Here’s What We Are Talking About

guidED is about taking you from where you are, to where you want to go next. Our Experts have been asked to tackle topics to support not only your leadership journey, but also the health of your practice team and business. With workshop-style learning we intend to educate and inspire, while giving you the ability to determine how what you are learning will actually be implemented in your world. It's what guidED is all about.

When (And When Not) To Trust Your Gut: Critical thinking skills for veterinary leaders
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Whenever veterinary professionals make decisions based on their ‘gut feel’, they are unknowingly relying on thinking that leads to biases and bad reasoning. These mistakes can negatively impact animal health outcomes, the experience of your clients, and the culture of your clinics. In this action-packed session, Dr. Aaron Barth will show veterinary professionals how to use science-backed tactics to overcome biases, improve decision-making, and create better outcomes for pets, clients, and teams.

What You’ll Learn:

• To identify unconscious biases that undermine decision-making.
• To recognize emotions that hijack your thinking and challenge assumptions that lead to group-think.
• To uncover root causes that lead to better diagnoses and problem solving.

Energized! Leveraging your strengths to fuel your success
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What would the future look like if we all recognized and applied our unique strengths to achieve personal and professional success and happiness? What if we could work together, intentionally leveraging each other’s strengths to address challenges, mitigate performance risks and create a resilient and empowered team? Discover how impactful it can be when we focus our energy on the right things. Enhance your leadership mindset by leveraging your custom Strengthscope assessment, completed prior to the conference. Explore principles of positive psychology and a strengths-based approach to supporting yourself and your team members more confidently, based on your own profile. Together, we’ll embark on a journey to unleash your potential for optimal leadership performance and well-being.

What You'll Learn:

• Why it's in everyone's best interest to concentrate on strengths rather than fixate on overcoming weaknesses, and the difference that shift in mindset can make.
• How identifying your strengths and studying them through the lens of positive psychology can empower you to optimize your performance at work and in life.
• How you can apply your strengths to achieve your goals, and address challenges, while mitigating performance risks and supporting your team in doing the same.

Instilling Fear vs Trust: Is It Culture or Is It __? 
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How do we create a environment for veterinary professionals to express concerns, offer ideas, ask questions, and admit mistakes without fear of retribution? The key is implementing a concept called psychological safety—originally coined and researched by Dr. Amy Edmondson of Harvard Business School. It is vital for high-performing healthcare teams to foster positive culture, team well-being, patient care, open communication, and learning. Psychological safety is the foundation for bringing this to life.

Building on Dr. Edmondson's work, and additionally that of Google and Dr. Michelle McQuaid, this workshop will integrate recent findings and best practices. It will use examples from veterinary hospitals to illustrate how enhancing psychological safety improves patient care, team satisfaction, and efficiency. The workshop includes interactive exercises and discussions to provide veterinary leaders with tools to create a safe workplace where everyone can contribute effectively.

What You’ll Learn:

• Prof. Amy Edmondson and Google’s foundational research on psychological safety.
• What psychological safety assessments are, and how they work.
• Five interventions to increase psychological safety in the workplace.

WHO First ... Then WHAT 
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Would you enthusiastically re-hire everyone on your team today? If not, why not? Come prepared to take a deep dive into the make-up of your team and to frame the crucial conversations that need to take place to build a team of star players. Tools to set you up for success with the recruitment and retention of talented employees will be presented. Building your best team ever also relies on incorporating core values into all aspects of your business. Highly effective leaders understand why it is essential to know WHO’s on their team rather than simply focusing on WHAT their people are doing.

What You’ll Learn:

• A practical framework for team talent review and how to structure crucial feedback conversations.
• A model for the recruitment and screening of employees (job scorecard, job interview tips, screening references).
• Ways to bring beneficial core values to life in your workplace.