Epperson Payne

If we’re going to try to grow in one direction, somebody has to lead it, and so I need to be figuring out how to lead that direction.

My name is Travis Epperson and I lead the team here at Epperson Pain Dental Group. I graduated dental school in 2008, um, and my dad started this practice in 1978. Since we were three separate practices in one facility, uh, there was just a natural division that’s going to occur in that. Um, and so I really love what I do and really wanted the team to be one team moving in the same direction.

My background was that, um, your spiritual life, your family life, and your professional [00:01:00] life are sort of separate. And one of the real, uh, transforming moments from the Kingdom at Work, uh, conference that I went to was just a simple picture of them saying, Hey, we just try to overlap these. When I saw that, that almost gave me permission to bring them together.

And, uh, and, and I guess lots of times in life, we need permission to do things that are different from what we’ve known in the past.

So effectively I was leading everyone. And as the team is growing, um, I can’t, I couldn’t devote the time necessary to grow people personally, professionally, or spiritually. Changing the leadership structure, uh, became clear that that was necessary. He called me into his office one afternoon and explained all that to me and, uh, asked me if I would be interested in being the, the lead for the hygiene team.

I didn’t even know that it was an idea that he [00:02:00] had in mind and really didn’t even know what it would entail. And I don’t think he really knew what it would entail either. I mean, it was just kind of this ever growing idea of how can we get better and make our team better and make our relationships better.

In the beginning, I thought that if somebody’s a Christian, that meant they’d be naturally aligned with this kingdom vision. Uh, but man, I was surprised to find that just wasn’t the case. Some of the people that I thought would be the most supportive, in fact, turned out to be opposed. You know, I had a few people that were divisive initially, um, in this, but didn’t.

necessarily want to leave yet. For some, that, that meant they needed to go somewhere else to have their best place in life. And for others, um, they made a complete 180. And one of my, my favorite examples of that is Danielle. I was being hardheaded. [00:03:00] Um, and to me, I was like, I don’t understand the vision that you’re wanting.

I just want to come to work and just work. She always has worked really hard, um, and, uh, she’s really good at what she did. Um, and the idea that, um, now a peer is, is in a leadership position. I do know that when we made that change in direction that it was really difficult for her. And she was divisive about it.

Because I was like, I’ve been here the longest, I’m the one that knows this job the best. Like I come up here every day. I’m working as hard as I can. I’m being the best assistant that I can be. I’m getting all my tasks done. I don’t know what you want from me. So you look at somebody with, with that kind of problem solving skill set.

If they, if they want to channel that in the right direction, they’re going to be super successful at anything they want to do. His exact terms was we’re all on this boat together and we’re rowing together and you’re on the back of it and you’re going against it. [00:04:00] And I was like, I don’t get it, but it was my attitude.

It was where my heart was at in the situation. I thought I was going to get fired that day because of what I did. And I came back up here and I was like, look, like I’m willing to do whatever it takes. Um, like I can’t lose this job. I love where I work. I love the people that I work with. Um, this is a great thing for me.

And he was like, okay, I’ll give you a chance. From there, I started working on myself, going to church and really trying to get right with myself. Personal relationships, um, is really hard for me. Being able to understand everybody’s personality. To me, it was like, we’re all human, we all have the same brain.

Like, we should all think the same. Like, why is your personality so hard? I think when I finally grasped that everyone is not the same and we all have different ways of thinking, um, that, that was kind of my turning point. I finally understood his mission, um, and then that’s when I got my spot in the [00:05:00] leadership team.

We gather a lot of our servant type leadership, not only from Dr. Travis, but also from, um, from Jesus and, and seeing him just serve his disciples and serve everybody and, um, and it being his leadership being built on, um, his

leadership. My relationship is stronger than it ever has been. My kids are strong willed women, little girls.

I’m excited to see what their future holds for them. This whole leadership role has definitely changed the way that I parent. Because I know that my kids need a leader in their life. They need someone who’s strong. I just couldn’t imagine my kids being led by the person who I was before. I’m so happy they didn’t see that transition in me, and that I got to get it over with at a very young age for them.[00:06:00]

That’s been my hardest challenge, is being the best mom that I can be without that image when I was a child. So, if she knew my story, which one day she will, um, she would know that the mother that I am to her today, is the best that I can give her and I want to each day try to give her the best. All of them.

If I’m talking to somebody who’s just trying to start this journey, say look for, look for a place to start. Like you got to get from zero to one, figure that out and just start and then figure out where it goes from there. Um, you’ll be more effective if you’re working and trying to find things to be active with in areas that energize you, than you will be in, uh, In areas that use up all of your energy.

I have friends that are dentists all over the country and talking to them about how their [00:07:00] office structure is set up and how well they know their co workers and even their other, their colleagues in town. It’s just completely different. I feel like what we have here at this practice is such a, such a unique and special environment.

I went from working 60 hour weeks to working a normal schedule and changing people. People’s souls. That’s what it’s about. And that happens here every day.