1088: Want a Stronger Team? Start With Self-Awareness - Michelle Wakeman

What does it take to build a stronger team that can think, collaborate, and perform without the dentist stepping in for every decision? In this episode, Kirk Behrendt talks with Michelle Wakeman, ACT Dental coach, about why stronger leadership starts with self-awareness. They explain how your behavior affects team culture, the four leadership tendencies based on care and challenge, why clarity and accountability strengthen trust, and how pausing before reacting can help you lead more effectively.

Learn how to recognize your leadership patterns, give clearer feedback, and create a healthier, more accountable team — listen to Episode 1088 of The Best Practices Show!

Main Takeaways:

• Self-awareness requires understanding your strengths, shortcomings, and impact on other people.
• The leader’s behavior and emotional state influence the climate of the entire practice.
• High care with low challenge can lead leaders to avoid difficult conversations and over-function for their team.
• Low care with high challenge can reduce psychological safety and make team members afraid to speak up or make mistakes.
• High care with high challenge combines genuine support with clear expectations, honest feedback, and accountability.
• Pausing before responding under stress helps leaders choose a more effective response instead of reacting automatically.
• Consistent, proactive conversations prevent small performance issues from becoming larger cultural problems.

Episode Chapters:

00:00 Why stronger teams start with self-awareness.

01:03 Building a team that can think and work together.

02:31 Why self-awareness starts with understanding your impact on others.

04:00 Using assessments and coaching to better understand yourself.

06:29 Balancing care and challenge as a leader.

09:19 The four leadership tendencies.

20:26 The power of pausing before responding.

23:18 Identifying your leadership tendency and practicing accountability.

24:00 Kirk’s “today’s the day” leadership story.

29:00 Final thoughts on self-awareness and leadership development.

30:00 To The Top Study Club and closing remarks.

Guest Bio:

Michelle Wakeman, BSDH brings nearly 20 years of clinical dental hygiene, administrative, managerial and sales experience to the table. She has a passion for people and a natural aptitude for communication that has led her to develop meaningful relationships throughout her career in dentistry. As a coach, she seeks to help dental practices develop systems that enable them to enhance their patient experience, leading to better relationships among owners, team members and patients along with profitable outcomes.

In her off time, Michelle can usually be found at the ice rink supporting her son, Hunter in hockey, the ball field cheering on her son, Carter, or the gym, reliving her days as a gymnast with her daughter, Leighton.

Episode Resources:

• Radical Candor: https://www.radicalcandor.com/
• DISC Assessment: https://www.discprofile.com/what-is-disc
• To The Top Study Club: http://actdental.com/ttt

More Helpful Links for a Better Practice & a Better Life:

• Contact Gina to learn more about ACT: gina@actdental.com
• The Best Practices Show: https://www.actdental.com/podcast/
• Smile Source Community Hub: https://www.actdental.com/community-hub
• Upcoming Events & Workshops: https://www.actdental.com/events/
• Smile Source: https://www.smilesource.com/
• Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com
• Subscribe on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com