The Role of Empathy in Leadership with Greg Essenmacher

**Greg Essenmacher** (0:00)
I see I wore the right color.

**SPEAKER_2** (0:04)
The Bliss Business Podcast, the show about empathy, connection, and consciousness in business. Today's episode is brought to you by Zero Company, your paid search, social media, and programmatic ad experts.

**Stephen Sakach** (0:18)
Welcome back to the show, everyone. I'm Stephen Sakach with my co-host Tullio Siragusa, and we've got a special guest we'll introduce in a moment.
Empathy is often misunderstood in business, especially in industries where performance and precision and results are critical, yet 93 percent of employees say they are more likely to stay with an empathetic employer. And in environments like healthcare and patient services, empathy is not just a leadership trait, it directly impacts trust, decision-making, and outcomes. We're going to talk about that all today. Tullio, introduce our special guest.

**Tullio Siragusa** (0:58)
My pleasure. Our guest today is Greg Essenmacher, the CEO of GnA Consult.
Greg is a leading expert in fixed full arch dentistry, with more than a decade of experience helping dental practices transform into high-performing organizations. He has worked extensively on optimizing patient acquisition, improving case acceptance, and enhancing patient experience through better communication and systems. His journey in the full arch space includes launching the Neodent brand into the US market for Straumann Group, and implementing best practices for some of the most successful clinics in the country. Greg is also a sought-after speaker and the host of The Tooth Sleuth Podcast, where he shares insights on leadership, patient experience, and growth in dentistry. Greg, welcome to The Bliss Business Podcast. We're looking forward to speaking with you today.

**Greg Essenmacher** (1:58)
Thanks so much. I just want to see if you can say The Tooth Sleuth Podcast three times really fast, because it's a tongue twister. I want you both to repeat that really fast for the listening audience.

**Stephen Sakach** (2:06)
I was thinking that in my head as Tullio said that.

**Tullio Siragusa** (2:09)
I can say red leather, yellow leather, red leather, yellow leather really fast. I've been practicing that for decades.

**Stephen Sakach** (2:16)
As soon as Tullio said that, I'm all.

**Tullio Siragusa** (2:19)
The Tooth Sleuth Podcast. Who wants the Tooth Sleuth Podcast?

**Stephen Sakach** (2:25)
I feel like I might spit on the mic or something doing that.

**Greg Essenmacher** (2:29)
That's why I'm doing it. It's a tooth.

**Stephen Sakach** (2:33)
We're going to have a good time with this show. I can already tell.
Greg, I'm really interested in this topic of empathy, particularly in your space and how important it is, why it matters. Maybe let's start there.

**Greg Essenmacher** (2:49)
Yeah. Well, I appreciate the question. And not only is it important for clients that we work with that are in the Fixed Full Arch space, teeth in a day, all on X, whatever you want to call it, because we're coaching those that are converting cases, converting lead calls into consultations that actually show up and ready to have the conversation. Because most of those patients have a lot of shame built in. This isn't something that happened overnight. They have poor oral health, and they're really in need of a rescue for their dental condition. Having empathy from that initial phone call is so critically important to make them feel like it's going to be okay. We are a solution for you. But in addition to that, it's also empathy with our team members and with those that we get in contact with, prospects that call us, because so many of the marketing companies out there are in it for themselves. They talk about all these grandiose things they can do for clients.
They come to us because so many of those promises are unfulfilled. I think it's critically important because I know I use it in talking all the time, the seven steps to empathic listening, which empathy is like communication. Everybody thinks it's happening when most of the time it isn't. So I appreciate the opportunity to be here today.

**Stephen Sakach** (4:06)
We know from our marketing side of things that having that authentic empathetic experience for customers, I mean, if we don't have that, then whatever we're saying marketing wise, like you alluded to, I mean, it just can fall flat. Tell me a little bit, how did you get into this industry to start with?

**Greg Essenmacher** (4:26)
Yeah, well, I backed into the industry. So I actually was in rental car. So I've been sober for 21 years. And before that, I was just kind of like flopping around doing nothing important in my life, but being a bartender and whatnot. And then I got into rental car when I first got sober and did that for three years, was working for a company that actually sold.