THE LEADERSHIP LENS PODCAST - TILLER-HEWITT

What Else Are We Here For Than To Become This leadership podcast interview blew my mind!  I have two guests - a scientist and a healthcare executive to bring real life to the interview and topic.  Listen, given the term self-awareness has become such an overused cliché – I didn't even want to use that in the title, in fear some leaders would think it was too fluffy or a feel-good interview, when in reality – it's a gut-punch level interview around neuroscience and how to easily unpack and uncover so much about yourself – it's crazy!  That's all I'm going to say – because I want you to hurry up and hear this life-changing interview. 

How Something So Small Can Change a Career Trajectory   Hey Leaders! Today my guest is Scott Johnson – Chief Strategy Officer at St Luke's Health System.  I've had the privilege of working with Scott, executing his vision of successfully standing up over 70, yes seven zero physician outreach programs across the country simultaneously.  Don't you just want to hear what makes a man with that kind of vision tick – of course you do - take a listen!

Moving from Innovation to Transformation Without Going off the Rails Hey Leaders, you're about to hear from a gifted and humble Chief Transformation Officer who shares valuable lessons from her journey as a practicing physician to Chief Innovation Officer and now the organization's first Chief Transformation Officer.  She puts a very different spin on thinking outside the proverbial healthcare box because in her mind there is no box, speedbumps perhaps, but really how we must lead differently to be truly transformational.

Today my guest is Yelena Bouaziz. Of all my podcast interviews, this might be my hardest to tee up because she took us to so- many - places. You'll love hearing about her journey as an only child, and an impressionable teenage girl, her family immigrated from Russia to (wait for it) North Carolina. From Russia to North Carolina. If that doesn't scream culture shock, nothing will!  She shares a couple of very relevant lessons learned from the cultural differences that admittedly made her a better leader – and frankly, these lessons provide valuable reminders for all leaders! She shares great advice for all you overachievers listening!  I kept saying – “OH, this will set someone free today!” I loved an aha moment she recently experienced while having a conversation with her child's teacher that ironically applies to all leaders today! Then we jumped into Yelena's unprecedented expertise at Sg2 around consumer loyalty, innovation, what we can learn from outside healthcare, and what organizations miss when they uber-focus on market share data as their true north.  When you finish with the podcast, Yelena shares so much more on our leadership webinar series titled: Don't Expect Growth – Earn it with Customer Loyalty. You can find that full recording and slides on our website at www.tillerhewitt.com. I'll hush it up so you too can get all that Yelena brought to this podcast.

Actual Change Management You are about to meet our guest Greg McFarland, the Chief Operating Officer of Hillcrest Medical Center – an over 650-bed hospital located in midtown Tulsa, Oklahoma. Greg is a young, no-nonsense leader telling real-life leadership stories that stick, like the difference between a consumer and a patient, and will have you shaking your head in agreement and then something super simple that leaders can do to avoid the death of their organization.

Today my guest is Matt Fry – President and CEO of St. John's Hospital in Springfield, Illinois – a member of Hospital Sisters Health System.  Like all leaders Matt is crazy busy – leading their flagship hospital while wrapping up his doctorate degree – but he candidly gives us great insight or what he refers to as his “dirty little secret” around successful leadership.

30-Seconds to Change a Career Trajectory My guest today is Chris Klay, President & CEO of St. Elizabeth's Hospital, a member of the Hospital Sisters Health System or HSHS. I'm always blown away when I hear real-life stories of a leader's career journey, especially when the people who influence them the most were the least aware of the fire they ignited. Chris has one of those stories and a powerful lesson for other leaders.   Full Transcript

Why relationships matter to success, no matter what kind of success you seek. My guest today is Dr. L. Carol Scott who believes that relationships are at the heart of all our success. As a TEDx speaker, international best-selling author, coach, trainer, and keynoter, Dr. Scott's unique model helps to revolutionize success through self-aware emotional and social intelligence—from your business network to your family, and even to your love life. Dr. Scott's clients are people with growth goals who are looking for unexpected strategies to achieve success. Dr. Scott shares a way to receive a free booklet explaining the self-awareness framework she discusses in the interview as well as an assessment you can take to learn more about your own self-awareness. Full Transcript

When Leaders Leave the Room Today my guest is Frank Sawyer – VP of Operations at Trinity Health Oakland Hospital. Frank is a young leader who didn't waste time climbing the corporate ladder – but he did so it in a manner that reminded me of the great leaders highlighted in Jim Collins' NYT best-selling book Good to Great. He shares some of his servant-leadership traits and I particularly loved what he said about what to watch for when leaders leave the room. He hooked me when he shared his thoughts on empowerment – empowering people – see what you think!

Doubt Your Doubts My guest today is William Mahoney – President and CEO of Cox Medical Center in Branson Missouri, one of the most popular and long-standing vacation destinations in the Midwest.  William shares a mass casualty story that made national news and the testimony of one survivor's unconscionable loss, which he suggests likely prepared him and his organization for the pandemic. While a former Marine – William made it clear what he learned most about leadership came from Al Mahoney – his very own drill Sargent – better known as dad.  William is also the senior Vice President of the health system's Community Hospital Group overseeing Cox Health's rural hospitals. 

Was it hiding in plain sight? My guest today is Dr. Michael Frisina an internationally recognized leadership expert, speaker, and author. He has developed leaders and organizational teams worldwide. Every year he speaks to national and international healthcare organizations, non-profit organizations and audiences as diverse as engineers to organ procurement organizations. He is a featured speaker for the American Hospital Association, The American College of Health Care Executives, and The Joint Commission. His work in healthcare leadership, safety, and quality has been recognized by The Joint Commission in their publication, Doing the Right Things Right. Dr. Frisina has authored countless leadership books, publications, and educational courses.  He literally wrote the book on Influential Leadership: Change Your Behavior, Change Your Organization, Change Healthcare. Get ready to take copious notes – Dr. Frisina is about to rapid-fire his game-changing research results and how you - as a leader-  can take action today!

Leadership Tradeoffs Today my guest is Dr. Chuck Callahan, Leader of Memorial Health System – a multi-hospital health system in Springfield Illinois.  Chuck has the most diverse background which may be his secret leadership weapon. Wait until you hear his answers to management trade-offs, what intel and healthcare have in common, or how the simplification and sequencing of their values pre-pandemic – actually took the guesswork out of decisions and successfully served as their compass through the pandemic. And like most of you, I'm always curious about the factors that influence a leader's hiring decision.  That was a fun part for me hearing Chuck's perspective and some of the biggest interview misses!

Embracing Crucial Conversations My guest is Devon Hyde, CEO of Lake Charles Memorial Health System. His health system is located in Lake Charles, LA – a city coined as the most weather-battered city in the United States – wait until you hear what they endured to earn that designation. Devon has leadership experience in both non-profit and for-profit health systems and shares great insight into the different leadership lessons learned from both environments.  Devon is a leader who never takes his foot off the gas as it relates to strategic growth. You'll enjoy what he has to say as he talks candidly about leadership transparency and crucial conversations.

Game-Changing Leadership Ideas My guest is Darcy Craven, CEO at Archbold Medical Center. I think we all agree, we learn more from our mistakes than our successes – Darcy reveals his biggest leadership regret – one that I wished universities would do a better job teaching – but for many of our listeners could be a leadership game-changer.  He shares his secrets for measurable “strategic” growth, his competitive principle, many fast and easy retention strategies as well as what leaders look for when looking to advance internal candidates.

My guest is Jim Carter, the Senior Vice President/Chief Operating Officer of Archbold Medical Center. This podcast interview is so full of leadership insight – it was difficult for me to create a short summary. Today's interview is for leaders in ALL SEASONS of their careers.  We talked about role models – good and bad – even from some very unpredictable places, we talked about imaginary scorecards and about important leadership lessons learned – especially when thrown into the deep end.  When asked about the leadership challenges, Jim talked about the mind-numbing pace of transformation forced on leaders today and how the tried-and-true solutions just aren't working.  

Building Physician Groups that are Strategic Assets to the Health System My guest today is Dave Miller, founding partner of HSG Advisors the leader in Employed Physician Networks and Physician Alignment.  You don't have to take my word for it, because of their expertise, Dave and his team consistently publish for ACHE, MGMA, AMGMA, and provide case studies from health systems across the country that organizations are using to improve their physician networks every day.  Prior to HSG, Dave was a 15-year C-suite leader for Norton Healthcare. In our interview, Dave shares great insights on board relations and how easy it is for your board to forget – even when they gave the directive – about the costs and perhaps losses months or years down the road.  And - Everyone wants to know the warning signs of when a physician network is going off the rails or maybe has already derailed.  Dave starts with the warning signs but ends with a few innovative solutions – including some real soul-searching questions for leaders and physicians.

My guest is Christina Carney, the Chief Operating Officer of Shawnee Health Service. Christina got me in the first 5 minutes of the podcast reminding me that while leaders change organizations – good leaders don't change their leadership perspective.  We talk about leadership burn-out, how to resist a popular leadership urge, and as a six-sigma Black-belt, Christina doesn't disappoint when providing succinct insights on focus and results.

Today on the Leadership Lens Podcast we have Dr. Steen Trawick, the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Medical Officer of CHRISTUS Shreveport-Bossier Health System. Dr. Trawick started his first dual CEO/CMO position less than a year before the global pandemic hit. Then his hospital was the first in the health system and region to admit a COVID patient. So, thankfully his “can't over-communicate” approach with his board of directors, medical staff, associates, and community was one of the many success secrets he shares. He describes the top 3 leadership challenges and the warning signs of when the organization is getting close to running off the track. To add suspense, his hospital has the highest staff turnover rate - in the entire health system - but also has the highest patient satisfaction and one of the highest associate – or employee – engagement scores. You'll hear how that is possible. One of the many tweetable moments during the interview was when he shared his philosophy for himself and his entire organization saying, “If you can't tell me how your job relates to patient care, we need to talk!”. 

My guest today is Cameron McGregor the Chief Growth Officer for Ms. Medicine. This isn't Cameron's first executive role. In fact, she shares her experience leaving a senior system-level executive role in a large successful health system to be a part of this innovative women's healthcare start-up. Cameron has some very thought-provoking answers to my leadership questions. Perhaps one of her best was the warning signs of when an organization is getting close to running off the track. As faculty at a local university, teaching future healthcare executives, Cameron shares a very thought-provoking exercise she has her students conduct their first day in her class; an exercise all leaders should use with their leadership teams.  

With the untimely passing of Dr. Mike Finley in June 2022, we lost a legend, leader and true friend. Dr. Finley epitomized leadership through example with steadfast values, candor, passion and human compassion. This exemplifies his legacy, and we hope you will find it inspiring. It's always a treat to hear from a physician executive with years of experience. First as an independent practicing physician. Then, moving into leadership and becoming nationally recognized as a champion of innovation. This is a guy who sits at the top but hangs out in the trenches every single day. Our guest today is Dr. Mike Finley System Medical Director and Designated Institutional Official for the CHRISTUS health system. Prior to this leadership role, Dr. Finley served as Chief Medical Officer for 20 years. If you're a physician leader or a leader with responsibilities for engaging your physicians, you don't want to miss this interview. Dr. Finley has a wonderful perspective on today's challenges and expectations of both our patients and physicians. And while not always congruent, he explains the leaders' role in helping physicians through very specific paradigm shifts. If you want to hear a successful physician executive share what healthcare leaders of today need to understand, take a listen to this.

Looking at the NOW, NEAR & FAR My guest is Diane Maas – Chief Strategy and Digital Growth Officer for Beacon Health, a health system recognized - across the industry - for its unprecedented innovation. This interview had me on the edge of my seat as Diane shared countless systems in place to ensure the entire organization stays on track to hit their strategic goals …in the NOW, the near, and the far.  Like many executives, Diane works 70-80 hrs. every week – so not only does she talk about the struggle of work-life balance – she shares her new name for it.  Although she is a seasoned and accomplished executive, she shares a recent change in her role and one that some close to her thought would be a career-limiting move, …while someone else – her CEO - actually bet his house in her favor.  Check out how she fared…