Ep 18 You Can’t Avoid Your Way to Trust: Accountability and Hard Conversations

In this episode of Leading Veterinary Teams on Air, Suzanne is joined by Dr. Desmond Coates, a practicing veterinarian and medical director in Mason, Ohio, who stepped into leadership just a few years after graduating vet school in 2022. Dr. Coates shares how his Uncle Brian inspired both his love of animals and his commitment to mentorship, and how early leadership experiences in college, vet school’s Veterinary Leadership Experience (VLE), and associate practice shaped his service-based view of leadership. Together, they explore what it means to lead with attention, build trust, and create psychological safety while still holding people accountable. Dr. Coates discusses the importance of self-reflection, consistency, follow-through, and asking for feedback, emphasizing that teams don’t expect perfection—they expect accountability. He shares communication strategies drawn from books like Crucial Conversations, Crucial Accountability, Never Split the Difference, and Stories That Stick, including entering hard conversations calmly, saying the “quiet part” out loud, and using curiosity-driven prompts like “What do you mean by that?” and “Tell me more.” Dr. Coates also reflects on repairing relationships after missteps, the strengths and challenges of early-career leadership, and how he integrates clinical diagnostic thinking with leadership problem-solving. He highlights delegation, empowering teams, and strong technician utilization as key to sustainability, describing technicians as leaders who should be trusted and utilized to the full degree of their training and licensure. Finally, he shares his view that avoidance is a root driver of burnout and cultural decline in veterinary medicine, and encourages leaders to lean into discomfort, address issues early, and seek mentorship and a strong leadership network. Dr. Coates recommends Crucial Conversations as the one book every leader should read and invites listeners to connect with him on LinkedIn.🌟 Connect with Dr CoatesLinkedIn:   / desmond-xavier-coates-dvm-802595123  🎧 Subscribe to Leading Veterinary Teams On Air for real talk, tactical tools, and conversations that challenge the old-school way of leading in vet med.And if this episode resonates, share it with a colleague, Subscribe, and leave a review — it helps more veterinary leaders find the show and join the movement toward a more inclusive and empowered profession.