Many of us are afraid of failure, even though these moments carry with them the potential for growth and learning. David Roux, President of Accelerated Dental Assisting Academy (ADAA), is a leader who thinks differently. ADAA is a company that hosts dental assisting schools inside of practicing dental offices. In just four years, David has built a powerhouse team of employees, resulting in the rapid growth of his company. Instead of shying away from failure, David fully embraces it and accepts that as a growth-minded visionary, you will always fall down so you can get back up stronger. In this episode, David walks us through his leadership journey and how he realized his purpose was not attached to his career. This realization required tremendous clarity, and David shares with us how he has worked to be so clear on things. We talk about his mindset shifts and why great leaders build other great leaders. David offers us a look into his weekly leadership team meetings, where he expands on why he believes they have contributed to ADAA’s success. Our conversation also touches on building a robust company culture, the importance of leading with vulnerability, why your personal and professional values are the same, and the fact that great leaders acknowledge that they do not know everything. David is the epitome of a leader who cares about his legacy and his people. If you need some leadership inspiration, this is the show for you!
Key Points From This Episode:
– Get to know David, details about ADAA, and his other personal and professional endeavors.
– How David discovered that his purpose was not linked to his career.
– David’s decision to build a dental training school and his passion for building things.
– The work David has done to get out of his own way and gain his immense clarity.
– A mindset shift that has been a complete game-changer for David.
– The role that a coach played in opening David’s mind to a different way of thinking.
– How David is actively building and nurturing his leadership team.
– Books that have helped David’s leadership team and him as an individual.
– The two facets of a business you need to work on to make a robust organization.
– David’s weekly leadership meetings and the way they have contributed to business success.
– The ranking system that is tied into these meetings and the insights they provide.
– How David has built a culture where people appreciate conflict.
– ADAA’s hiring process and how it embeds a healthy culture early on.
– The difference between verbalized expectations and true expectations.
– Why David is most excited about thinking about where ADAA will be in 100 years.
– David’s approach to challenges and why he relishes in them.
– A quote that keeps David in the mindset of accepting, but not settling for, failure.
– How David is continually able to find people who are hungry for growth.
– An example of how David has shown his vulnerability as a leader.
– Personal growth is hard because it requires commitment, vulnerability, and accountability.
– The difference between accountability and support at ADAA.
– Why it is so important for David to be consistent in his values across his personal and professional life.
– As a business owner, you have to be interested in and love your employees.
– Why leaders do not have to be the smartest people in the room.
Tweetables:
“My purpose is not built within my career.” — David Roux [0:05:53]
“The biggest thing that got me out of my own way was training leaders and allowing them to grow the company with my guidance.” — David Roux [0:09:00]
“The meeting system, the structure has really been the answer to the problem we’ve been trying to figure out for the last several years.” — David Roux [0:25:23]
“People truly will meet the expectations that you set.” — David Roux [0:30:34]
“I’ve learned to love the challenge of failure, learned to love the challenge of not knowing because I’ve seen that in the big picture, it’s the only place that’s allowed us to get to where we want to go.” — David Roux [0:36:35]
“If you are building a business, you are building your values.” — David Roux [0:50:40]
Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:
David Roux Email — david@adaa.us
Accelerated Dental Assisting Academy
How to Win Friends & Influence People
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