WittKieffer Impactful Leaders Podcast

Exchanging a White Coat for a Suit: Brian Erling, MD, MBA

In this Impactful Leaders Podcast conversation with WittKieffer Senior Partners Nelson Mann and Michelle Johnson, Dr. Erling looks back upon his leadership journey – back to his time as a nursing assistant in high school to his current role helping to turn Renown's fortunes around. Continuous learning has been a common thread for him, including pursuing an MBA degree. "There's almost a stigma that . . . clinical leaders are not business people, that we can't make the tough decisions," he says. The MBA "was tangible for me. It wasn't just letters after my name." 
As is true for many physician executives, Dr. Brian Erling's transition from "white coat to suit" was not easy but has been extremely rewarding. While no longer practicing, he leverages his clinical expertise every day as President and CEO of Nevada-based Renown Health. "You don't walk away completely from medicine when you become an administrator," he says. "You can wear both hats and you can do it effectively." 

Flipping Leadership on Its Head: Chad Lefteris

As President & CEO of UCI Health in Southern California, Chad Lefteris makes it a point to put himself in the shoes of others, a kind of golden rule that ensures he and his leadership team treat others the way they would want to be treated. It has allowed them to make bold changes with concern and consideration for how those changes impact the people involved.  
In this Impactful Leaders Podcast with WittKieffer Senior Partner Michelle Johnson, Lefteris shares insights on leadership gleaned from his career across various roles. They also discuss UCI Health's talent management and leadership development approach which aims to, among other things, help technical experts see themselves as having the potential to lead beyond their immediate space.  

A Mandate for ROI and Transformation: Jens Frederiksen, Ph.D.

Jens Frederiksen, Ph.D., President of the University of New Haven in Connecticut, is laser-focused on ensuring not just return on investment for students but a transformative experience that positions them for an uncertain, complex future. "Impact and transformation is what motivates me and gets me up in the morning," he tells Sandra Chu for WittKieffer's Impactful Leaders Podcast.  
Dr. Frederiksen's success derives from his past experience in the classroom as well as in key functional university roles, especially enrollment and fundraising, as well as work with the state of Tennessee in economic development. He grasps the complexity of the institution and how all of the pieces are integral and must work together. New Haven is what Dr. Frederiksen would consider a "high-stakes university" in which margins are tight, and nothing is taken for granted. What is necessary, therefore, is attention to ROI and providing "concrete deliverables" for students. It also requires engaging with donors and ensuring they feel their contributions have a direct impact. "You can't save your way out of trouble; you need to invest," he says.  

Leaning into Leadership Development: Jim Dover

Avera Health President and CEO Jim Dover got his start in medicine as a phlebotomist and EKG technician in Idaho, thinking he wanted to be a lab scientist until a friend suggested he think about leadership. That nudge led him to pursue an M.H.A. degree, to read up on leadership, and pursue an executive path. Along the way he made sure to lean into difficult situations -- "you end up learning more from those experiences than any others," he says, speaking with Senior Partner Michelle Johnson for WittKieffer's Impactful Leaders Podcast.  
Difficult situations for health system CEOs include discussions around succession planning and leadership development. It's easy for organizations to "kick the can down the road," he says, since these activities involve tough conversations with current leaders about their futures. It requires organizations to take time to assess the potential of executives, help them develop individualized plans for growth, and reassure them that discussions about their futures (including potential successors) won't impact their ability to do their jobs in the here and now.  
 

Accelerating Physician Leader Impact: Justin Dimick, M.D.

As Chair of the Department of Surgery at the University of Michigan, Justin Dimick, M.D., could be forgiven if he were motivated by ego and personal success. And yet his own gain is not what drives Dr. Dimick but rather the growth and development of others to excel and achieve their goals. Being "preoccupied with helping people fulfill their potential" is what motivates him to be a leader, mentor, and designer of innovative training programs at Michigan.  
In this episode of WittKieffer's Accelerating Physician Leader Impact series, part of our Impactful Leaders Podcast, Dr. Dimick speaks with WittKieffer's Michael Anderson, M.D., about leading in the current moment. Dr. Dimick advises colleagues to keep their heads down and work hard, to not get caught up in the chaos and uncertainty around them. For those who focus on doing good work, he says, opportunities will come.  
 

Immersed in the Unconventional | Thomas Evans, PhD

An immersive study abroad experience when he was 15 years old set Thomas Evans, PhD, on a course toward lifelong learning and a desire to create experiences for others that are truly transformational in their lives.  
That experience was one of many that made Evans a good leader, someone comfortable in ambiguous situations and looking to find the opportunities within them, he tells WittKieffer's Sandra Chu for our Impactful Leaders Podcast series. His leadership journey ultimately led him to the presidency of the University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio, where he has helped the institution continue to transform itself by creating offerings domestically and internationally that provide unique, difference-making options and pathways for students and families, whether expanding programs for military veterans (the school is ranked number one in this respect by Military Times) to starting inventive online programs to expanding programs in the health professions to support much-needed job creation and career growth for individuals. A guiding question for his work, "What can I do to create an opportunity for someone they never thought they'd be able to do?" Using a baseball metaphor, he wants traditional "spectators" to feel the excitement of catching a foul ball and being drawn into the field of play.   
While admittedly "unconventional," Dr. Evans is also intentional and pragmatic in pursuing new initiatives for UIW that address a clear local or societal need – "laying down sidewalks where you see paths already going." His ideas are informed by engaging with students, families, community organizations, local and industry leaders, and even foreign governments to provide educational offerings that add value and meaning.  
Dr. Evans is optimistic about the future. Higher education's challenges are simply opportunities for reinvention and transformation, he believes.  

Discovering Comfort in Discomfort and Complexity: Gregory Johnson, M.D.

"You need to get comfortable being uncomfortable," Dr. Gregory Johnson, Chief Medical Officer for UnityPoint Health, says about leadership. Through discomfort comes growth.  
Dr. Johnson's career story is replete with occasions where he challenged himself and welcomed discomfort in order to learn and grow. As a family medicine physician (and the son of a doctor), bedside manner has always been important to Dr. Johnson. In the leadership suite, this means staying in touch with the needs of patients, engaging with and trusting clinicians to do their jobs well, and innovating in ways that truly benefit individuals and communities – including those many rural communities served by UnityPoint who can benefit from advances in, for example, virtual care, mobile clinics, and new technologies.  
In this Impactful Leaders Podcast episode with WittKieffer's Vinny Gossain, Dr. Johnson looks back on the reasons he got into medicine ("I was hooked" from an early age, he shares) and how he's grown as a leader as a way of impacting ever-larger numbers of people. "Leadership is complicated," he says, but it is more important than ever.   

Academic Medicine Dean Insights: Allison Brashear, M.D., M.B.A.

"Academic medicine is where everything comes together," says Allison Brashear, M.D., Vice President for Health Sciences and Dean of the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at the University of Buffalo. "It's education, research, clinical care, and the community." Her passion for all of these pursuits has led Dr. Brashear to leadership roles of increasing responsibility. In a recent episode of WittKieffer's Academic Medicine Dean Insight Series, she reflects upon her career growth and future trajectory with Academic Medicine Practice Leader Kim Smith.   
Dr. Brashear cites the rapid pace of change as the most daunting challenge in academic medicine today. She mentions the impact of AI, evolving education curricula, and the dynamic research landscape as adding to the complexity leaders face. Successful change initiatives involve creating a sense of urgency, building a core team with a shared vision, and putting infrastructure in place to "help move the ball down the field." 
Dr. Brashear shares a wealth of advice for other deans. Each deanship is different, she says, but there are new and evolving skills required for success in the role. These include an understanding of finance, HR, and legal aspects of academic medicine. Dr. Brashear encourages future leaders to aim high and seize opportunities, knowing they don't have to go it alone – there is support from other leaders in the academic medicine community. "Always train to be ready," she says, "so that if the door opens you're ready to walk through it." 

Finding Fun and Fulfillment in Physician Leadership: Saju Joy, M.D.

With two degrees in engineering and an MBA to complement his M.D., Dr. Saju Joy brings a learning mentality to everything he does. A thirst for knowledge piqued his interest in becoming a physician (he's a maternal fetal medicine specialist) and it continues to drive him in his work today as CEO of The Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) Health Charleston Division, an organization of more than 13,000 people. 
"I didn't go looking for leadership," he says. "Quite honestly, leadership found me." Like any physician moving into senior leadership, Dr. Joy had to adapt to the increasing complexity of each new position, having to oversee numerous "petri dishes" of activity and ensure growth was happening in each and every one. He placed a premium on enjoying each new career direction. "When you're having fun with what you're doing, you do it so much better," he says.  
In this Impactful Leaders Podcast with WittKieffer's Vinny Gossain, Dr. Joy looks back at his eventful journey and what has led to his success even when leadership was not the primary goal. They discuss the importance of doing what you love so that "filling one's cup" happens organically and easily.  

Embracing the Past While Envisioning Tomorrow: Michael J. Goar

Michael J. Goar's upbringing as an orphan in South Korea who was adopted and moved to Minneapolis at age 12 continues to shape his worldview and guide his leadership today. Most importantly, he believes in the power of adaptability, collaboration, and transformation. Now, as President and CEO of Sisters of Charity Health System based in Cleveland, Goar may be facing his greatest challenge yet, helping to turn the Catholic organization from a traditional hospital-based clinical provider (whose roots date back to 1851) to one providing a range of social services to underserved communities.
"In order to survive in a traumatic setting, you need to be flexible," he says. "I have taken those learnings into my leadership style . . . you as a leader need to be flexible, knowing that every circumstance and organization is different."
While honoring the organization's history, Goar and colleagues are taking an entrepreneurial approach to the future, connecting with partners along the way who have a shared vision. It requires retaining the "muscle memory" of running hospitals while creating new muscles for collaborating and finding creative ways to address challenges with health, housing, education, and food insecurity for local residents.
In this Impactful Leaders Podcast, WittKieffer Senior Partner Adriane Willig speaks with Goar about how his childhood, faith, and leadership experiences continue to drive him to adapt and impact the lives of others.