“Katie has really excelled,” says Fagan, Vice President of DSO Sales for Pearl. “She’s the perfect showcase of what Women in DSO® is able to offer.”
This is the bargain Women in DSO offers to partners: Invest in the advancement of women within your organization and, in return, gain stronger leaders, faster access to decision-makers, and leadership teams that reflect the people they manage and the customers they serve.
Fagan explains that Bayle took an entry-level position with Pearl a few years ago and now works with the most sophisticated DSOs in the industry.
Fagan attributes Bayle’s growth— increases in self-confidence and enhanced industry knowledge—largely to the mentoring guidance and support she’s received from Women in DSO.
“For years, DSO leadership teams lacked visible diversity—I don’t think intentionally, but out of habit,” Fagan says. “The point is not representation for its own sake; it is ensuring that the best person for a position is developed, visible, and prepared to lead.”
Far too often the best person for the job is not necessarily a man. Women in DSO is asking organizations to consider the experience and capabilities of all potential candidates. At the same time, the organization is preparing women to step into leadership roles and confidently recognize their own worth.
Doing Business Better
Michelle Dowling, Executive Vice President of Marketing for Rectangle Health and a Women in DSO Advisory Board member, knew she had to identify a return on investment (ROI) when she suggested her company join Women in DSO®.
“The budget expense required a forward-thinking forum where the best conversations were taking place, where pivotal training was happening, and where we were getting access to more and more decision makers in the DSO world,” says Dowling, “But I think the real power has become that Women in DSO is a place where you can grow your business, your network, and see a return.”
Dowling isn’t an outlier when it comes to needing to demonstrate ROI. Few companies are willing to create a budget line-item that can’t be traced back to some form of measurable benefit, such as the value of data.
“Through Women in DSO, we’re exposed to valuable insights about the industry, best practices, information about the dental landscape, and solutions for challenges like retention,” says Albina Kamara, National Key Account Manager for Kerr Dental.
“We get more access to decision makers through Women in DSO, which could take six months to a year otherwise. Being a member fast-tracks you—and vouches for you in a sense,” she adds.
Kamara recalls a large account she managed in which calls were fine but unremarkable. She later went to a Women in DSO event and ran into someone from that large account.
“It completely changed the dynamic of our work relationship,” Kamara says. “Coming back from that, it was a different landscape. It’s as if doors were already opened and our interactions were smoother.”
The name may suggest that a partnership with Women in DSO is primarily focused on elevating women, which it is. However, the lived experience of partners is more about business relationships and how those grow out of the strength of the Women in DSO network.
“It helps my salespeople to count on my connections,” Dowling says. “They can say to me: ‘Michelle, do you know anybody?’ The most inspiring benefit I have from Women in DSO is the connections that facilitate these business conversations that just help everyone in the industry drive it forward.”
Building Strong, Resilient Teams
Labor costs more than any other aspect of a company’s total expenses. And those costs are somewhat contradictory—they are both an expense from an accounting perspective and an asset to be managed.
Women in DSO enables partnering organizations to essentially outsource key professional development functions while keeping the benefits in house.
“If you don’t invest in your people, it could cost you in the long run,” says Shirley Misiak, Vice President, National Accounts Leader for CareCredit and a Women in DSO® Advisory Board member. “If you are constantly hiring, the cost of onboarding and training is high. If you invest in your people, you’re going to retain them and, in the long run, you’re going to have a higher return.”
And then there is the multiplicity of ideas that only a diverse group can generate. Women in DSO® mentoring and events effectively nurture women to be more vocal about their ideas and value, which creates a kind of disruptive energy that undermines siloed thinking and conformist attitudes.
“Best-in-class talent incorporates both men and women that think creatively to bring ideas to the table that challenge and create room for innovation,” says Fagan of Pearl’s promotion philosophy. “That’s why we partner with Women in DSO—because we don’t think we could access or develop the best talent if it was just one gender.”
Kamara describes a similar dynamic at Envista, the parent company for Kerr Dental, in which the goal is to invest partnership funds and in exchange get buy-in from team members.
“Envista invests in Women in DSO because it promotes engagement and retention in our organization by enabling women to elevate themselves and become more deeply enmeshed in what we do,” she says.
Nurturing Female Leaders and Diverse Ideas
Women passed over for promotion are more likely to leave, increasing labor costs and making it almost impossible to create a culture of merit, which eventually yields a static, conformist team.
“It’s not that you need a female on the executive board to say that you have a female,” Fagan says. “That’s not it. But who is the best person for the job? That’s who should be selected for it.”
Often, before anyone can be selected for a leadership role, they must develop the obvious skills to succeed in the role. For men, that development most often happens within their current position with the mentorship of someone in the organization.
While women are also mentored within their own organizations, that mentoring happens less frequently and leads to actual promotions far less often. Women in DSO® provides the necessary structure, direction, and inspiration for women with career aspirations through contacts with women who’ve already succeeded.
“Years ago, I had the opportunity to FaceTime with the Synchrony CEO, Margaret Keane, and I thanked her for sharing her story, because she started working in the call center,” recalls Misiak. “The platform benefits women aspiring to be leaders because they get to hear the stories of other leaders and they see that it can be done. They also learn how to do it.”
In particular, Women in DSO’s annual Empower and Grow conference is singled out for the impact it has on attendees and the inspiration it provides.
“A visible difference that I’ve seen is increased confidence in up-and-coming female leaders after going to Empower and Grow,” says Fagan. “They’re able to watch and learn what other successful women have done. The conference really creates a networking space for women to ask those questions and learn what it takes to get ahead.”
An added benefit of Women in DSO programs and events is that they enhance and validate the natural tendency women have to complement, combine, and integrate.
“Women often bring a strong focus on team culture,” Kamara says. “I think we’re less transactional in a sense and more community based. When I partner with my male colleagues on an account, we bring different perspectives and have our own strengths, and we can give customers balance and a dynamic experience.”
Preparing for Future Challenges
Dowling remembers what the first Empower and Grow conference was like and how much Women in DSO has changed in such a relatively short time.
“It started out as female empowerment and wellness and all the things that you would say are typical female attributes and it has grossly changed into having a seat at the table, having the hardest conversations,” Dowling says. “How do we grow year over year? What does a mergers-and-acquisitions exit look like? Why is it important? Why should we be involved in strategy?”
Women in DSO Founder and CEO Dr. Aman Kaur has developed the conference year over year to serve attendee needs. She has also recruited members for the board of directors and advisory board who have lengthy resumes and extensive experience—members who would not spend time outside their regular jobs unless they thought the work was serious, meaningful, and forward-looking.
The rapid growth of Empower and Grow into one of the industry’s must-attend events clearly indicates that Women in DSO® is about reading the tea leaves and advancing the industry, not just elevating women.
“When you bring leaders together across an industry, you’re starting to eliminate the silos,” says Misiak. “We’re all faced with the same industry issues, economic headwinds, legislative headwinds. And when you bring leaders together—both men and women—it becomes easier because we’re solving as a profession.”
Choosing the Relationship That Works for You
Women in DSO has built enough flexibility into membership and partnership options that something is available for everyone.
While individual memberships are an option, a better idea is to see if anyone else in your organization is also interested in being a part of Women in DSO®.
“I would suggest they attend Empower and Grow as an organization team,” says Misiak. “If interested women want to be champions within their own organizations, bring others along so they can see firsthand what the platform can do. If you can’t attend Empower and Grow, attend a networking webinar or event.”
If you want to extract more benefit from a relationship with Women in DSO, make more of a commitment.
“Join a committee to get more involved,” says Fagan. “Create an information session, whether it’s twice a year or quarterly, within your organization where someone from Women in DSO can share what we’re doing, why it’s impactful, and ask people if they’d like to be part of it.”
The pinnacle of the options pyramid is a corporate partnership with Women in DSO. If leadership in your company is unfamiliar with the organization—which is unlikely if you work in dentistry or DSOs—some diplomatic education may be in order. Make a pitch to your leadership, explain what Women in DSO does, and lay out the tangible benefits of a partnership.
“To me it’s simple: sales outcomes,” says Dowling. “New business outcomes drive ROI. But it’s also brand awareness and being present in the industry. Some years it’s more brand, some years it’s more sales, some years it’s trying to get the word out about a new product. This is why being an industry partner means so much.”
Given the transformation, velocity, and launch angle Women in DSO has already realized, it stands to reason that the organization will be the driving force behind industry evolution moving forward.
“Invest in your people and they will be loyal to you forever,” Fagan says. “A partnership with Women in DSO allows you as an organization to focus on your business and offer resources to upand- coming female leaders—to help them feel seen and heard within your organization.”
No longer an emerging organization, Women in DSO is a strategic platform shaping how the dental industry develops leaders, builds resilient teams, and prepares for what comes next. For partners, the choice is clear: Invest in your people, accelerate your business, and participate in shaping the future leadership of dentistry.
