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Leadership Unscripted: Why Showing Up Matters with Dr. Jochen Reiser · Becker’s Healthcare Podcast

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To this episode of Leadership Unscripted at Becker's
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HealthCare podcast. I'm Chris Sosa, your host. I'm
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thrilled to today to be joined by doctor
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Joakim Reiser. He, of course, is president of
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the University of Texas medical branch and CEO
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of UTMB Health. Joakim, thank you for joining
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us today.
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Delighted to be here. Nice to meet you,
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Chris.
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Wonderful. I'm so glad you can make a
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little time to dive into your health care
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journey with us. But before we get into
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that, could you please tell us a little
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bit more about yourself and your background?
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Yes.
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So I'm originally born and raised in a
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small
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town, in the Black Forest Of Germany.
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And I went to a hospital service at
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the time of my
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military service. I spent that in the hospital
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and was really just taken
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by all to see what it means to
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be a doctor or a nurse, a health
0:48
care provider. Went to medical school
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and in Heidelberg, Germany. And then part of
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the medical school in Germany is that typically,
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students are doing a thesis.
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And I was, so captured by science.
1:02
It was in molecular kidney disease at that
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time
1:06
that I extended my studies to an MD
1:08
PhD
1:09
and had a dual degree. And with that,
1:11
I had the opportunity to come to New
1:13
York.
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And so I was just,
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fascinated by New York. And, of course, at
1:19
that point, just wanted to stay here. And
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so I switched my entire life and career
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to The United States and have been at
1:25
fine institutions. And in three years, I arrived
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here,
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at UTMB.
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Along the way, I'm also an entrepreneur. I
1:33
started a kidney therapeutics company,
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which is a phase two, clinical trial study,
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company in Cambridge, in in Boston.
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So I I wear multiple hats
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and,
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have three kids,
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lot of hobbies,
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and and try to enjoy life on the
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little time that I have outside work.
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Well, it sounds like you you have a
1:56
wonderful sense of adventure to to start out.
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I mean, just having to go from molecular
2:01
kidney disease to New York to to Texas.
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You've been all over the place. And as
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you mentioned, you've got,
2:06
your hands in many things and many projects,
2:09
which is a great thing to keep, any
2:11
of us busy. And we'll cover a lot
2:12
of that ground today.
2:14
But what I wanna start with, and, you
2:16
know, maybe this is applicable to your military
2:18
career or some other aspects of your life,
2:20
I should say. So what is something you
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have learned from outside of health care that
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you've been able to apply to your career
2:27
inside health care?
2:28
Yeah. So I think now today,
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I know that I'm probably a generalist
2:35
in a in a very specialized world.
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And and so when you look at health
2:39
care, it's such a highly matrixed
2:42
business
2:43
that nobody would almost go in,
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for for profit reasons.
2:48
We end up in health care because we
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like to do good. We like to impact
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patients' lives and
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be surrounded by learners and students and and
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be part of innovation.
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So those are the virtues why we go
2:59
in there. But nobody can be ready unless
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you are really,
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a generalist.
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And so luckily, when I look back in
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my life,
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I always have had interest in so many
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things.
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Earlier, I told you I I was studying
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English and German
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initially, so I was into languages.
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And then I later on, I switched to
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medicine, which is more of a soft science.
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There's a lot of philosophy in there in
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medicine.
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And then later, I became a scientist, a
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molecular scientist, and sort of, like, tightened down
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on the rigor.
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But if you put it all together,
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then, I'm more of an all around person,
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more of a generalist.
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And I think,
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that also means that I I I choose
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to connect well with people.
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I spend a lot of time with people
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in general. I like people at all levels.
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And I think,
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that trade in particular
3:53
has helped me
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to be successful in health care because,
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it won't cut it if you just present
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yourself with technical skill or a lot of
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knowledge.
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You gotta have the channel approach to health
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care and the workforce,
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which includes all these elements I just summarized
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that naturally kind of came together
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in my life and and without knowing,
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have set me up well for this job.
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Okay. Well, let's dive a little bit deeper
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on what you mentioned as the soft science
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of medicine. Clearly now,
4:26
everywhere you look, you can find information on
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how data is affecting how health care is
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is being practiced and, you know, furthered and
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grown. Right? So when you look at the
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soft science, how does that come into play
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in your day to day,
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life as a leader in in health care?
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Yeah. I think by soft science, I mean,
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of course, to adhere to the guidelines.
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Yeah. Yeah. Yes. Of course, to be compliant
4:52
when it comes to taking medicines and tests,
4:55
follow ups.
4:56
But we also know that unless a physician
5:00
builds a physician patient relationship
5:03
or a mentor in the lab
5:05
has a good relationship
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with the student,
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which also,
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allows for words like excitement, connection,
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all of those components to be part of
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it.
5:17
The the enterprise or the encounter is not
5:19
really productive.
5:20
And there are studies that show that even
5:23
if you prescribe the same drug,
5:26
with two different providers, one that is one
5:28
that connects and the other one not so
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much, the the, results can be pretty different.
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And so I think that the human connection
5:37
in what we do
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is something that I value a lot.
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And, obviously, it has to be paired with
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scientific knowledge and accuracy and and and, high
5:48
quality and safety of care delivery, all of
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that.
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But the human component is something I cherish.
5:55
And and at UTMB,
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I'm proud to say that
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in the last almost three years that I'm
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I've been here leading the place,
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we have doubled down on that component. We
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have a very strong culture. People like to
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be here. People work together, and I think
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we are pretty connected
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as an organization
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of a very significant size.
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And and I pride myself for being sort
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of, like, at at the at the at
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the helm
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to push and allow for the for such
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a culture to thrive.
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That's well said, Joaquin. I I think that
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my own company does a very good job
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of of growing its culture, and I feel
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fortunate to be part of that. And I'm
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glad that it's part of UTMB as well.
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Joaquin,
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if you're going to connect with people,
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you gotta keep yourself healthy. So
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that's just
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a a very general and and basic requirement.
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Right? So as you're doing that,
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what do you think is important for you
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to do in terms of keeping yourself healthy,
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whether it be physically, mentally, emotionally? What's important
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to you when you're not being an entrepreneur
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running a a health care organization like UTMB?
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I'm glad you're asking that question.
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It's very easy
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and,
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often the case, unfortunately, that we forget about
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ourselves,
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our own personal health.
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So luckily, so far, I've been blessed with
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good health.
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But I would say in the last,
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three years of this job in particular,
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I had less and less time to exercise.
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I had so many dinners, and I'm having
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so many dinners that I was required to
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be pretty, disciplined
7:34
when it comes to what I leave on
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the table and what I don't touch,
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that,
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and I needed enough sleep
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even though there was less and less time.
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So, I made a decision eight months ago
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to, really focus more on my personal health
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and have started a personalized training program. So
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multiple times a week, I do early
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exercise with a trainer. Often, that's at 5AM
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in the morning.
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I have changed my nutrition to be more,
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grain
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friendly, but also higher protein intake,
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and I'm blessed with good mental health.
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There was a time when I was younger
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where I I I, like many, perhaps had
8:17
had my voice and and maybe we would
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call that anxiety at times.
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But luckily, in the last fifteen years, I
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really moved away from that
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because,
8:27
I felt a comfort in in in so
8:29
many people being more freely able to talk
8:31
about
8:32
their mental conditions and how they feel. So
8:35
it it had become more accepted.
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So I to today, I I do a
8:39
lot that focuses on physical health, mental health,
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and emotional health. Emotionally, I have a wonderful
8:45
fiance
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and three children,
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and,
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I I'm I'm drawing a lot of,
8:51
positive energy from that. I also stay in
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touch with my German family. I have my
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sister and my parents
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that routinely I find five or ten minutes
9:00
a day where we do a WhatsApp call
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and just check-in on each other. And and
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some of the topics we discuss can be
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rather trivial,
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but that is bringing me back to the
9:11
origin of just what it means to be
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a human. So all all in,
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I feel pretty strong right now,
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and and the rest is done by UTMB,
9:21
which so graciously has accepted me as a
9:24
leader and and welcomed me to the family.
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And I feel really good, within the entire
9:30
UT system, and particularly at UTMB.
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Yeah. I would say never underestimate,
9:36
the regenerative power
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of speaking about and thinking about things that
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are not related to work. I think that
9:42
can help us
9:43
all energize. Right? Yoca, do you consider yourself
9:46
a morning person? You know, you said you
9:47
get up at 5AM to to exercise.
9:50
I would say I'm a disciplined person. I
9:52
have really good
9:54
executive functioning.
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So, I it's not that I wake up
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all smiles at 04:30
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and and and look forward to my exercise,
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but but I know
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that when I do do it, I will
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feel better in an hour.
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And and that get just gets me going.
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And and I have learned over the years,
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I'm sure you have had that experience too,
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that once you set the first foot into,
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into,
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the shower and have a sip of coffee
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or what what works whatever works for you,
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things change. And so I have very good
10:25
executive functioning, and it brings me to a
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point I wanted to make.
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What else I have learned outside health care
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is is really showing up
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is 80%
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of everything
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and showing up with a routine and the
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discipline.
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And I think that is so important because
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it is it is, I think, one of
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the most important lessons to learn as a
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young person growing up that showing up is
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is
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a is a lot of being successful.
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I have no doubt that that is true.
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You
10:58
mentioned how you're not necessarily all smiles at
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04:30. I think a lot of us can
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relate to that.
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But but in general, we're all gonna have
11:06
days where we're not necessarily feeling our best
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even if we're
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doing
11:11
all sorts of exercise and and
11:13
focusing on
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making sure that we are healthy. Correct?
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So
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on those days when you might not be
11:20
feeling quite your best, what do you do?
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Who do you turn to say, you know
11:24
what? Here's,
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how I can get back on track.
11:28
Yeah. I think it's it's calling one of
11:31
my children,
11:32
just hearing their voice.
11:34
It is, reading.
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I'm always reading two types of books. I'm
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not the best reader, but, again, I'm a
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consistent reader.
11:43
I read, sort of like a self improvement
11:45
book of some sort.
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And, and then I read some fiction or
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historical,
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books,
11:53
that that describe some person's lives. And so
11:55
just sometimes I just go in into one
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or two pages
12:00
and and refocus my mind on something completely
12:03
different.
12:04
And it works a little bit like a
12:06
reset.
12:07
It takes me into into something completely different,
12:10
and and it helps me to reboot in
12:13
perhaps a strange way. But I'm very good
12:16
in in having
12:17
sort of brain skills
12:19
and mental skills that help to redirect me.
12:23
And then my optimism that is just in
12:25
me, and I don't think that will ever
12:27
change, just takes over.
12:29
And with that, you know what? Maybe maybe
12:32
the sun is beginning to rise outside, and
12:34
here I am, switch is turned. And so
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I think it's important to recognize
12:39
that when we don't feel well,
12:43
that it's it's a normal it's a normal
12:45
feeling that all of us are going through.
12:48
But instead of just dwelling on that feeling,
12:51
do something about it and try different things.
12:54
And so I have some, as I described,
12:56
I have a few routines
12:57
that typically work very well.
13:00
Yoki, what books are you reaching for, when
13:02
you would need an escape in particular?
13:06
Well, I think,
13:07
right now,
13:09
I I read a book called the generalist
13:11
in a specialized
13:12
world.
13:13
And That sounds very apropos for you.
13:16
Yes. And I I strangely, I find a
13:19
lot of the components in this book that's
13:22
that speak to me.
13:23
And and then I also like to read,
13:26
books that
13:27
that have touched my life in ways I
13:30
wasn't quite so sure. So my sister
13:32
sent me a book in German,
13:34
which was what people were doing after World
13:38
War two, ten years
13:40
after, how they rebuild their lives in Germany,
13:43
and and whole different ethnic groups came some
13:46
came back, some left. How did it actually
13:49
work?
13:50
And it it it never dawned on me
13:52
how confusing the time was
13:55
after the war because we always talk what
13:57
happened in the war, which is, of course,
14:00
absolutely terrible.
14:02
No words can describe that, but the time
14:04
after the war is a very interesting time,
14:07
and it helped me understand
14:09
how my, grandparents, my parents,
14:11
and many others
14:13
came back to being functional human beings and
14:15
sort of, like, started new lives.
14:18
And and it's just something that
14:21
I wouldn't be necessarily aware of. And so
14:23
I enjoy,
14:25
being taken into a completely different world and
14:28
try to connect it to what that means
14:30
for me today.
14:32
Joaquin, you've mentioned
14:34
any number of things
14:36
that are related to
14:38
remaining a lifelong learner. I think many health
14:41
care leaders in particular would find this a
14:43
a very important trait.
14:45
And you've told us a lot about yourself
14:47
and your optimism, which I hope is very
14:48
contagious
14:49
wherever you go, by the way.
14:51
But what would you say something else that
14:53
you've learned about yourself now that you've been
14:56
working in health care for a number of
14:57
years?
14:58
Yeah. I I think
15:00
academic health care and health care in general
15:02
is, as I said earlier, is a very
15:04
convoluted business.
15:07
We hold ourselves not fully accountable all the
15:10
time.
15:11
So I wanted to live more in that
15:13
accountability line, which means,
15:16
act with more speed
15:18
and more
15:19
clear purpose,
15:21
but also have the passion. And so we
15:23
also rebranded at UTMB, and you might have
15:26
known that our our tagline is now where
15:28
purpose meets passion.
15:30
And I think those are very important
15:33
two components. One is sort of like the
15:35
business side and really make decisions
15:38
and allow yourself to also make perhaps a
15:40
decision that you later on have to correct
15:43
in some way, hopefully not regret.
15:46
But correction,
15:48
of an approach is is totally normal.
15:50
And in my world, it's a lot better
15:52
than being hesitant and not doing anything really
15:55
and just move one piece from the from
15:57
the right to the left. And I I
15:59
do think there
16:00
there are quite some,
16:02
institutions still out there that that function by
16:04
that. And that doesn't make them bad institution,
16:07
but it's just not adapting as fast as
16:09
they possibly could.
16:11
But the other part is is the passion
16:14
side. So
16:15
find find a true north of why you're
16:17
doing what you're doing and define it other
16:19
than financial success or or just growth.
16:23
Find the passion piece.
16:25
You know, can you can you, create better
16:28
care models?
16:29
Can you find ways of reaching people that
16:32
normally wouldn't have access to care?
16:34
Can you bring science into
16:37
the daily routine of primary care?
16:40
So and all of that is is is
16:42
passion.
16:43
And so if you bring those two things
16:44
together, great things are happening.
16:47
I typically have functioned
16:49
like that.
16:51
Obviously, now with a lot more responsibility
16:54
than before,
16:55
my decisions have, more weight, and I'm aware
16:59
of that. But I generally believe that hesitation
17:02
is failure.
17:04
And, and I think, if if you if
17:07
you make this somewhat your guiding principle,
17:10
then based on good data, based on advice
17:13
from others,
17:15
it is expected of CEOs and presidents to
17:17
actually act.
17:19
And I'm doing that to take, to take
17:22
projects forward.
17:25
But recognizing
17:27
that we are to continuing,
17:30
to to obtain continuous input
17:32
and correct if necessary.
17:35
So hesitations failure. I say it again. It's
17:37
a it's a it's a term that I
17:39
I created, and I try to live by
17:41
it.
17:42
Jokan, I'm so glad that you mentioned that
17:44
aspect of decision making and how it's important
17:46
to to ask, you know, in the face
17:49
of
17:50
sometimes obvious risk even if you have to
17:52
course correct later on. A risk is inherent
17:55
in in just about everything that we do,
17:58
for better or worse, honestly.
18:00
But that does lead me to my next
18:01
question, and that is and and, clearly, you've
18:03
taken a number of risks in your life.
18:06
So, but is there are there any risks
18:09
that stand out to you that
18:11
you think have paid off in particular?
18:15
Well, I would say coming to America
18:17
was certainly,
18:19
a key piece of
18:21
of my life. It it was a very
18:23
quick decision.
18:24
My PhD mentor at that time decided to
18:27
go to The US,
18:29
overnight, literally.
18:30
And and I had another year in, as
18:33
in my PhD thesis, so I decided to
18:36
come with him.
18:37
And then I took the USMLEs
18:39
to get ready for,
18:41
American training and which later I did in
18:44
internal medicine and then nephrology.
18:46
And,
18:47
the test that I took was was very
18:51
in short order coming up, so I didn't
18:53
really have a lot of preparation time.
18:55
And I passed, obviously, the test.
18:57
But, if if I think in retrospect,
19:00
would I sign up for any six hour
19:02
exam
19:03
where I have, like, a week of preparation
19:05
time beforehand in a different language?
19:08
Probably not. But thank God I did that
19:11
because that gave me the timeline to make
19:14
all of this,
19:15
happening.
19:16
And
19:17
so it's just one good example. I I
19:19
typically don't overthink,
19:22
some goals
19:24
when I feel strong about the purpose and
19:26
the passion,
19:27
and I'm just gonna go for it. And
19:29
then I show up, and I was prepared,
19:31
and I passed.
19:32
Now,
19:33
I I I certainly think this was one
19:35
of my my better better decisions in life
19:38
to come here.
19:40
The other part is
19:41
obviously my family. And and I'm not just
19:43
saying that because,
19:45
how can you not say anything nice about
19:47
your family? It's not that. But when you
19:49
have a professional career
19:51
that has so many busy aspects,
19:53
in my case, as somebody
19:55
who who traded continents,
19:58
science,
19:59
clinical medicine, entrepreneurship
20:01
in biotech, and,
20:03
when is your time for a family? And
20:05
the answer is
20:06
there's no time for for for thinking this
20:09
through. You just go for it.
20:10
And and it happens. And now I have
20:12
three adult children, and it's truly the the
20:15
best part of my life, whatever happened to
20:18
me. And so,
20:20
not overthink
20:21
critical things in life and just go for
20:24
it and let them happen, and then build
20:26
your life around it. You can apply the
20:29
same thing to leading academic medicine.
20:31
You can make a decision.
20:33
Let's talk about AI implementation.
20:36
Okay? Instead of thinking this through and through
20:38
and through again, you just make the decision.
20:41
You know what? Let's do it.
20:43
And then once it's there, you build the
20:46
rest around it as you go.
20:49
And it's refreshing for everybody if you do
20:51
it because there's nothing you can plan a
20:53
100% anyway.
20:54
And so I've started to learn that, and
20:57
I've I've sort of, like, led with that
20:59
example.
21:00
And that has made places where I went
21:03
through
21:04
always in the in the areas that I
21:06
controlled, always more nimble
21:10
and, quite frankly, more fun.
21:13
Jovian, I think that is the perfect place
21:15
to end this podcast. I mean, your passion
21:16
has just shine through shown through this entire
21:19
conversation,
21:20
and we can't wait to share with our
21:21
audience. And I'm sure we're gonna run into
21:24
you, cross paths with you again, and I
21:25
look forward to the next time that happens,
21:27
Jovian. I really enjoyed that conversation. I I
21:30
I
21:30
I feel like we could continue for another
21:32
hour, but, our both of our days are
21:34
busy, hopefully, next time. Thank you very much,
21:36
Chris. Enjoyed it.