Latest / Becker’s Healthcare Podcast / Leading with Purpose, Trust, and Authenticity with Meeta Gandhi

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Leading with Purpose, Trust, and Authenticity with Meeta Gandhi · Becker’s Healthcare Podcast

0:00
When it comes to today's RCM, we know
0:02
the challenges,
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complexity of claims, talent shortages,
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low funding, and lagging tech.
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That's why we built MedMetrix.
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We have the expertise and advanced tech to
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give you that edge on your revenue cycle.
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We're a partner who will relentlessly raise your
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yield, a partner who's on your side because
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they've been operator side, who knows your battles
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and will make sure you win from start
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to finish, end to end. MedMetrix,
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be exceptional.
0:30
Welcome to the Becker's Healthcare podcast. I'm Kelly
0:32
Guiche, senior editor and enterprise lead at Becker's,
0:35
and I'm pleased to welcome Meena Gandhi, COO
0:37
at Orlando Health Melbourne Hospital. Meena, thank you
0:40
so much for joining us today.
0:42
As
0:43
leadership
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expectations
0:45
do evolve, many of today's most effective leaders
0:47
are focusing less on titles, more on trust,
0:49
connection, and purpose. And, of course, at just
0:52
thirty five years old, you're among the youngest
0:54
hospital CEOs in the region overseeing operational strategy,
0:57
also helping shape workplace culture at a growing
1:00
community hospital.
1:01
You've
1:02
shared that leadership starts with being human and
1:05
also the adjustments you've made over the last
1:07
several years have helped you become a stronger
1:09
leader. So I'm really excited to get your
1:11
perspective today. And in particular, your top five
1:14
things I know you'll share that every leader
1:15
should really add to their to do list.
1:17
So before we get started, Mita, could you
1:20
tell us a little bit about yourself, your
1:21
organization?
1:23
Yeah. Absolutely. Thanks for having me, Kelly.
1:27
So, again, my name is Meeta Gandhi and,
1:30
really excited about this chapter of my life.
1:32
I'm the COO at Orlando Health Melbourne Hospital
1:36
and recently relocated
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to Florida for this opportunity
1:40
as Orlando Health expanded to the East Region
1:42
Of Florida. So
1:44
as someone that's extremely passionate about health care
1:47
operations
1:48
and leadership,
1:50
this opportunity fell right in line with that
1:53
passion.
1:54
I've spent many years in operations,
1:58
really launching my career in Charlotte, North Carolina
2:01
and felt ready for this particular opportunity
2:04
with Orlando Health. So
2:06
as someone that's, you know, naturally curious and
2:09
really loves to work with frontline teams and,
2:13
build a strong culture and provide quality patient
2:15
care, this has been the perfect opportunity for
2:18
me.
2:19
Absolutely. And just a strong background there already,
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but I know you
2:24
are in your role, just at the age
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of 35. So I was curious what you
2:27
learned early in your career that still guides
2:29
you today.
2:31
Yeah.
2:32
So I would say starting off my career
2:35
with an administrative fellowship with a large organization,
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you know, that gave me the perfect and
2:41
ideal opportunity
2:42
to really get my hands dirty and work
2:45
with our frontline team,
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really just staying curious and seeing what's not
2:50
working and what's working and how can I
2:52
help how can I help
2:54
escalate some of those concerns to senior leadership
2:57
and actually be a part of the change?
3:01
That's something that
3:02
really helped me early on as a self
3:04
starter in my fellowship role to today as
3:07
chief operating officer.
3:08
I lead with that same mentality.
3:11
Of course, there are a lot of things
3:12
that, you know, as a senior leader, I'm
3:14
responsible for, but I've never lost touch with
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engaging with our frontline
3:19
and really listening and staying curious. And, you
3:22
know, that's something that's really led to my
3:24
success today.
3:26
Yeah. It sounds like the fellowship was such
3:28
a big big part of that and, like
3:30
you said, staying connected to the front line
3:31
as well in your in your role. And
3:35
along those lines, I'm curious what has maybe
3:37
surprised you most about stepping into executive leadership?
3:41
This took some time, but, you know, really,
3:44
it's prioritizing
3:46
myself and making sure that,
3:49
you know, I'm prioritizing
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everything that I'm responsible for as well, but,
3:53
again, not losing sight of taking care of
3:56
myself as well.
3:58
At the end of the day, we really
4:00
can't fill
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others' cups if we haven't filled our own,
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and
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that's something you know, initially, when I was
4:07
really excited about stepping into health care operations
4:11
and leadership,
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you know, it's easy to lose sight of
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because you're super,
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you know,
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excited and you're you're wanting to give it
4:19
everything. And not saying that that's a negative
4:22
thing at all, but, you know, it's easy
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to put your own needs,
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last, and and I've learned through time that
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that's something that
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has to be a priority,
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especially as those responsibilities
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grow.
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So,
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I'm a huge advocate of that. I always
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encourage that for anyone, not just leaders, but
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also our frontline team.
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As we know, health care is only getting,
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you know, more involved, and there's a lot
4:50
of challenges, so we have to prioritize ourselves.
4:54
Yeah. I think that's that's such good advice
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all the way around, like you said, especially
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with with the pressures every leader is facing
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right now.
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And I understand that you also have maybe
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five things that you
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believe every leader should add to their to
5:09
do list. So I thought, you could go
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through that that list here. We'd love to
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hear.
5:15
Yeah. I I'd love to share it. You
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know, I I put a lot of thought
5:19
into this and, you know, it's something that
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came very organically, and I'm hoping that it's
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something that
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could come organically to other leaders as well
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through time, and it's not easy. But,
5:31
you know, the first one would be leading
5:33
as a human first.
5:35
So, you know, how are we bringing our
5:37
our
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authentic selves
5:39
to the workplace and building that foundation of
5:42
trust with our frontline teams, especially in high
5:45
pressure environments?
5:46
Our team isn't expecting
5:48
us to have every single answer,
5:51
and that's something that I've learned through time.
5:53
They really just want that transparency,
5:55
and it means so much and go so
5:58
far when we can show up consistently for
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them.
6:02
And so building that foundation of trust is
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can be really transformational,
6:08
and help our teams perform at their best.
6:11
The other one I would say would be
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ask what's not working and act. So I
6:16
mentioned
6:17
really being curious from day one. That's something,
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you know, I've I've been very curious since
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I was a child, and that's,
6:24
been very fruitful for me today. But
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true leadership requires listening
6:29
and being prepared
6:31
to respond and act on what you're hearing
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for your teams from your teams because, again,
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that can help build that trust again.
6:38
But
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every leader,
6:41
that I've seen that actually takes time to
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listen, take action,
6:45
it really shows our frontline teams that their
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voices matter,
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and that's what helps
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shape a strong culture.
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The next one would be protecting time that
6:55
grounds you. So
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I spoke to that a little bit earlier,
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but, again, self care really isn't optional. It's
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necessary. And,
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you know, how are you making sure that
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you have some routines even if it's a
7:08
little time in the day to where you
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can make sure that you're taking care of
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yourselves
7:13
yourself even if that's, you know, that hot
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cup of coffee that you enjoy in the
7:17
morning or time for exercise,
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time for a podcast.
7:22
For me, that's definitely something that I've made
7:24
a change for and making sure that, you
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know, in the morning, I can have my
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cup of tea and I can listen to
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a fun podcast or learn something or just
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kinda hit the reset button before I start
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my day.
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And those moments are really what help keep
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me grounded. It's just, again, just taking some
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of that time to decompress and ground myself.
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And, again, the way that I do that,
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really helps give me more energy
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to invest in others throughout each day.
7:55
The next would be prioritizing meaningful connection. So,
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you know, I've learned this through time.
8:01
Again, it's it's so easy to be
8:04
all in on your on your leadership role
8:07
and your journey, and
8:09
other things fall by the wayside, and that's
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not how it should be.
8:14
You wanna make sure that your
8:16
as your responsibilities
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grow,
8:19
you're also making sure that you're staying connected
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to the people that you love.
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You know, it takes intention and it takes
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making sure you're carving out some time, but
8:30
take the trip. Make sure you're seeing your
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close friends or carving out time for family,
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and, you know, that really helps sustain you
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and and keep that energy and perspective that
8:40
you need to lead effectively.
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I always say even if it's a quick
8:44
trip for me to go see family or
8:46
friends, I come back so reenergized,
8:48
and that's helped sustain me as a leader.
8:52
And the last one would be investing in
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the next generation,
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so that's something I'm extremely
8:58
passionate about.
9:00
So, you know, lifting others as you climb
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and and making sure that you're
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connecting with others that might be interested in
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health care or leadership roles or continuing education.
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We really wanna make sure that we're building
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confidence in future leaders and developing the next
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generation, and that's one of the most important
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responsibilities that we have.
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I've been very fortunate to have,
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both mentors and sponsors throughout my journey, and
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I sincerely always look for opportunities to give
9:32
back in that way.
9:34
We know that health care is only getting
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more complex, so, I'm so passionate about making
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sure we have strong pipelines of future leaders
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and that I'm supporting that.
9:44
So, yeah, that would be my my five
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in summary that I've learned throughout my journey.
9:50
Wonderful. Thank you so much, Mina, for sharing
9:53
those. I I love all of that leading
9:55
as human first and protecting time, prioritizing meaningful
9:59
connection. I think all five of those are
10:01
really
10:02
really could be
10:03
across any organization,
10:05
in any leader leadership role. So thank you
10:08
so much. I was wondering too as we're
10:11
talking just how you build
10:13
really that workplace culture where people feel
10:16
heard, supported,
10:17
and motivated as well.
10:19
Yeah. Absolutely.
10:21
And, you know, referencing back to
10:23
number one on my list where,
10:26
it's lead as a human first.
10:29
You know, again, as health care is evolving
10:31
rapidly,
10:32
how are we attracting and retaining our workforce?
10:35
How are we connecting with our workforce?
10:38
You know, one thing I was reflecting on
10:39
is we've got, you know, up to four
10:42
generations in the workforce right now coming from
10:44
different backgrounds, different perspectives.
10:47
They wanna be recognized in all different ways,
10:49
and and it's important.
10:51
It's a it's a new
10:53
challenge that we're all as leaders wrapping our
10:56
arms around and and wanting to make sure
10:58
that we're understanding
10:59
so that we can sustain,
11:02
a strong culture again where people feel valued
11:05
and supported and motivated. And so,
11:08
for me, it's I wanna make sure that
11:12
our teams here trust our leadership and trust
11:15
me as one of those leaders,
11:18
because once you develop and build that trust,
11:21
everything else becomes
11:23
a little bit more,
11:25
organic. And and, again, in these high pressure
11:28
environments, it's it's it helps us, again, build
11:31
that teamwork and collaboration and everything that we
11:34
need to get through the tough times.
11:37
So,
11:38
yeah, just being a human and and being
11:40
your authentic self and making sure that you're
11:43
keeping transparency at the forefront.
11:46
Absolutely. And I know you mentioned transparency, trust,
11:49
a lot of factors there. And I'm curious
11:51
also how you see mentorship and service
11:54
shaping stronger organizations. I I know that's a
11:56
lot of
11:58
a lot of organizations,
11:59
have that, of course, ingrained there. So how,
12:02
yeah, how do you you see them really
12:05
shaping stronger organization?
12:07
Yeah. You know, I it's so important
12:10
for
12:11
leaders to be involved and engaged within the
12:13
workplace
12:14
recognizing
12:16
either younger leaders or
12:18
any even if it's a newer leader or
12:21
even a frontline team member that maybe wants
12:24
to become a leader one day, it's important
12:27
for us to recognize that,
12:29
establish those pipelines,
12:31
take time to connect with them,
12:33
and also
12:35
connecting with our community. It's
12:37
not just what we're doing inside of our
12:39
facilities, but how are we serving our community,
12:42
understanding our community needs,
12:45
getting involved in different ways. It really is
12:48
a
12:48
full circle responsibility.
12:51
Not always easy, right, to
12:54
juggle and handle all the things, but it's
12:56
so important, and it's that responsibility
12:58
that we have.
13:00
So I definitely
13:01
see organizations
13:03
that have those pipelines and that support,
13:06
you know, and mentor, you know, the next
13:09
generations of leaders as the ones that are
13:11
gonna be the most successful,
13:13
as well as the ones that, again, are
13:15
connected out there in our communities and have
13:18
a deep understanding
13:19
of what our community needs are,
13:23
and bringing that back,
13:24
it just makes us stronger. So I'm I'm
13:27
very honored to be,
13:29
a part of that, especially with Orlando Health.
13:33
Absolutely. And you mentioned the, of course, the
13:35
next generation I know you've been talking about.
13:37
So if someone did wanna get into hospital
13:39
leadership,
13:41
how would you suggest they get started and
13:43
and be successful there?
13:45
Yeah.
13:46
You know, I I I said this before
13:48
about curiosity,
13:49
and it starts there. It really
13:52
you know, making sure that you're
13:55
staying curious and asking questions, seeking out opportunities
13:59
for,
14:00
even if it's a shadowing opportunity,
14:03
an internship opportunity.
14:05
And, really, again, the focus should never be
14:08
just on the titles, but, really, what are
14:11
you learning and taking back and how can
14:13
you give back and,
14:15
you know, the the titles come organically through
14:17
time and experience, but starting with that,
14:21
foundation of curiosity
14:22
is everything and also seeking out, mentors. And
14:26
if someone doesn't have the capacity to be
14:28
a mentor, even a sponsor,
14:31
But who are even if it's one or
14:33
two people that can give you true, honest
14:36
feedback,
14:37
that's something else that's been
14:39
so important for me and beneficial for me
14:42
in my career is having
14:45
other leaders and people in my life that
14:47
can give me feedback about,
14:49
you know, maybe what how I could present
14:52
differently or maybe how I could handle a
14:54
situation better or how I could be a
14:56
stronger leader
14:57
or give me advice about different pathways in
15:01
in health care,
15:03
that maybe I hadn't considered.
15:05
Because initially,
15:07
you know, I I didn't know myself that
15:09
I would be here, and I would be
15:10
in health care, you know, or it
15:14
really took
15:16
those mentors that have supported me and guided
15:18
me. And,
15:20
so I would hope that others, whether it's,
15:22
you know, an emerging leader or even a
15:25
student,
15:26
you know, stay curious and,
15:28
find those mentors and avenues for feedback, and
15:32
the success will come along the way.
15:34
Yeah. It sounds like just curiosity
15:36
and, like you said, that mentorship has just
15:39
made such a difference,
15:40
in your own trajectory and and can for
15:43
others as well. And and it's of course,
15:46
March is also women's history month, so I
15:49
did wanna ask
15:50
what message maybe you'd share with women specifically
15:53
aspiring to be in in health care leadership
15:55
roles.
15:57
Yeah. Absolutely.
15:59
You know, one of the things that,
16:02
for women is specifically that I think is
16:05
so important is,
16:06
you know, leading with empathy,
16:08
courage, authenticity.
16:10
It's not an easy environment for women to
16:13
feel like they can be those things.
16:16
In a field that's dominated, you know, by
16:19
men specifically, it can be hard. It can
16:21
be, you know, you feel like you have
16:23
to lead a a certain way or be
16:25
a certain way or maybe you can't speak
16:28
up. But, you know, I found that being
16:30
a woman is what makes us
16:33
so
16:34
different and have that strength in this field,
16:38
because we we aren't like the rest. Right?
16:41
We bring a different life perspective,
16:44
and,
16:45
we have different qualities about us that make
16:47
us special. And so, you know, leading with
16:51
that
16:51
true authenticity and not being afraid and betting
16:55
on yourself and,
16:57
you know, again, just
17:00
being 100%
17:01
real,
17:03
is something that I encourage all leaders all
17:05
female
17:06
leaders to do.
17:09
And, you know, again, if I've let I've
17:13
mentored a lot of different women and,
17:15
you know, I've seen that as something that,
17:18
could be an opportunity. So I just hope
17:20
that, all women, again,
17:23
find that,
17:25
inspiration
17:26
to, again, lead with empathy, courage, and authenticity.
17:31
Absolutely. And any
17:33
other notes or, just anything you wanna expand
17:36
on just as we're closing here just on
17:39
how your top five list can inspire other
17:41
women leaders? Anything that you haven't mentioned you'd
17:44
wanna
17:45
add? No. I think that the honest truth
17:47
is that it's never easy to do all
17:50
five of those at one time. Right? It's
17:53
you may do one of them really well,
17:56
and some of the others may not, you
17:58
know, it may not be
18:00
as doable. And it takes time, and, you
18:03
know,
18:05
we should all give ourselves grace and, you
18:07
know, the top five list is more so
18:09
to have a guide for, hey. These are
18:11
things I've learned. These are ways that we
18:14
can make sure that we're being our best
18:16
selves, taking care of of ourselves, putting our
18:18
best,
18:20
foot forward.
18:21
But, you know, the expectation isn't always to
18:25
do them all at once and do them,
18:27
really well because it's hard.
18:29
And as women, we have a lot of
18:31
responsibilities
18:32
on our shoulders to,
18:35
in the way that we show up just
18:37
in those societal
18:39
kind of,
18:40
roles that we play. And it again, it's
18:43
not easy, but,
18:45
I just encourage
18:47
if if there's anything that I could encourage
18:49
any woman to do, it's
18:51
really,
18:53
protect that time that grounds you because,
18:56
you know, start there. If you're gonna, you
18:58
know, choose one and make sure you're taking
19:00
care of yourself and then,
19:02
focus on the others, and and those should
19:04
come organically. But,
19:07
you know, I again, these are things that
19:09
I've learned, and I always,
19:11
hope that every woman feels that,
19:14
you know, she can
19:15
take care of herself and,
19:18
lead authentically.
19:21
Thank you so much, Mina, for this
19:24
fun and interesting conversation.
19:26
I I really appreciate your time, and
19:29
I look forward to working with you again
19:31
soon.
19:32
Yeah. Thank you so much, Kelly, and I
19:34
appreciate this opportunity.
19:37
When it comes to today's RCM, we know
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the challenges,
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complexity of claims, talent shortages, low funding, and
19:44
lagging tech.
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yield, a partner who's on your side because
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they've been operator side, who knows your battles
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