Healthcare’s New Frontier: The Ascendancy of Wellness Leadership

100:00:00,821 --> 00:00:03,490Speaker 1: Coming up on this episode of the HWWP. 200:00:05,083 --> 00:00:07,168Speaker 2: We have this thing inhealthcare, in medicine, called300:00:07,168 --> 00:00:10,903the Koch Postulates, that someone needs to be able to take400:00:10,903 --> 00:00:16,400my process that I say I createdthat will make it rain, and 500:00:16,440 --> 00:00:21,077they need to be able to produce my process independent of me and600:00:21,077 --> 00:00:24,588get the same result. That's just one part of that approach. 700:00:25,521 --> 00:00:28,753My point is very simple. It's more than just me giving an 800:00:28,792 --> 00:00:32,124opinion, more than just me beinga nice person that you got to 900:00:32,145 --> 00:00:32,606prove it. 1000:00:34,182 --> 00:00:35,685Speaker 1: Welcome to the Healthy, wealthy and Wise 1100:00:35,725 --> 00:00:40,143podcast with Dr William T Choctaw, mdjd, where the doctor 1200:00:40,162 --> 00:00:43,390helps you unlock your full potential by equipping you with 1300:00:43,530 --> 00:00:47,000tools and knowledge in the areasof health, wealth and wisdom 1400:00:47,701 --> 00:00:51,454Anchored in his experience as a business executive, a physician 1500:00:51,475 --> 00:00:55,048and surveyor for the Joint Commission, a former mayor and 1600:00:55,189 --> 00:00:59,185over 50 years of experience as ageneral surgeon. You've got 1700:00:59,246 --> 00:01:03,463questions, he's got answers, so let's get started. Here's Dr 1800:01:03,503 --> 00:01:06,090William T Choctaw, mdjd. 1900:01:07,620 --> 00:01:11,849Speaker 2: Good morning. I'm Dr William T Choctaw. Welcome to 2000:01:11,968 --> 00:01:16,602our Healthy, wealthy and Wise podcast. Each month, we strive 2100:01:16,641 --> 00:01:19,724to provide you, our listeners, with mental, physical and 2200:01:19,786 --> 00:01:24,370spiritual strength by giving actionable advice, tips, 2300:01:24,631 --> 00:01:30,078guidance and information to helpyou achieve your own personal, 2400:01:30,158 --> 00:01:34,602professional and spiritual goals. We recognize the health of the2500:01:34,602 --> 00:01:40,209mind, body and spirit are paramount as a single and simple2600:01:40,209 --> 00:01:44,676unit that can provide a cumulative strength greater than2700:01:44,676 --> 00:01:47,959the individual parts to strengthen the whole person. 2800:01:49,100 --> 00:01:52,584This product is part of our Leadership Masterclass series 2900:01:53,186 --> 00:01:57,570based on my 50 years of medical experience 50 plus years of 3000:01:57,611 --> 00:02:03,022medical experience and 75 years of life experience. So sit back 3100:02:03,563 --> 00:02:10,145and enjoy with us. Today, we're going to talk about wellness 3200:02:10,405 --> 00:02:15,251leadership strategies, why and why we need them. That's 3300:02:15,431 --> 00:02:21,020wellness leadership strategies and why we need them. As always,3400:02:21,020 --> 00:02:25,007I'd like to start off with my beliefs. I believe life is about3500:02:25,007 --> 00:02:29,573being of service to others. I believe knowledge is power. I 3600:02:29,612 --> 00:02:33,342believe leaders can change the world. I also like to give you 3700:02:33,361 --> 00:02:35,765an outline to give you an idea about what we're going to talk 3800:02:35,786 --> 00:02:39,612about today and also specifically to give you an idea3900:02:39,612 --> 00:02:42,944of when we're just about done. I certainly recognize that 4000:02:42,965 --> 00:02:47,264you're very busy people and you have a lot on your plate and we 4100:02:47,283 --> 00:02:52,838appreciate you stopping by to visit with us for a brief period4200:02:52,838 --> 00:02:55,563of time. We're going to talk about the American Medical 4300:02:55,604 --> 00:02:58,748Association, which is the premier organization in this 4400:02:58,829 --> 00:03:03,937country for healthcare and physician education and 4500:03:04,057 --> 00:03:07,587certification. We're going to discuss the definition of 4600:03:07,627 --> 00:03:10,168wellness. We always like to start off with definitions. 4700:03:10,640 --> 00:03:14,305We're going to go over the typesof wellness, the benefit of 4800:03:14,365 --> 00:03:21,144wellness and why wellness is finally taking its role in the 4900:03:21,183 --> 00:03:26,622position of health care and health education. The American 5000:03:26,663 --> 00:03:32,105Medical Association decided thisyear in 2023, to endorse the 5100:03:32,247 --> 00:03:37,486wellness leadership concept. To endorse the wellness leadership 5200:03:37,526 --> 00:03:41,580concept. If you're asking yourself, but what is that 5300:03:41,641 --> 00:03:46,222different from them endorse and leadership in general? I would 5400:03:46,262 --> 00:03:52,887surmise that it involves the AMAtaking a more my word holistic 5500:03:53,007 --> 00:03:56,566view of health care. Now, the word holistic has been around 5600:03:56,586 --> 00:04:02,640for a long time, but I think, inessence, what it says is we 5700:04:02,661 --> 00:04:06,442don't just think about health care as the body, we don't just 5800:04:06,481 --> 00:04:11,163think about health care as care of the body. But I think, as 5900:04:11,243 --> 00:04:15,467time has gone on and this, indeed, is representative of my 6000:04:15,527 --> 00:04:19,946growth in health care that I have, and I think the whole 6100:04:19,987 --> 00:04:23,901medical association, have developed an appreciation for 6200:04:24,262 --> 00:04:32,014the importance and the significance of mind and spirit,6300:04:32,014 --> 00:04:38,012if you will, as important as the body in terms of the whole 6400:04:38,112 --> 00:04:42,264being, if you will, the whole being growing and developing and6500:04:42,264 --> 00:04:47,161becoming healthier. So when youhear wellness, think in terms 6600:04:47,302 --> 00:04:53,483of the totality of body, mind and spirit. Not only are these 6700:04:53,584 --> 00:04:59,141three areas side by side, but they are integrated, so think of6800:04:59,141 --> 00:05:03,841it as a continuous movement between these three entities to 6900:05:03,901 --> 00:05:08,944create, ultimately, the whole you. That's really what we're 7000:05:08,964 --> 00:05:11,822concerned about, what we're interested in. We're going to 7100:05:11,862 --> 00:05:14,543talk about it from a leadership perspective. But what does that 7200:05:14,603 --> 00:05:19,271mean? That basically means that this is a leadership masterclass7300:05:19,271 --> 00:05:23,942and we leaders are basically committed to helping others, and7400:05:23,942 --> 00:05:26,403you can do that on multiple levels and you can do that any 7500:05:26,442 --> 00:05:31,367way you like or choose, but our goal is the other person, not 7600:05:31,449 --> 00:05:36,987just us, but it's us, so that wecan then give back or give to 7700:05:37,569 --> 00:05:43,704someone else. So what is leadership? I would one define 7800:05:44,047 --> 00:05:49,730leadership. My simple definitionof leadership is helping others7900:05:49,730 --> 00:05:52,764. Now, that may sound a little strange, because usually we 8000:05:52,826 --> 00:05:55,401think of leaders as the people out front and the people who 8100:05:55,422 --> 00:05:59,125make the speeches and the this and the that. I look at it very,8200:05:59,125 --> 00:06:02,584very basically. I really strongly believe that the 8300:06:02,725 --> 00:06:08,002essence of life is contributing to others. Now, you can do that 8400:06:08,064 --> 00:06:10,685in many different ways, that there is no perfect way or 8500:06:10,764 --> 00:06:14,747specific way to do it. But it should be about what you give 8600:06:15,127 --> 00:06:19,125than about what you get. And parenthetically or ironically, 8700:06:19,526 --> 00:06:23,266if you give something to others,you will automatically receive 8800:06:23,346 --> 00:06:27,264something. That's the beauty of it. So leadership is not someone8900:06:27,264 --> 00:06:31,644who's telling people what to do. It is someone who decides that9000:06:31,644 --> 00:06:36,783he or she is willing to help somebody else, and by helping 9100:06:36,843 --> 00:06:41,401that other person, you then receive yourself. And also 9200:06:41,884 --> 00:06:45,483parenthetically, by helping thatother person, you then become a9300:06:45,483 --> 00:06:50,007leader. Think about that by helping someone else, you then 9400:06:50,226 --> 00:06:55,487become a leader. So leadership another way of looking at it is 9500:06:55,528 --> 00:07:02,444the capacity to translate visioninto reality. The capacity to 9600:07:02,504 --> 00:07:08,125translate vision into reality. Now, whether one is born a 9700:07:08,204 --> 00:07:11,764leader or you become a leader over time, I honestly do not 9800:07:11,865 --> 00:07:16,161know, but I do know the leadership does exist. I do know9900:07:16,161 --> 00:07:20,952the leadership is requisite forus to go to those next levels. 10000:07:21,100 --> 00:07:25,610I do know that leadership is necessary for us to advance and 10100:07:25,711 --> 00:07:30,290grow and I do know that, should you make that decision in your 10200:07:30,370 --> 00:07:36,172life, your world will remarkablyimprove on multiple levels. 10300:07:36,500 --> 00:07:39,161What are some of the required skills of leaders, at least as 10400:07:39,242 --> 00:07:43,449we think of them. Leaders tend to be people who empower others,10500:07:43,449 --> 00:07:47,449and that empowerment could be what they say, it could be what 10600:07:47,509 --> 00:07:51,507they do, or I would argue it's probably a combination of both, 10700:07:51,648 --> 00:07:54,884especially what they do, becauseI honestly believe that people 10800:07:54,963 --> 00:08:00,382look at what you do more than listen to what you say. They 10900:08:00,442 --> 00:08:04,665inspire people Think about Martin Luther King, think about 11000:08:06,468 --> 00:08:11,165Gandhi, think about Nelson Mandela. They inspire people. 11100:08:11,987 --> 00:08:16,788They lead change. I believe thatchange is always with us. The 11200:08:16,827 --> 00:08:21,464only constant in life is change,and so it's important not to be11300:08:21,464 --> 00:08:24,593depressed and not to get upset.Whenever something changes, 11400:08:25,321 --> 00:08:30,524it's to anticipate it, to prepare for it, and the ultimate11500:08:30,524 --> 00:08:34,682part of dealing with change is adaptability. If you determine 11600:08:34,743 --> 00:08:40,142or you figure out for you what adaptability is, then you will 11700:08:40,182 --> 00:08:44,421survive, and not only will you survive, you will thrive. So 11800:08:44,500 --> 00:08:49,229change is always with us and leadership are individuals or it11900:08:49,229 --> 00:08:54,303is a process that leads the change, that leads the change 12000:08:54,605 --> 00:08:58,383through its ability to adapt to the change. Another required 12100:08:58,442 --> 00:09:02,441skill of leadership or leaders is a shared vision. You think 12200:09:02,500 --> 00:09:06,830about what needs to be done, youthink about what is best for 12300:09:07,169 --> 00:09:12,004others, including yourself, and then you set out to reach that 12400:09:12,085 --> 00:09:15,711vision or to achieve that goal or to get to the top of that 12500:09:15,792 --> 00:09:19,485mountain. And then part of the thing about leadership is you 12600:09:19,504 --> 00:09:23,123don't wait for someone else to do it. You see what needs to be 12700:09:23,182 --> 00:09:28,740done and if it meets your criteria, you move forward. I 12800:09:28,780 --> 00:09:34,568have learned many lessons over my life over my 75 plus years 12900:09:35,671 --> 00:09:39,461and over my 50 plus years as a physician and one of the, I 13000:09:39,481 --> 00:09:42,285think, most important lessons I learned, as a physician 13100:09:42,767 --> 00:09:50,100particularly, was what the essence of life is all about, 13200:09:50,886 --> 00:09:56,128what's most important in life. Now I have and as many, if not 13300:09:56,227 --> 00:09:59,701most, individuals always want tostrive for the best. That was 13400:10:00,221 --> 00:10:04,967sort of ingrained in me very, very early on from my mother who13500:10:04,967 --> 00:10:08,812, as I mentioned in previous podcasts, was responsible for me13600:10:08,812 --> 00:10:14,265being in medical school, going to medical school, and when I 13700:10:14,426 --> 00:10:20,846arrived at Yale Medical School and finished, I basically felt 13800:10:21,167 --> 00:10:24,523that I was equipped to deal withanything. Obviously, it's an 13900:10:24,604 --> 00:10:29,845excellent school. They taught mewell and I had that level of 14000:10:29,926 --> 00:10:33,631confidence that I could do anything, that there were no 14100:10:33,672 --> 00:10:37,884limits on me. But some of the things that I learned along the 14200:10:37,943 --> 00:10:44,594way and I freely pass this on toyou you can be good by yourself14300:10:44,594 --> 00:10:49,024. I believe you can be good by yourself. If you work hard and 14400:10:49,065 --> 00:10:52,509you're well trained, or a combination of the two, you can 14500:10:52,548 --> 00:10:58,101achieve certain things and do a good job if you will. So you can14600:10:58,101 --> 00:11:03,528do good by yourself, but excellence comes from a team. 14700:11:04,600 --> 00:11:08,375Let me say that again you can begood by yourself, but 14800:11:08,697 --> 00:11:14,038excellence comes from a team. I'm a general surgeon. When I 14900:11:14,077 --> 00:11:17,778finished medical school as a general surgeon, I was very, 15000:11:17,798 --> 00:11:20,817very confident that I can go in and do the operation that I 15100:11:20,857 --> 00:11:25,861needed to do in my area or care for a patient in my area and do 15200:11:25,902 --> 00:11:32,807a good job. But what I also learned? That singularity, or 15300:11:32,875 --> 00:11:37,259the individual, whoever he or she may be, has an inherent 15400:11:37,419 --> 00:11:42,980limitation. Why? Because, as an individual, I am uniquely me. 15500:11:43,615 --> 00:11:46,437Now, I'm not saying that's a badthing, but I'm saying that 15600:11:46,457 --> 00:11:49,481there's a limitation with it andwe all have it. We all have it.15700:11:49,481 --> 00:11:54,201So what's the point I'm trying to make? My point is even though15800:11:54,201 --> 00:11:59,104I can be good by myself, excellence comes from a team. 15900:11:59,375 --> 00:12:03,203Let me repeat that, even though I can be good by myself, 16000:12:03,696 --> 00:12:08,022excellence comes from a team. I can be a good surgeon or a good 16100:12:08,101 --> 00:12:13,322physician, arguably by myself, but if I want to be an excellent16200:12:13,322 --> 00:12:18,177surgeon or an excellent physician. I need a team. What 16300:12:18,256 --> 00:12:22,457I've learned, then, is that we were designed, I believe, as 16400:12:22,518 --> 00:12:29,184humans, to work as teams. If youcan accept that concept and 16500:12:29,264 --> 00:12:35,058adopt and embrace and digest that concept, your life will be 16600:12:35,139 --> 00:12:38,162remarkable and better, because it's really not all about you, 16700:12:38,596 --> 00:12:44,678it's about the team. Think aboutit. Think about it. Yes, 16800:12:46,022 --> 00:12:49,457patrick Mahon is an excellent football player quarterback 16900:12:49,919 --> 00:12:54,678excellent but he cannot win a single game without the other 1017000:12:54,678 --> 00:13:01,845men on his football team. Michael Jordan is an excellent 17100:13:02,105 --> 00:13:06,083basketball player, but he cannotwin a single game without a 17200:13:06,144 --> 00:13:10,335team. I think those examples arebefore us throughout life, and 17300:13:10,375 --> 00:13:14,721sometimes we chose to notice them and sometimes we chose to 17400:13:14,802 --> 00:13:17,823ignore them. But what I have learned is that if you want 17500:13:17,995 --> 00:13:22,855excellence, then you need a team. Part of your achievement, a 17600:13:22,936 --> 00:13:28,035part of your journey if you willgetting to that level of 17700:13:28,236 --> 00:13:34,341excellence is understanding how you function within a team or 17800:13:34,381 --> 00:13:37,504with a team. Does not matter what position you have in that 17900:13:37,544 --> 00:13:41,330team, but you need a team. I used to say many times I do not 18000:13:41,450 --> 00:13:46,254want a good doctor to take care of my wife and my kids and my 18100:13:46,315 --> 00:13:50,366family or myself. I want an excellent doctor. I do not want 18200:13:50,407 --> 00:13:53,854a good nurse, I want an excellent nurse. I do not want a18300:13:53,854 --> 00:13:57,662good hospital, I want an excellent hospital. So my point 18400:13:57,902 --> 00:14:02,528is that if you want to get to that level of excellence that 18500:14:02,628 --> 00:14:06,874you need, it is important to understand the value, if you 18600:14:06,933 --> 00:14:11,744will, of a team and, more importantly, it is important for18700:14:11,744 --> 00:14:16,311you to understand how you can work with a team and how that 18800:14:16,410 --> 00:14:20,846helps you achieve your goals, whatever those are. So keep that18900:14:20,846 --> 00:14:25,163in mind. Excellence comes from a team. Now, when we look at 19000:14:25,224 --> 00:14:28,469wellness again and we are still sort of on the defined part of 19100:14:28,528 --> 00:14:32,640wellness we are talking about body, mind and spirit. Body, 19200:14:33,142 --> 00:14:38,051mind and spirit. Our bodies are obvious, we can stand in the 19300:14:38,091 --> 00:14:40,980mirror and we can look at our bodies. The mind is a little 19400:14:41,081 --> 00:14:45,125less obvious because the mind issort of inside of the body and 19500:14:45,187 --> 00:14:50,933we have to be able to appreciatethe specifics of the mind and 19600:14:50,994 --> 00:14:55,325what it works and how it works and in terms of how we think 19700:14:55,384 --> 00:14:58,831about ourselves and about our surroundings. And the spirit is 19800:14:58,892 --> 00:15:04,606even more subtle. The spirit is that part that we conceive in 19900:15:04,706 --> 00:15:10,941our minds and understand how it relates to us. But the part I am20000:15:10,941 --> 00:15:13,686very simply trying to make is that all three are our 20100:15:13,745 --> 00:15:19,620requirement for us to thrive andfor us to be well, and we want 20200:15:19,640 --> 00:15:24,470to always be well. We want to bewell ourselves so that we can 20300:15:24,530 --> 00:15:30,109then help others to be well. So let's go a little deeper into 20400:15:30,168 --> 00:15:35,086wellness. Wellness refers to a state of being in good health, 20500:15:35,226 --> 00:15:39,293both physically and mentally. Itis a holistic approach to 20600:15:39,394 --> 00:15:46,668health. And again, that word holistic many people used to be 20700:15:46,708 --> 00:15:49,852disturbed by that word. I am notand I hope you are not either, 20800:15:49,873 --> 00:15:52,635but you can substitute a different word as you choose. 20900:15:53,041 --> 00:15:56,927But basically it means looking at the total being or the total 21000:15:57,749 --> 00:16:02,854essence, the total entity, if you will, and that's really body21100:16:02,854 --> 00:16:07,365, mind and spirit. But it's alsotaken that body, mind and 21200:16:07,384 --> 00:16:10,469spirit approach to health care, because if you take that 21300:16:10,509 --> 00:16:14,092approach to health care then youwill be more successful in 21400:16:14,153 --> 00:16:17,738achieving those levels of excellence that we've talked 21500:16:17,778 --> 00:16:21,283about before. When I was workingwith the John Commission and we21600:16:21,283 --> 00:16:24,729were going to a hospital, to a hospital survey, I as a 21700:16:24,788 --> 00:16:29,495physician would primarily evaluate the physician areas, 21800:16:29,576 --> 00:16:35,364particularly surgery and surgeryrelated areas, and the whole 21900:16:35,443 --> 00:16:41,633point is we look at the body, mind and spirit approach. We may22000:16:41,633 --> 00:16:44,977not call it that, but we look at the results, which includes 22100:16:45,038 --> 00:16:51,668that total approach. Wellness includes nutrition, exercise, 22200:16:51,749 --> 00:16:55,014stress management and mental health. To look at it on another22300:16:55,014 --> 00:17:00,751level Nutrition, exercise, stress management and mental 22400:17:00,831 --> 00:17:06,346health Wellness. So when I say wellness, I'm talking about 22500:17:06,406 --> 00:17:12,836those particular four areas nutrition, exercise, stress 22600:17:12,938 --> 00:17:17,375management and mental health. Wellness leadership it's a 22700:17:17,415 --> 00:17:21,766concept that emphasizes the importance of promoting wellness22800:17:21,766 --> 00:17:26,060in the workplace. Let me say that again wellness leadership 22900:17:26,141 --> 00:17:30,028this is our topic. It's a concept that talks about 23000:17:30,174 --> 00:17:32,642emphasizing the importance of promoting wellness in the 23100:17:32,682 --> 00:17:37,681workplace. We talked earlier about body, mind and spirit and 23200:17:37,721 --> 00:17:41,013how that's important in terms ofas we look at ourselves. We 23300:17:41,034 --> 00:17:44,564then transitioned to the importance of the individual 23400:17:45,065 --> 00:17:50,617working with a collective group of individuals, ie what I call a23500:17:50,617 --> 00:17:56,768team. We specifically said thatif we want excellence in 23600:17:56,807 --> 00:18:00,604whatever our pursuit is, it's important that we work with that23700:18:00,604 --> 00:18:05,397team effectively. Now what we're saying is, when we think 23800:18:05,498 --> 00:18:09,907of wellness leadership, we want you to think of it in the 23900:18:09,988 --> 00:18:16,641context of promoting wellness inthe workplace and also 24000:18:16,861 --> 00:18:22,836promoting wellness at home. Wellness, wellness wellness body24100:18:22,836 --> 00:18:27,251, mind and spirit. As you think about your body, mind and spirit24200:18:27,251 --> 00:18:31,003and what your needs are and what motivates you and what gets24300:18:31,003 --> 00:18:34,114you in a good place. Think about that in terms of your 24400:18:34,134 --> 00:18:38,166spouse. Think about that in terms of your children and 24500:18:38,247 --> 00:18:41,477understand that at the differentages of your children, their 24600:18:41,538 --> 00:18:45,830needs and their understandings will vary as you're interacting 24700:18:45,871 --> 00:18:51,464with them as a parent or as a friend or as a partner, however 24800:18:51,526 --> 00:18:55,414you do it, whatever the circumstances are, think about 24900:18:55,434 --> 00:18:59,808it in terms of body, mind and spirit. Body, mind and spirit 25000:19:00,069 --> 00:19:03,439that when your son or daughter is playing soccer or basketball 25100:19:03,880 --> 00:19:06,885or whatever sport they're playing, and you're on the 25200:19:06,925 --> 00:19:11,265sideline and you're supporting them, think about body, mind and25300:19:11,265 --> 00:19:14,615spirit, and then you'll be muchmore effective in terms of what25400:19:14,615 --> 00:19:18,087you're doing. So let's take a look at well-being and 25500:19:18,268 --> 00:19:21,938well-being leadership and apply it to a specific area. Let's 25600:19:22,019 --> 00:19:26,307apply well-being leadership to strategies for responding to 25700:19:26,367 --> 00:19:31,444COVID. So what would that look like or why would it be 25800:19:31,525 --> 00:19:37,761different? Now, clearly, all of us have developed strategies to 25900:19:38,182 --> 00:19:41,070respond to COVID because we've all had to deal with this, a 26000:19:41,111 --> 00:19:45,019worldwide pandemic. We live in the world. Therefore, we've had 26100:19:45,039 --> 00:19:48,967to deal with it some way. Some of us have probably done this 26200:19:51,174 --> 00:19:55,443easily, some more difficult, Some have had more challenges 26300:19:55,523 --> 00:19:59,499with it. It is a serious problem. It is a problem that has not 26400:19:59,558 --> 00:20:02,686gone away and probably will not go away. 26500:20:03,755 --> 00:20:05,680Speaker 1: Thank you for listening to this episode of the26600:20:05,680 --> 00:20:08,994Healthy, wealthy and Wise podcast with Dr William T 26700:20:09,056 --> 00:20:13,765Choctaw, mdjd. Be sure to check out other great episodes 26800:20:13,805 --> 00:20:20,606covering areas of health, wealthand wisdom at THWPcom and, 26900:20:20,666 --> 00:20:23,773while you're there, be sure to check out the books, blogs and 27000:20:23,894 --> 00:20:26,921other literature in your preferred format. And don't 27100:20:26,961 --> 00:20:31,037forget to leave a review, subscribe, share and support the27200:20:31,037 --> 00:20:37,113podcast that's at THWPcom. You've been listening to the 27300:20:37,193 --> 00:20:40,280Healthy, wealthy and Wise podcast with Dr William T 27400:20:40,342 --> 00:20:42,487Choctaw, mdjd.