599: Richard Winters, M.D. - Leadership Lessons From Mayo Clinic ("You're The Leader, Now What?")

Sep 8, 2024

Richard Winters, M.D., a Mayo Clinic leader and mentor, shares invaluable insights on leadership. He emphasizes the importance of collaborative decision-making through leadership dyads consisting of doctors, nurses, and administrators. Richard distinguishes between coaching and mentoring, highlighting their unique roles in professional development. He also discusses the significance of adaptability and personal well-being in complex environments, advocating for a culture of learning and the need to embrace failure as part of the journey to find one’s passion.

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Intro

00:00 • 4min

From Punk Rock to Emergency Medicine

03:59 • 12min

Navigating Leadership in Complex Environments

15:56 • 24min

Qualities of an Ideal Emergency Doctor

40:19 • 2min

Evaluating Talent: From Hiring to Mutual Fit

42:23 • 2min

The Power of Writing in Leadership

44:08 • 3min

Evolving After-Action Reviews in Healthcare

47:18 • 2min

Navigating Career Paths and Leadership Insights

49:31 • 6min

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Full show notes at www.LearningLeader.com

Sustaining Excellence
- Good get at getting stuff done
- Make a change from an expert to a learning machine
Apply to be in my Learning Leader Circle
Leadership is:
- Teaching – sharing with others what they need to know, how to do something
- Mentoring - Help them see the world from our eyes
- Coaching - Help them see the world through their eyes. To do that, we must be good listeners, ask questions, and challenge them
Follow what’s interesting to you… To figure out your passion, you have to do stuff. That’s the only way to fully learn what you’re good at and what you want to do. Have to be willing to try, fail, keep going, and figure out where you excel and what you’re curious about. That’s how you find your passion and do it for a living.
They set up leadership dyads and triads at the Mayo Clinic. Group up a doctor, a nurse, and an administrator to help make decisions. This way you gain the perspective from different angles, people, and experiences.
You have to context-shift radically, from an ER to a boardroom to a coaching session. Not everybody can wear all those hats, and yet Rick does it really well (with grace and humility).
What’s the difference between a coach and a mentor?
- When you mentor: You share your experience & subject-matter expertise. You help a colleague see the world & its potential—through your eyes.
- When you coach: You help your colleague make sense of their world—from their perspective.
Effective leaders:
- seek diverse perspectives
- recognize the bias of individual opinion
- make decisions methodically
Ineffective leaders:
- make reflexive decisions
- amplify the thoughts of a few
- see alternate perspectives as obstacles
Hiring -- What are the must-haves for a leadership role?
- Knowledge
- Fit with the team
- Collaborate
- Align with the values
How to run 1:1s
- Consent to an agenda
- Ask useful questions
- LISTEN
Career and Life Advice:
- Ask Who, How, What, Why
- Seek multiple perspectives
Atul Gawande's Checklist Manifesto is useful.