People Aren't Difficult, They're Different

Why do so many good people struggle to work together? Often it's not a personality clash — it's that high performers don't understand what actually drives their own behavior, let alone anyone else's. In this episode, we break down what the Predictive Index really is: a behavioral assessment that reveals the innate drives behind why we act the way we do.

We dig into why a diverse team is such an asset once everyone understands each other's wiring, and how PI gives teams shared language for conflict resolution instead of guesswork. Understanding natural workstyles doesn't mean changing who someone is — it means knowing when a teammate is stretching outside their comfort zone and supporting them through it. The result is a stronger, more self-aware culture, built on a language everyone shares.

Thank you to Joan Marshall of PIMidlantic for sponsoring this episode! Want to take the Predictive Index Assessment? Click here!

Host = Brenda Tassava Medina, CVPM, CVJ, President of Encore Veterinary Consulting

Panelists:

• Melissa Mauldin, CVPM, SHRM-SCP, ACC, VP of Human Resources, Encore Vet Group
• Carol Hurst, LVT, CVPM, CVJ, CCFP, Consultant, Encore Veterinary Consulting
• Devin Whalen, Chief of Staff, Encore Vet Group

Thanks for listening!

Website: https://encorevet.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/encoreveterinaryconsulting

Instagram: @encorevetconsulting

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/encore-veterinary-consulting

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:10

Flight Plan Quick Consult is sponsored by PI Midlantic and Joan Marshall. Predictive Index helps veterinary leaders better understand what drives their people so they can hire more thoughtfully, improve communication, build stronger teams, and lead each employee more effectively. Joan is a former human resources executive who used PI within several companies before becoming a PI Midlantic consultant nearly 25 years ago. To learn how Joan can support your practice, contact her directly at jmarshall at PIMidlantic.com. Or you can call her at 856-220-0776. Welcome aboard. Our Flight Plan itinerary today includes getting real with people aren't difficult, they're different, with some of our in-house predictive index experts, Carol Hurst, Melissa Maudlin, and Devin Whalen. Carol, tell our listeners a little about yourself.

SPEAKER_02 1:36

Hi everybody.

SPEAKER_00 1:54

Well, we're glad to have you today, Carol. Next up is Melissa.

SPEAKER_03 1:59

Hey, and yeah, so I um Melissa Walden. I'm the head of HR at OnportFat Group. Um, started my veterinary career almost a little over 20 years ago, um, working as a customer service representative at the part of things. Um, and transitioned into a leadership role. And, you know, just by picking up little things here and there, started with inventory, then doing accounts receivable, and all of a sudden I was managing. And um, like many of us, that's how I got started, and then eventually found my way into human resources, which is um passion.

SPEAKER_00 2:34

Well, thanks for being with us, Melissa. And rounding out the crew is Devin.

SPEAKER_01 2:39

Hi, thanks for having me, Brenda. Excited to join you guys today. Um, my name's Devin, and I'm the chief of staff at Encore Vet Group. Um, I do not have a background in veterinary medicine, but I do have a background in um operations and strategic planning. Started my career in multi-site higher education in New York State. Um, did a little operations work in finance, and I'm so happy to have spent the last eight years at Encore.

SPEAKER_00 3:05

And we are so happy to have you at Encore and with us today, Devin. Um, so this episode is about predictive index. And I know that uh that might be very new words or a phrase for many, many of our listeners. So for our audience and with our audience in mind, I'd like to start with explaining what predictive index actually is. Melissa, could you give us a brief introduction to PI?

SPEAKER_03 3:34

Yeah, absolutely. So predictive index is an assessment that you can have your team members take, or you can even your family can take it. It applies in all areas. Um there's a tons of assessments out there. There's a lot of different ones. They all bring different values. What predictive index brings that others maybe don't bring is really uncovers that innate behavioral drive that people have. Um, helps you understand a little bit about why you act the way you do, maybe. So whereas an assessment like a disc that's going to show like your behaviors that this is how I show up at work, PI is measuring this, okay, but this is why I'm like that. This is why I want to be successful in my job, or maybe why I come on a little strong. Maybe it's that drive. I want to be light, I want to be in control, I want to be um successful, or I like to move fast and get things done with me. So it helps really um explain the why behind what people do.

SPEAKER_00 4:37

Okay, so it's not a personality test, it's a behavior assessment specific to the workplace, is that right?

SPEAKER_03 4:46

Well, not specific to the workplace, it's typically within the workplace, but those behavioral drives can um apply anywhere. If I have, let's say, you know, we'll talk, I'm sure, about the different drives, but if I have a high B factor, which means I like to be social and interact with people and I want to be visible and out in front of people, that doesn't just apply in the workplace. That can also apply with my family and with my everyday life.

SPEAKER_00 5:12

Okay, okay. Devin, I I want to go to you because you're chief of staff. Why predictive index? I mean, at Encore, we started using Predictive Index probably about a year and a half ago. Why? Why did we land on that?

SPEAKER_01 5:29

Yeah, I mean, I I think as Melissa said, it's really that why and less the how part, right? And I think as we look at, you know, from our lens, how do we make sure we have these strong performing teams? What does it look like to really balance each other's whys and make sure everyone is in a role that really fits them best? And that within that, we can appreciate each other's why behaviorally and have compassion and have grace around that and really pause ourselves and say, hmm, why might they act that way? Right. I think there's been so many times probably where you're anticipating you're going to do something and someone else's reaction to it, you know, oh, such and such is so anxious, or oh, such and such moves so slow. That's really our opportunity to really step back and think about that as leaders, as the people delivering the communication, and check ourselves and say, are they anxious, or are am I maybe not giving them all the information they need in the way that they need it to move forward without feeling anxious, right? Without asking me a hundred questions, or hey, they're struggling to meet their deadlines constantly. Such and such is always late. Well, maybe they're perfect for their role and they're struggling with that. What can we do to help them make sure they're reaching all their deadlines, right? It's it's really such a great way of looking at solutions behaviorally rather than just feeling like kind of stuck and frustrated with what you might do next.

SPEAKER_00 7:02

Okay. Okay. Carol, I have a quick question for you because you are a consultant and you work with a lot of independent practices. And I know that you've had a chance to not only learn about predictive index and the way that we use it at Encore, but how are you using it with independent practice leadership teams?

SPEAKER_02 7:24

Um, so it has been an invaluable tool when I'm using it. Um, and the most prominent way is to have the leadership team take the assessments and then we start talking through each person is assigned a profile. Um, and so we start talking through what the profile is and what the different factors, which I'm sure we'll cover in a moment. Um, but out of that and and how we're talking about different behavioral drives, we start talking through some of their pain points in communication, right? So the biggest example that comes to my mind recently is a practice owner, practice manager dynamic where the practice owner is a very fast-paced, very um confident leader. She knows exactly what she wants, she knows how to get there. And she's finding frustrations with her practice manager who moves slower, who's more methodical, who likes the boundaries and rules. And both, neither one is bad for their role, neither one is bad, right? But each one brings strengths to the table that they don't really understand or have a shared language for what that might look like in communications. So when the practice manager comes up to the practice owner and has a question, and it's right in the middle of appointments, and the practice owner rattles something off, and the practice manager isn't recognizing that the practice owner needs that time to process it, and then the practice manager needs also that time to be able to sit down and flush out the idea and not move at that really quick pace, like just being able to have that shared language around some of the struggles that we go through on a day-to-day basis with each other and understand the drivers a little bit better.

SPEAKER_00 9:23

Okay, okay. So I got a couple of burning questions for you, and this might help our audience kind of flesh this out in their minds and apply it to their own situations, but why? I mean, it's a timeless tale of communication falling apart and just really, you know, struggling to work together. So, why do so many good people still struggle to work together? Start with you, Melissa.

SPEAKER_03 9:50

Yeah, I think that's a great question. And I think I think PI um lends really well to this because it helps us, it's it's what drives people. So you can be really, really great. Um, and you can have a team of really, really great people, but because they all have something different driving them that's important to them, and they're not if they don't learn to look at it from another person's perspective or see what's important to the other person, then they're continually driven by what's important to them. What might be important to one is maybe I need to be the most visible. Um, another one might be driven by success, another might be driven by building relationships, um, another might be driven by highly detailed work and really enjoy doing that. And somebody that's more driven by flexibility and wanting to be able to do things at their own pace on their own time frame, those two people could really frustrate each other, even though they're both high performers in their own right. Um, that can be really, really frustrating to work together. And so um it's that that really is why people can be really high performers and just not work well together, because they just have different things that drive them to be successful. And, you know, helping see each other's perspective can help make that better.

SPEAKER_00 11:16

Okay. Devin, from your seat, why do so many good people still struggle to work together?

SPEAKER_01 11:22

Yeah, I love this question and I love PI's role in resolving it too, because there are so many talented people and everyone's well intended and generally speaking, after the same outcome, right? And that friction really comes from how we're working together, right? Um, we've used this analogy before internally, right? If if you need, you know, the World Cup just ended, right? Like if you're all rowing together, but at different speeds, at different paces, it's not gonna work well, right? You're all gonna be frustrated and you're gonna be going in circles. So um using PI as that tool to really get aligned and help eliminate friction, right? Because we do need those differences. We will have some healthy friction, right? That's okay. Um, but recognizing it for what it is, like Melissa said, like, okay, as the individual, right? Maybe it's just stepping back and saying, hey, this is this is my high A, this is my low C, whatever that might be for you, or appreciating it from a team perspective of, hey, we we don't have enough SLPs and we've not hired enough people who really have that D factor, that PID factor, that's gonna help create them, implement them, and make sure that they stay successful, right?

SPEAKER_00 12:34

Exactly. I, you know, I always talk about you know, creating as diverse a team as you possibly can because that diversity leads to innovation. And without it, you know, we're just kind of stuck doing what we're doing. So I think that this struggle, while it's real, it I like your word friction because friction is what it is. It's not a bad thing. It can be a good thing to really spark change. Carol, what are your thoughts on good people still struggling to work together?

SPEAKER_02 13:07

Um, so so yeah, I totally agree with Devin that um, you know, the the idea that we all have strengths, we're all rowing the boat, but we may be going at different speeds is such a perfect one. And when you think about from a practice perspective, it's not often a values problem, right? We're all in it together to take care of pets. Like that is the overarching goal, but it's a wiring mismatch that we don't really talk about. Um, and you know, going back to you know, your personal needs, right? So the way that PI has served me and the way that it can increase your own self-awareness, right, is that um, you know, I love rules and I love structure.

SPEAKER_00 13:54

And so if and we live together and I'm not that way.

SPEAKER_02 13:59

I know, I know. So it's been really perfect, right? Because I know that if you're not not giving me rules, it means either that it may be a stretch goal for me, right? Like getting myself out of my comfort zone, or um, if I feel like I truly need it and and it wasn't given, then I can feel more confident about asking for it. And so, you know, to me, it gives this level of self-awareness that also helps somebody show up. Because if I don't even have the language to describe, like I know I've always liked rules, but the the language that it gives you to both understand that driver and understand somebody else, right? Like, you know, you're talking about our dynamic is invaluable for conflict resolution because then I can have the language to speak up when I need to or to push myself out of my comfort zone, right? Because it's also not meant to be to be a crutch.

SPEAKER_00 14:58

And I can remember to give you guardrails so that you're not frustrated, right?

SPEAKER_02 15:02

Exactly. Like if I've got a blank look, I may need a few more rules in place because I don't know what to do.

SPEAKER_00 15:10

All right, Melissa. Can understanding natural work styles improve culture in a veterinary hospital without trying to change personalities?

SPEAKER_03 15:21

Yes. Um, absolutely. I think that um just understanding each other. So, as Carol mentioned, that was a great example. She knows what her needs are, you know what her needs are, so you can help her be successful. So you can be a better team member, a better leader by understanding uh each other better and um and leaning, leaning into that understanding. And I really also like what Carol said is of not relying on it as a crutch. So not saying, Oh, yeah, you know, I have a high C, so I just move really slow when the pace needs to be fast. Like sometimes, okay. Knowing that about ourselves gives us some insight to ourselves and gives maybe maybe our manager some insight, and maybe they say, Oh, you know what? I know she normally has a slower pace, and this, and normally that's fine. This has got to go fast, and I know that's gonna be uncomfortable for her. So, how can I help support her through this process of needing to be needing to move a little bit faster and being outside of her comfort zone because it's not natural for her. Innately, we're still the same person. Our personality is, you know, our personalities are who we are. Um, but that doesn't mean that we can always um, you know, sometimes we have to act outside of our personality and we have to push ourselves um to be a little different in our work styles and our behaviors, but our personality remains the same. We are deep down, we're still holding the same values, we're still the same person. If we're funny, we're still funny, you know, or if we're like me and not super funny, we're still not super funny, and that's okay. Um, but but that doesn't mean my work style can't change to fit the situation.

SPEAKER_00 17:04

Yeah. Yeah. Devin, talk to me a little bit about personality versus behavior in the workplace, because I think it ties to this question. Um, I had I remember that um I did the commitment to mutual respect. I do this a lot with many, many of my independent uh practice clients. And it's usually a workshop where we're setting the behavior expectations for the practice because we've along the way failed to do that and we've gotten very dysfunctional because of it. And I can distinctly remember one time I did this in Virginia, and a team member who'd been at the practice a long time, she said, but that you know, that's my personality, you know, and and and it's like it was difficult for her to grasp that I was asking for her to choose a different behavior, not change her personality. So talk to me about your perspective on that.

SPEAKER_01 18:00

Yeah, and that's a that's a great question, a loaded one too, because I know that there's so many ways we can really approach this. Um, but you know, I think it's often true, right, that people they do conflate the two, right? Your behavior and your personality. Um, but your personality um is is more who you are and your behavior, you get to choose what that looks like every day in every situation, right? Um and I think, you know, you might not be able to control who you are innately, but we all get to choose what what behavior shows up in those conversations. Um and I think that's what I I love about PI too, because it does allow me to quality check my behavior and the way I show up to conversations, right? If if something is triggering me, right, like I have a knee-jerk reaction to to get involved, to ask questions, whatever it looks like. I'm I may say to myself, do I do I need to be involved, or is that my high A, right? Um, does it does it matter that I have all the information, or is that my high D, right? My need for details, my need for formality, right? Um, and that's where for me you can use that PI as a tool to better engage your behavior in conversations, right? And not um use it as a crutch, as Carol said. I think that's a great way of looking at it too, right? And just making sure that you're showing up in a way that provides compassion and grace for the people around you.

SPEAKER_00 19:34

Yeah. Carol, you want to chime in on this?

SPEAKER_02 19:37

I think what stands out to me, I agree, Devin, completely. And the thing that popped into my head was often I think we confuse personality traits and personality for the things that are easy for us, right? And so a lot of these behavioral drives, especially the ones that are going to flex us outside of what's comfortable, it doesn't mean that it's not that you're challenging your personality in order to select a behavior that is a little more uncomfortable for you, right? And I think that's where the distinction can kind of get fuzzy, right? You're asking me to greet a client warmly, smile and stand up. That is a behavior, and that's not something I'm very comfortable with. So I'm gonna take that as a challenge on my personality instead of it being, no, you can choose to smile. Like the act of smiling isn't a personality trait, right? It's a behavior that you do. And so I think that that to me is just what stands out. You know, it's it's uncomfortable sometimes, and it should be.

SPEAKER_00 20:36

Yeah, yeah. So, Carol, in your experience working with practices on improving culture, how does how does this fit, this predictive index and knowing that it's not about changing anybody's personality, but this understanding, how does it lend itself to improving culture?

SPEAKER_02 20:58

The the immediate thing that I think of is the shared language, um, because that's often what's missing. You just mentioned having the standards um commitment to mutual respect and outlining those behaviors. And I think that's one big thing that's missing when I look at culture work is that we don't often have a shared language to talk through some of the hard things, some of this per some of these conflicts that that pop up. And if we're able to understand each other better and what our drivers are and then have that language, that's half the battle.

SPEAKER_00 21:33

Yeah, yeah. Well, thank you all for joining me today, and thank you for flying with us on Flight Plan Quick Consults. And thank you to our generous sponsor, PI Midlantic. If you'd like to learn more about Predictive Index, please be sure to check out their website. If today's insights helped you climb to new heights, be sure to subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode with your crew.