212: The Master of Disaster | Dr Thom Mayer

Doctor Thom Mayer has been a leader in times of crisis for over 25 years, navigating some of the most significant challenges imaginable. He is the Medical Director for the NFL Players Association, as well as an emergency physician-sports medicine leader of international renown. He served as the Command Physician at the Pentagon Rescue/Recovery Operation on 9/11, Incident Commander for the inhalational anthrax outbreak in Washington, DC that same year, and led a Team Rubicon Mobile Emergency Team in Ukraine following the outbreak of war. He is among the most widely respected leaders in times of crisis and is a highly sought after speaker and consultant across many businesses and industries. He was recently nominated to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio and is a member of the Indiana Football Hall of Fame and the Hanover College Athletic Hall of Fame. USA Today named him one of the “100 Most Important People in the NFL.” Thom has built his career by building relationships as opposed to merely his resume. He was a football player in his youth and loved the game. He studied theology for two years but was convinced by his professor to try medicine instead. Once a qualified physician, Thom was always drawn to treating the sickest and most needy and crisis medicine was an environment that Thom thrived in. An extreme example was when Thom was the Command Physician for the Pentagon emergency response during 9/11 and actually attended the scene. Thom tells the story of the iconic red phone that is only connected to the Secret Service that rang for the first time in his memory informing him that Dulles Tower had a plane missing and it was imminently going to crash, which it did, into The Pentagon. This event tested Thom's training to breaking point as chaos reigned and the incident became one of the world's deadliest terrorist attacks. The power of a leader to pause can't be overstated. Thom's mantra is to 'Pause - Reflect - Reconsider'. Thom's standout lesson from 9/11 was 'stop sucking up, start sucking down'. Thom's focus as a leader in a crisis environment is to always take time and listen to those closest to the issue and not necessarily the most senior in attendance. 'Don't worry about the C-Suite, worry about the We-Suite.' Thom also describes the anthrax outbreak at Washington which was the first bio-terrorism attack on US soil and how his team saved the lives of a number of postal workers who were contaminated. Many incidents have required Thom to lead a new team, thrown together in response to an emerging crisis. His success is based on his unrelenting focus on building relationships quickly with humility and gratitude. As the leader, Thom wants everyone in his team to understand how important they are. Thom became the NFL Players Association Medical Director in 2001 after the inconceivable death of a football player from heat stroke that year. Thom went on to create the original concussion guidelines for the NFL, creating mandated response plans which to this very day are still being used to minimise injuries and long term results on players and their families. To this day, every concussion injury is studied by specialists to increase understanding and iterate the science and protocols. Thom has taken all of his experiences to write the book 'Leadership is worthless, but leading is priceless.' Thom is an advocate for action over words and contends that everyone is a leader regardless of rank, role, tenure and expertise. 'It's not the words on the wall, it's the happenings in the hall.' Thom's last advice to me was for all of us to discover our individual deep joy with the deep needs of our environment. Connect with Thom: thommayermd@gmail.com www.thommayermd.com Get his book: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Leadership-Worthless-But-Leading-Priceless/dp/1523006153