really all have a piece of that. And so that really works. And again, you know, we’re pretty close knit. We have a very small team. We used to be bigger. We’ve become more small and mighty, so everybody’s responsibilities are more, but along the same lines, everybody knows what they have to do. So it works.
Penny: Yeah. And hey, those lab cases, that’s definitely something that crosses over from the back office to the front office. specially
Laurie: Especially when you’re a prosthodontic office, right? Because everything you do is inhouse lab, right?
Penny: Awesome. Thank you, Laurie.
Brittany, how do you and your dentist set goals together and how do you keep the team accountable?
Brittany: Yeah, just like Vanessa said, we set our annual goals for the next year in the first part of December. But really for us, I think our secret sauce is we use a weekly scorecard and those scorecards kind of break down what our annual goals are into a weekly basis.
And it really enables the entire team to kind of see it in little bits, because sometimes that annual goal is pretty lofty and we’re just like, “How can that even happen?”
But, these scorecards have been really fun to see us kind of chip away at it and each person has a scorecard that they’re accountable for or a part of the scorecard they’re accountable for. So it’s been fun to be able to see that really translate into meeting our annual goals.
Penny: Awesome. And I think that is so important because when you do talk about goal setting, right, and especially if you’re talking about increasing, let’s say it’s something that’s, “Oh, we want to increase a half a million dollars,” right?
If I’m a member of the team and I’m trying to figure out, “Okay, well day to day, what does that mean for me?”
You know, if I’m a hygienist, is it one more patient a day, or if it’s our, you know, we’re looking overall at the practice, does that mean we’re opening up another chair of hygiene or fill in the blank with whatever that is.
So, great insights. Alright, so Estela, you will be first on this next question. What boundaries or role definitions have helped strengthen your leadership dynamic, rather than making more tension between the two of you.
So, what’s been your protocol for defining your leadership roles?
Creating Balance Through Clear Leadership Roles
Estela: Okay. As a married couple, me and Dr. Go set boundaries early was crucial to Go Family Dental success.
So, from the start, we clearly defined our roles. Dr. Go focuses on clinical excellence while I lead operational strategy and team culture. That clarity allows us to trust each other’s leadership so that we can lead where we are strongest.
We set boundaries between being business partners and married partners once the day or the workday ends.
Penny: I think that’s super important. Boundaries—that’s a whole lot easier to say, I think, than it is to practice. So, I think that’s super important.
Alright, Laurie.
Laurie: We used to set boundaries, but, you know, I know this sounds really crazy, but, we sort of, you know, we do work. I work from home three out of the four days that we’re in the office. And so, you know, a lot of times what we’re working on is when he comes home or you know, because he can’t do it in the office.
So, we know what we need to talk about. We don’t talk about stupid things, you know, we don’t talk about inconsequential things. We really do talk about things that are important, you know, and so that really works.
Penny: That’s great. And I think this also highlights that there’s more than one way to make things work. And that’s one thing that I love about having a round table discussion, is that we’re able to hear from many minds at the same time. So, okay. Very good.
Okay, Brittany.
Brittany: Yes. So, from my husband and I, yes, there are boundaries. I mean, he’s, like Estela said, he’s more over the clinical side and, and I kind of lead the business side.
But we do sometimes those boundaries are crossed a little bit and you want them to be in our opinion, because you can’t have a dental business without a dentist and vice versa.
So, we love the co-leadership of having that clinical dentist with a strong business leader and office manager and team, because that’s really what makes it a true business and not just a dental practice.
I think that can sometimes be hard to let go of, to allow someone to help you with your business. But I think it does really help you if you’re a goal setter like we are, really help you to achieve your goals that you’re looking for.
Penny: I agree. And I think, which I’m preaching to the choir by saying this, especially with the dynamic of when the doctor’s doing primarily only what they can do, they can’t have their eyes and their ears everywhere else. You know, they have to be focused on the work ’cause they are the product, or they are the service, so to speak.
Very good. Okay, so then that brings us to Vanessa. Last, but not least, boundaries and role definitions that you think have helped strengthen the leadership dynamic.
Vanessa: I know for my practice, since it’s technically three of us, because I’m working with my sister and brother-in-law and myself, the way in the beginning it used to be I used to converse more with my sister because I had that relationship and that bond.
So, one of the things I had to fix was making sure that the three of us were all sharing equal information. So, having the meetings was very helpful for us and it helped us create open communication so that the three of us together can really talk about things, and not me address it on the side when I’m having a conversation with her in the car or those moments where I’m eating lunch.
It becomes more of a formal, I have an agenda, we can discuss things in a more professional way. And I can also mention it to my brother-in-law so we’re all shared and know what’s going on.
So I think that’s one of the one challenges that we had to face. Thankfully early on versus now that we’ve grown so much.
And another thing is I work on the business side and they work on the clinical. And I always ask them if team members do address them with something that is pertaining to my responsibility, just have them come talk to me.
So, they can say something like, “Hey Vanessa, I’ll make sure Vanessa knows, or if you can go talk to Vanessa about that situation. I’ll bring that to her attention.”
And I know sometimes my sister may wanna problem solve quickly and just move on, but I have talked to her and just having that open communication let her know that it really would be helpful for them to direct those type of situations to me, so I can go ahead and resolve those, take that off of your plate.
And also, so they know that we’re all aligned and we all have a united front. We all have our set responsibilities. And it doesn’t get blurred into, you know, mom said this, dad said this kind of culture. We wanna make sure everyone knows each one of us has a set responsibilities.
Penny: I love that. Well, so you’re up to kick off this next question and you were already heading that direction with the whole let’s talk about the classic, ask mom, then ask Dad move, right?
Which outside of the family dynamic, it’s the, “Hey, I’ll ask my immediate person that I report to. And then if I don’t really like that answer, I’ll go ask someone else.”
So, and you touched on that a little bit. How do you handle, and maybe a little bit more with the language skills, if you have given an answer to something and then they go around, thinking, “Okay, we’ll go ask the doctor.”
And the doctor, you know, if one of the doctors overrides Vanessa, then I’ll get my way. How do you recommend handling that?
How Leaders Respond When Team Members Bypass Protocol
Vanessa: It has happened, and that’s why we had to address it. So definitely something that happens. But the way that we did, I did ask my sister for that particular case. It was about a team member wanting time off for a certain day, but I do the schedule.
So, a team member went to ask, they wanted a change of their schedule. Then she just did it really quick because she was like, let me just get this done. I need to move on to my next note. And then I had to sit down with her and just let her know nicely, of course. I mean, you just, “Hey, for future, it would be really helpful for you to direct them back to me. I work on the schedule, I know the ins and outs.”
And it’s not, trust me, I like delegating responsibilities, but with these type of situations, I rather have that addressed directly to me. And then if I need to, if it’s a situation that involves them, then obviously I’ll bring that to them.
But just redirect. But I do notice that if a team member, let’s say they’re more comfortable talking to the doctors for some particular reason, then I like to have a sit down with them and see is there a better way that we can open? How can I help our relationships so that you can have these conversations with me directly?
Is there anything that we need to change in our relationship because they might have a better relationship with them. They work with them one-on-one with patients.
So those situations can happen and the way that I resolve it is just open up the door and just see what can we do to help improve our communication.
You know, I would love to help you and be best support for you in these situations, and just make yourself as available and supportive as possible so that the team can come up to you and address those things.
And then for my leadership, they’ve been with my leadership for 10 years, and then one of them has been with eight years. So they, they would know the things that I would approve and not approve.
Vanessa: So if they do address some of these things to them, I trust them because they’re like, yes, Vanessa will say yes to this, but then they come and tell me, “Hey Vanessa, this is what happened. I told them yes to the situation. Just wanna give you a heads up.”
Great. You know, one less thing off my checklist. I don’t have to worry about it. But that’s built through trust and that’s built through getting to know each other and seeing, you know, how do I work and how do the doctors work.
So I think that does involve some time, but that also happens here as well.
Penny: Okay, well, hey, it happens even when, you know, even whenmthere aren’t family members in the practice. I use that analogy: Ask mom, ask dad.
I’ve seen it happen in almost every practice that I’ve been involved with. Not that people have bad intentions, right? It’s like, “Hey, I, I’m with the doctor, so I’ll ask the doctor.”
And sometimes it can create chaos. So, thank you. Thank you for that, Vanessa.
So, Estela, how do you guys handle the classic Ask Mom, Ask Dad, if they don’t get potentially the answer that they like from you? Does that happen in your office?
Estela: Yes. So, myself and Dr. Go, we see as a sign that something needs clarifying if the doctor’s decision overrides our usual protocol. It is an opportunity to recalibrate rather than criticize.
I follow up directly with a team member to make sure we’re all on the same page, which keeps our messaging unified and avoid finger pointing. We frame this moments as learning opportunities, building a culture of respect, trust, and shared leadership.
Penny: I like that. It is definitely a learning opportunity. And I like to think that most of the time, people have great intentions, even if they do the whole Ask Mom, then ask Dad. And then they may not know right, if they’re newer, depending on how things have gone in other offices. So, thank you Estela.
Laurie, with your team, which if it’s a smaller team, this may not happen as often. How have you handled the Ask Mom then Ask Dad if that has happened?
Laurie: You know, it’s so funny, because I couldn’t believe that something like that actually happened. And it does. Right. If they don’t like the answer that you give, they’ll go ask him and vice versa. You know, they don’t like the answer that he gives and they’ll come ask me.
So, what we’ve really learned to do is, and this had to be a learned skill, is to say, you know, what did Dr. Spit say? What did Laurie say? Did you ask, if it’s not their domain, what did the other person say? Right?
But then we’ve also learned to not give an answer in that instance. Just say, “You know what? This is really Laurie’s thing. Let me ask her.”
Or, “You know, this is really Dr. Spitz’s. So let me just discuss it with him and I’ll give you an answer.”
So, you know, it’s hard to stop in the moment, especially even if you think that, of course I know the answer to that. Or of course I know what he’s gonna say or she’s gonna say. Buut we’ve learned to really, you know, it had to be a learned skill to stop, and then figure out, “Okay, what is the motive from the person asking?”
Because it really is. Like you said, they don’t always do it with purpose, you know. But, even if they don’t, there has to be purpose behind the answer.
Penny: Well, it’s true, and I mean, I think for most of us, and maybe none of you did this, but I did do this to my parents, right? It would be like, well, you know, I would ask the one. It’s like, okay, well I wasn’t expecting to get a no, and then sometimes this backfired on me, right?
I don’t want you guys to think that I did this all the time. I think it’s human nature and also sometimes maybe a little bit of tenacity, that has team members do that. So, okay. Well, thank you.
Chris: Penny. Hold on. It’s Chris. Hey, your camera’s way out of focus. Do you have the auto focus turned on where it adjusts?
Penny: Let me check.
Chris: Now, it looks like it’s back in focus. There it goes. Yep. Looks good now. Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt.
Penny: No, it’s okay. That’s totally okay. Me and this camera. Okay. Alright.
So, about that we pick up.
Chris: Sorry about that.
Penny: That’s okay.
Chris: Pick up with Brittany.
Penny: Alright. Thank you. Alright. Brittany, would you bring us home on the, especially with multiple locations, on the Ask Mom, then Ask Dad, move when that happens.
Brittany: Yeah, for us, I think it’s a great opportunity for, whether it’s the doctor and the office manager and the employee or whatever the dynamic is there, to really learn if we have a certain protocol or process, what are we looking at at that whole, you know, the whole vision there.
I think sometimes like some of the others said, you know, it’s a quick response. Let’s problem solve and, you know, go on to the next thing, which I think is great. But sometimes I think especially, maybe doctors or clinicians are kind of head down and they’re focused on one thing.
And if we can teach them to look at the whole perspective and see what all, I mean, if someone is taking PTO, who else is taking PTO? You know, they may say yes, and then all of a sudden they get there that day and they have no assistant because they let two or three of them off.
So, I think, you know, stopping that opportunity right there and taking it and looking at it as a full perspective and what can we learn from maybe next time the doctor can actually answer, “You know what?” We should probably look and see what else is going on in the office that day before I say yes.”
And hopefully it turns into something that you’re not working against each other. You’re working with each other. Working together.
Penny: Yeah. And it usually is that time off, and exactly what you’re talking about. Like are we staffed the way that we need to be?
The other thing that I had from what I can recall, would usually have to do with what color uniform are we wearing on what day? Like it’s the smallest things that can turn into, you know, sometimes some of the biggest. “Okay. Hang on a minute. And we thought we were given a quick answer to, you know, to solve an issue.
Advice for New Office Managers
Alright. So, let’s see here. We’re, we’re now to our final question, which this is more of the freeform, one piece of advice that you may want to give a new office manager, and I would say whether they are married to the doctor or a family member of the doctor, or not. What piece of advice would you give to a new office manager that wants to build a strong leadership partner with their dentist?
And, Brittany, I’ll have you kick us off on this last question.
Brittany: Okay, so my one piece of advice would be to prioritize setting aside some time to work on the business and not in the business.
Penny: Awesome. Awesome. Would you say that at least monthly or what would be your recommendation?
Brittany: I would say weekly. Give yourself at least one hour weekly to tackle that to-do list, that issues list. I think if you go out monthly, you’re gonna find yourself that list never gets smaller, it just keeps getting larger.
So, if you can find an hour a week to tackle some of those things, I think you’ll be a lot more successful.
Penny: I love that. Wonderful. Thank you.
Okay, Vanessa, what is your piece of advice to a new office manager that wants to build that strong leadership partnership with their dentist?
Vanessa: If you’re wanting to build a strong co-leadership with your dentist, I would make sure that you have open communication with them. Show them that you’re responsible, that you care about the practice, and care about where they’re leading the practice and their goals, because that’s gonna be very important.
And also, just be very consistent and if there’s a problem, make sure you come in with some solutions. Make sure you show your doctor that you’re committed to the practice, and the more that you’re there for them, the more they’re gonna open up to you, because that’s all the build trust building your relationship, especially if you’re not family.
If you’re not family and you’re trying to build. Just met this doctor, I’m starting, you wanna build those relationships.
Trust is built through time. But make sure you communicate. And even if they’re difficult conversations, because I see it in the forums all the time, that office managers have a hard time with certain conversations. Find ways to have those conversations. Don’t ignore them. Make sure you take the time, either read a book about difficult conversations, attend these AADOM events.
Just find a way to really open up those moments so that you guys can talk and get on the same page.
Penny: That’s great advice. Thank you, Vanessa.
Estela, what piece of advice or recommendation would you give a new office manager wanting to build that strong leadership relationship with their dentist?
Estela: My one piece of advice to a new office manager is start by learning the vision of the doctor. Their vision, not just for the practice, but for how they want to feel as a leader, understanding their goals, pressures and their leadership style.
Once you have built that foundation, everything else gets easier, like resolving conflict, creating shared accountability, and driving results with mutual respect.
Define your role as a strategic partner, not just a problem solver. That mindset shift builds trust fast and invites your dentist to lead with you, not above you.
Penny: Yeah, I love that. Starting with being sure you understand the vision, um, which can be difficult, right? Because if you’re a new office manager, you’re usually brought in. There’s not always an easy succession plan. You know, sometimes you’re brought in and they’ve been shorthanded for a while. So, I think that’s great advice.
Laurie, what’s your one piece of advice for building that strong leadership relationship with the dentist as a new office manager?
Laurie: So, my thought is, you know, my belief is that metrics set the pace for the practice because they’re hard numbers and you can work on it. They’re not subjective.
So, we created a sheet that my office—I have an office manager that manages my patients in my front. And so I’ve given him, we created a sheet that he gives Dr. Spitz all of these numbers at the end of the day because I’m not always there.
He’ll scan ’em to me, but he’ll share ’em with Steve. And the bottom line is they go over this format and so they know exactly they’re in alignment with these numbers.
And the second thing is that being honest because especially if somebody is new, you wanna make it seem that you know and you understand what’s going on. And there’s nothing wrong with asking a question if you don’t know to say you don’t know.
And if something doesn’t seem right—and this is a big thing that I’ve learned throughout the years too—if something doesn’t seem right, ask, especially if you’re new because 99% of the time, the doctor doesn’t know everything that’s happening in the front, or not 99% of the time, but a lot of times they don’t know everything that’s happening in the front. They can’t be in charge of everything.
And so, if something is going on that seems off, share that with the doctor because you might be bringing something to the forefront that has been there for a while and is gonna make a difference. And it’s also building that trust.
Penny: I love that. And being curious, like what you were referring to.
Well, let me say this. What a wealth of information that we have here. And, you know, as I close and we’ll hear a word from our sponsor, CEDR, momentarily.
As I close, I wanna not only thank all four of you. Also, I want to acknowledge you for being AADOM distinction holders. And for those of you tuning in, you may not know what that means. These are individuals who have gone above and beyond in earning their MAADOM and DAADOM to be able to better manage their practice.
And what a shining example you are to the AADOM tribe. We really do appreciate you and we appreciate your partnership with us to educate dental managers and leaders.
So, for all of you that are tuning in, watching or listening, we appreciate you. Be sure to follow AADOM on all of our social channels so that you’re aware of the educational opportunities. And thank you again.
And, Chris, do I need to redo the outro?
Chris: Probably, let’s redo the outro since Brittany had a coughing episode.
Brittany: Sorry.
Penny: That’s okay. That’s okay. Thank you guys. So as soon as I’m done with the outro, they can drop off, right? Because I think I’ve kept them about an hour. By the way, you guys all did fantastic. And I wanna be respectful of your time. So, I’m ready to pick that up, Chris, when you are.
Chris: Alright, here we go: 3, 2, 1.
Penny: Wow, what an amazing session. Thank you to all four of you for sharing your time, your expertise, and to those of you that are tuning in, we want to acknowledge these four individuals here for being AADOM distinction holders.
There are varying different levels of achievement within AADOM: the Fellowship, Mastership and Diplomat. And all four of these are either MAADOMs or DAADOMs. That’s a requirement to be on a DistinctionCast.
So, we love these sessions. We love it when our members can learn from other members. And thank you all four of you for putting your time in and preparing with the questions to educate our AADOM tribe.
Thank you for partnering with us on that. And for those of you watching or listening, thank you for tuning in and be sure to follow AADOM on all of our social channels, so that you’re aware of these educational opportunities.
And to all four of you, thank you, thank you, thank you again, and we look forward to hearing from more from you in different capacities in the future. Thank you all.
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Learn About Penny and the Panelists:
Penny Reed
Penny Reed is the Executive Vice President of Memberships and Events at the American Association of Dental Office Management (AADOM). A former dental office manager with over 30 years of industry experience, she has worked as a coach, speaker, and consultant dedicated to elevating the role of dental leaders.
Penny is the author of Growing Your Dental Business and has been recognized annually as a Dentistry Today Leader in Dental Consulting since 2007. She is passionate about empowering office managers through education, leadership, and community engagement.
Brittany Allen
Brittany Allen is an accomplished business director with a passion for both creativity and leadership. Holding an MBA (and an Interior Design degree) from Baylor University, she works alongside her husband to manage a thriving multi-location private practice in East Texas. With a keen eye for detail and a strategic business mindset, she helps lead their practice to new heights while ensuring their mission of excellent leadership in both the office and the community is always at the forefront.
In her free time, Brittany enjoys traveling with her family, playing mahjong, and lounging with her beloved Persian cats. She believes in the power of family, leadership, and a strong sense of community to create lasting success both professionally and personally.
Vanessa Escobar
Vanessa Escobar is a seasoned dental office manager with over 13 years of experience leading one of Central Florida’s most dynamic multi-provider dental practices. Since joining Winter Garden Smiles during its startup phase in 2011, Vanessa has been instrumental in growing the practice from two to fifteen operatories and leading a team of 30+ employees across both general and pediatric locations.
In her role, Vanessa oversees operations, finance, marketing, team development, and strategic growth. She is passionate about building strong office culture, enhancing the patient experience, and implementing systems that improve efficiency and accountability. Vanessa also brings a project management mindset to dental leadership, with a focus on scalable systems, process improvement, and leadership training.
Vanessa is the Founding President of the Central Florida Chapter of AADOM and was inducted into the prestigious DAADOM class of 2024, a national recognition for top-performing dental office managers. She remains actively engaged in the dental community and is a strong advocate for education, collaboration, and elevating the role of the office manager.
Outside the office, Vanessa enjoys spending time with her husband, Ricardo, and their children. She’s a proud dog mom to Zero and finds joy in singing, indoor cycling, traveling, and exploring new restaurants.
Laurie E. Spitz
Laurie E. Spitz is a rising DAADOM, and the entrepreneurial force behind Smileboston Cosmetic and Implant Dentistry, a premier three-doctor practice she co-founded with her husband, prosthodontist Dr. Steven D. Spitz, outside Boston, MA, 28 years ago.
Leveraging her business, marketing, and public relations degree, Laurie has mastered every non-clinical aspect of practice management through formal education and hands-on experience over nearly three decades. As an AADOM spouse, Laurie brings a distinctive dual perspective that enhances her practice management and organizational leadership approach.
Her career trajectory includes building Smileboston from the ground up, successfully acquiring and later selling a second location, and strategically transitioning to an out-of-network business model—all while balancing life as a dedicated mother who once raised young children from a pack-and-play behind her desk.
When not driving practice excellence, Laurie pursues her passion for photography as an empty-nester of three adult children (30, 27, and 24), two rescue dogs, and an eclectic collection of reptiles and birds—including a Senegal parrot who has been part of the family for 40 years. Laurie and Steve just celebrated their 34th wedding anniversary in August 2025, marking another milestone in their personal and professional partnership.
Estela Go
Estela Go is the Chief Operations Officer of Go Family Dental, where she has spent the past 18 years driving growth and profitability through strategic business leadership. Known for her hands-on approach, Estela has optimized core operations—from patient scheduling to financial systems—resulting in a remarkable 100% reimbursement rate on dental claims.
Before entering the dental industry, Estela built a strong foundation in corporate finance, serving as both an Accounting Manager and Cash Management Manager. Her career is distinguished by a consistent ability to craft and execute business strategies that boost efficiency and deliver long-term success.
Outside of her professional role, Estela is deeply committed to community engagement and leadership development. She serves as an Ambassador for the Anaheim Chamber of Commerce, sits on the Board of Directors for the Boys & Girls Club of Garden Grove, and is an active member of the Executive Association of Orange County.
