Ask Your C.A. Before You Correct Them | Mindset Monday #76

Mindset Shifts from a Million Dollar Chiropractic Assistant #76

The fastest correction in your office might be the most expensive one.

So how do you give feedback to your chiropractic assistant when they handle a patient in a way you never would have?

You ask BEFORE you correct. One question... "Walk me through what you were thinking." Then you coach from there.

Because correcting fixes one moment. Asking grows a leader.

Stay with me, Doc. This one is the leadership mindset.

You wouldn't adjust a new patient without their history first

Think about your new patient exam.

You ask questions. You palpate. You look at the x-rays. THEN you adjust.

So why do so many of us skip straight to the adjustment with our C.A.?

"Don't say it like that."
"Next time, do this."

Your C.A. has a history too. A reason behind what they said. Maybe something they heard in the patient's voice that you didn't... because you were already walking into room two.

I totally get why you correct on the fly

It's fast. You're seeing patients. You've got a few moments between adjustments, and your C.A. just said something at the desk that made you cringe a little. So you fix it and keep moving.

It feels like leadership. And with love, Doc... it's only half of it.

When a C.A. only ever gets corrected, a few quiet things start to happen. They stop being fully present with the patient, because part of their brain is now watching for YOU. They start second-guessing themselves. Or worse, they quietly hold resentment, because it doesn't feel like a collaboration. It feels like a report card.

And the sneaky part? The sentence got fixed. The thinking behind it never got looked at. So the same moment shows up again next Tuesday.

Pause here for a second... when your C.A. handled something differently than you would this week, what was your first move? And where did you learn it?

What it felt like from the C.A. chair

When I was a C.A., I LOVED when my doctor asked for my thought process first.

"What were you thinking there? I'm curious. Tell me more."

Sometimes I had a reason they hadn't thought of, or something they didn't even know about yet.

But most of the time? That one question showed me EXACTLY what I had missed. And I figured it out myself.

That's why it stuck. Not just for that one patient... for every patient after.

This reminds me of your Report of Findings, actually. A patient who understands the WHY behind their care plan is the one who stays with it. You don't just tell them what to do... you help them see it. Your C.A. is no different. When they find the gap themselves, they own the fix. Does that make sense?

The shift: correcting fixes one moment, asking grows a leader

This is a leadership shift. It releases the old idea that the fastest fix is the best fix.

Before: you're the fixer. Every hard conversation routes back through you.
After: you're the coach. And your C.A. starts leading right alongside you.

When you ask first, one of two things happens. You learn something you didn't know... or you find the exact spot to coach. Either way, you're leading.

A few questions to try this week:

• "Walk me through what you were thinking."
• "What did you hear from the patient that made you go that direction?"
• "If you could redo it, what would you keep?"
• "What would help you feel more prepared next time?"

Then coach from there. (If you want to go deeper on that, I broke down the difference between training and coaching in chiropractic offices right here.)

And this isn't just a warm fuzzy idea. When Google studied what makes teams effective, psychological safety ranked first... a team where people feel safe to admit a mistake or ask a question without being embarrassed for it. That's exactly what one curious question builds at your front desk.

If you're a D.C. reading this...

If your C.A. keeps making the same mistake, it's almost never that they don't care. It's that they've been handed the answer over and over... and rarely asked for their thinking.

And if you're the rock-star D.C. who already gives quick, clear feedback... I LOVE that for you. Truth over comfort, though. Who else in your office can handle the hard conversations without you? If the honest answer is "nobody," asking first is how that changes.

Your patients feel it too. A C.A. who understands the WHY behind care plans, reschedules, and money conversations shows up steadier at the desk. And a steady front desk is where retention and referrals start. (It's the same muscle behind getting your chiropractic team to think like owners.)

So which one are you building... a C.A. who follows you, or a C.A. who leads WITH you?

For my C.A.s reading this...

If your doctor corrects you on the fly, it's not personal. They're between patients and moving fast. I've been there.

And you don't have to wait to be asked. Next time, lead it yourself: "Can I walk you through what I heard from that patient?" That's not pushback. That's you showing up as the leader you already are.

The shift to walk out with

This week, before you correct, ask first. Say to your C.A., "Walk me through what you were thinking," and then coach from there.

Just once. See what you learn.

Correcting fixes one moment. Asking grows a leader. 🎯

Building a front desk team that thinks WITH you (instead of waiting on you) is the whole heart of The C3 Certification Program. Connect → Commit → Consistently Collect... led by a C.A. who knows the why.

Copy this blog's link and text it to your C.A. with one line: "I'm trying something new this week. Before I correct, I'm going to ask what you were thinking. Hold me to it."

With love,
Miranda 🌱

Frequently asked questions about giving feedback to your chiropractic assistant

How do I give feedback to my chiropractic assistant without hurting morale?

Ask before you correct. Start with "Walk me through what you were thinking," then listen. Either your C.A. had a reason you didn't see, or you find the exact gap to coach. Because they discover the fix themselves, it sticks, and the conversation feels like a collaboration instead of a report card.

What should I ask my C.A. before I correct them?

Try one of these: "Walk me through what you were thinking." "What did you hear from the patient that made you go that direction?" "If you could redo it, what would you keep?" "What would help you feel more prepared next time?" Pick one, stay curious, then coach from what you hear.

Why does my C.A. keep making the same mistake after I correct them?

Often, the sentence got fixed but the thinking behind it never did. A quick correction changes one moment. Asking about their thought process shows you the belief or gap underneath, so you can coach the root instead of the symptom, and the same moment stops showing up next week.