Overworked, Underpaid, and Stuck?

Andrea Watkins (00:04):
Well, hi there. I am Andrea Watkins, and if you're listening to this, while juggling three patient calls, checking in a couple patients, taking a payment, selling skincare, and trying to catch your doctor in between procedures, you might be working in an aesthetic practice.

Blake Lucas (00:18):
And I'm Blake Lucas, and this is Practiceland. This is not Your doctor's podcast. Hi everyone. Welcome back to Practiceland. Thank you again so much for listening. Make sure too that you're sharing Practiceland with all your friends, colleagues, coworkers, everybody. Really excited about today's episode. We have Kelcy Heringer back with us. You may remember her from our episode five where we're talking about managing up. I love Kelcy's mission statement, which is helping women stop settling, playing small in their careers, so we have some really, really, I think, practical things to talk about today. So what's top of mind for you, Kelcy, today?

Kelcy Heringer (00:55):
Yeah, I'll kick off with, I just finished a coaching session with an amazing leader in our aesthetic space and what we were just talking through was her 360 results, and I'll talk about why we did 360 results, but really her sentiment and why we are working together has been I haven't been promoted, I'm underpaid, I'm overworked, and I'm crushing it in results and I can't figure out what's going on.

Blake Lucas (01:23):
Oh yeah. I mean, wow, what a paradoxical thing, right? You're like, I'm a top performer, I'm killing it. I don't know what else I could be doing, but I'm just so stuck where I'm at. I totally get that. I've had that same experience in my own career where I feel like, what else can I be doing?

Kelcy Heringer (01:42):
You're working around the clock, but then not feeling the value exchange on the other end. And it is so frustrating and so went and talked to three people who work with her, one of them being her boss, and I instantly knew what the issue was. His take on her was she doesn't have kids. She always picks up my call, weekends, evenings, nights. She is so reliable. She gets so much done. She's such a workhorse.

Blake Lucas (02:14):
So what's the problem?

Kelcy Heringer (02:16):
What the problem is, is he sees her as a doer and he wants to keep her as a doer and every single signal that she's giving him when she picks up the phone or answers the text at 11:00 PM or is her raising her hand to say, sure, I'll take that on top of what I'm already doing. She is creating this, what I like to call get shit done person brand for herself when she wants to be seen as a strategic leader. So I thought today we could talk through this very common problem for the doers out there, the ones who are getting the checklist done, and really how that often can backfire on your career.

Blake Lucas (03:02):
Yeah. The first question that pops in my head is why do companies hesitate to promote their top doers, the ones that are getting the shit done?

Kelcy Heringer (03:12):
Totally. A few immediate reactions is like, let's just look at the math of it, right? Let's say in a practice somebody is doing the job of multiple people and they're known and relied on for getting stuff done, you've actually just become too valuable to promote because they'd have to go hire multiple people to replace you or find another unicorn, which is super rare.

Blake Lucas (03:40):
Right.

Kelcy Heringer (03:41):
So one of the reasons is it doesn't make economical sense for folks once you are in that spot. And then secondly, people love having people under them

Blake Lucas (03:54):
Right.

Kelcy Heringer (03:54):
who they can rely on and make their lives easier. And so if you're always the savior, the fixer, the doer, you've become their crutch that then it's really hard, they almost feel like they can't afford to lose you, so you're making everybody else's lives easier except your own and you end up somewhat trapping yourself in that spot.

Blake Lucas (04:18):
Wow. I see it from my own perspective as an employee of a company and trying to advance my own career, but then I'm also, I'm lucky enough to have an amazing team that I get to manage and I have unbelievable performers. So immediately there's a little bit of guilt, cuz I can, as you're explaining that, I'm like, oh my gosh, I have two or three people that I rely on so much to get stuff done and they're so amazing. And then now I'm thinking like, am I holding them back? Am I the bad guy in this story? Like, oh no. Wow. So what's maybe the difference between being productive and being valuable at a leadership level? How do we, I guess, avoid maybe putting ourselves in that same scenario as the client that you're working with?

Kelcy Heringer (05:01):
Yeah, I think the answer is let's take a look at the leaders that we respect the most, and they aren't the busiest. Those people instead, the people who we respect most are typically the people who have the most clarity and are the clearest leaders. They're the boldest and they are the most strategic with their time and energy. And so I think to answer your question, the difference is the actual high five definition of success between being productive versus being a valued leader is quite different. To be a leader, the high five is definitely not about how much you can do. It's not about output. Instead, it's about how can I make sure that the right things are done at scale to hit the end goal? So it's a big mindset shift in shifting from being the productive person to the valued leader because you have to stop asking yourself, did I finish the list? And you have to start asking yourself, did I move the needle?

Blake Lucas (06:11):
Wow, I love that. The two second clip, we're going to put in a commercial. I love that.

Kelcy Heringer (06:15):
There you go.

Blake Lucas (06:15):
Yeah, that's the soundbite we're looking for. Absolutely. I'd love to talk about you a little bit too. Maybe, do you have a personal experience where you were too capable or it maybe felt like it stalled your career? What maybe was the spark or that aha moment that gave you that mindset shift to stop glorifying the busyness and being able to accomplish the to-do list?

Kelcy Heringer (06:40):
Yes. It's always so funny when you ask for moments and you're like, immediately, I know. I know exactly when I made this mistake the worst. And this one is a trap that I constantly, even in owning my own business now have to check myself on. It's very hard to get yourself out of this one. But yes, I will give an example. So I worked for a leader who was incredibly visionary, but that meant their ideas and priorities changed like the wind?

Blake Lucas (07:08):
Yeah, little professional ADD or ADHD.

Kelcy Heringer (07:12):
Yes. And recently bias all the time. And I thought that winning was doing whatever that person wanted me to. And so I spent endless hours working late nights, not working out, trying to make him happy, and I got stuck at the same title because I had lots of activities to show, but my impact was low because it was constantly always doing this activity, then doing this activity versus being able to say, my team and I delivered 40% of last year's revenue.

Blake Lucas (07:51):
The actual measurables that are important to the business. Like you said, moving the needle again. Yeah, right?

Kelcy Heringer (07:55):
Exactly. And so I found myself at a place where I wasn't just not able to share my impact, but because I was so busy, I wasn't the mom I wanted to be. I wasn't the friend I wanted to be. I wasn't the family member that I wanted to be. And I think what shifted for me is when a really great mentor said to me, why do you love the business to dos more than your own happiness?

Blake Lucas (08:28):
Oh man.

Kelcy Heringer (08:29):
Stung.

Blake Lucas (08:30):
That cuts deep. Wow.

Kelcy Heringer (08:33):
It stung, but it really helped me. I was like, you are absolutely right, because I would almost fight that the to-do list was the right thing to do, lean in and do more, and I was always raised to work hard and then there will be payoff. So for me, that was a time where I'm like, you know what? I really got to learn less is more means how can I simplify and where am I overdoing it and not for others, but doing it for myself.

Blake Lucas (09:04):
Yeah, absolutely. Well, you call out such a good point about just the work-life balance side of it too, and I think it can be really difficult for people to being able to create boundaries for yourself and how do you set boundaries to make sure that you have that work-life balance that you want, having that time to spend with your family and be present, work out, and that self-care, which is already hard enough when you have a family now throwing the job that takes up 90% of your time for so many of us. How do you set those boundaries with your boss without coming off as difficult or challenging, where now they feel like they have to deal with you and your personality?

Kelcy Heringer (09:48):
Yeah, it's a really good question and I'll try to be, this is probably the one where I would love to talk the most about because it is so practical and you're like, where do I start, and what do I do? And I would say the most important thing is making sure when you set boundaries that you're not sparking them from fear or burnout. That's when you look defensive and difficult, and that's when it feels like resistance and feels unnatural, but when they come from a place of clarity and leadership, then it comes across as direction. So here's an example, so you don't want to say things like, I just can't take on one more thing right now. That feels defensive, but channeling that same thought, if you said, I love hearing that idea, thank you for sharing, that's actually not the highest use of my time right now because I'm focused on hitting X results. Here's where I'm focused this week and why. So that you're not shutting it down, but you're being very clear on why it's a not now or maybe needs to happen later.

Blake Lucas (10:56):
Yeah, it's not a no, it's just not yet or it's not, or it's even reminding 'em back to these are the business priorities, right, maybe.

Kelcy Heringer (11:04):
Exactly.

Blake Lucas (11:04):
Hopefully there's that common ground where you already have those goals set, that foundation set that you can call back to and you're like, remember, this is really what we're trying to accomplish, and although I love this idea, it doesn't really maybe align with what we're trying to do right now.

Kelcy Heringer (11:16):
Totally. Exactly. It's a difference of coming across as not defensive, but just being really decisive and strategic with your time. So don't say things like, I'm too busy for that, or I just can't take on one more thing right now and really try to frame it as, I'm super focused on hitting X results, and so I'm just saying no to this right now, but we can absolutely revisit it later.

Blake Lucas (11:40):
I think it really changes the perspective. If I was that manager, that leader, I'm trying to think of putting myself in that position. If someone was saying that to me, right? If they're bringing those things back up, I immediately change my perception of them. Now I'm like, oh, they're taking into account the larger, the bigger picture things, the things we're trying to accomplish as a company that are so important for us, or maybe this is my own business. I own this, and now I see that they're taking personal responsibility of the company success, and that changes, and now I'm like, okay, this person's, I get it. They're on board. They want to accomplish what I want to accomplish. It's a little bit of this inception type of thing, but I love it how practical that can be just to change the path that you take or that direction that you take with that initial conversation.

Kelcy Heringer (12:26):
The way that you just articulated, what it reminded me of is instead of coming across as overwhelmed, instead, when you frame it those ways, you come across as you are in control. And that's the difference, and that's important.

Blake Lucas (12:41):
That's Stableness. That's amazing. I think we could talk about this topic for hours. You get into this so much, we can really start to pick apart everything, but if we were to take away one thing that we're going to try to put into action this week, what would be that one thing or that practical thing that you'd give to listeners?

Kelcy Heringer (12:57):
Yeah, I would say, I'm going to turn the knife here because somebody did it to me. I'd say like yourself more than the checklist of to-dos.

Blake Lucas (13:04):
Okay.

Kelcy Heringer (13:06):
You have to be your own daily motivation to remind yourself to prioritize you and your needs. And so if you have a north star of wanting to climb and be seen as a leader, and some people love being in the sewer spot, so do that. But if you are trying to drive the shift, I think you know that you're going to need to check your energy and your time and make sure that it's focused on this less is more and you sharing all the time, is the other piece we didn't talk about, exactly the impact that you're delivering so that you're not invisible or just seen as a person who reports out on activities.

Blake Lucas (13:51):
Gotcha. Love it. Kelcy, thank you so much. Where can we follow you online for more if you want to see what you're up to and learn what you're doing?

Kelcy Heringer (13:59):
Yes, TikTok or Instagram, but Instagram's probably easiest. Kelcy_Heringer and I try to go on three or four times a week and talk through advice and tips to help people stop playing small and get unstuck in their careers. So I would love to have you.

Blake Lucas (14:18):
Amazing. Yeah, get out there like and follow. Thank you again for all you for listening to Practiceland. Make sure to subscribe and to share, but thank you. Have a great day.

Kelcy Heringer (14:28):
Thank you.

Blake Lucas (14:29):
Got a wild customer service story or a sticky patient situation? Send us a message or voicemail. If your tale makes it into our "She did what?" segment, we'll send a thank you gift you'll actually love. Promise no cheap swag here.

Andrea Watkins (14:41):
Are you one of us? Subscribe for new episode notifications and more at practicelandpodcast.com. New episodes drop weekly on YouTube and everywhere you can listen to podcasts.