Latest / Becker’s Healthcare Podcast / Lisa R. Fox on Authentic Leadership and Protecting Mission

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Lisa R. Fox on Authentic Leadership and Protecting Mission · Becker’s Healthcare Podcast

• 0:00
  - Welcome to this episode of Leadership Unscripted at
• 0:02
  - Becker's Healthcare podcast. I'm Chris Sosa, your host,
• 0:04
  - and I'm thrilled to be joined today by
• 0:06
  - Lisa Fox. She is CEO of the Bradley
• 0:08
  - Center in Pittsburgh. Lisa, thank you for joining
• 0:10
  - us today. Oh, Chris. Thank you for having
• 0:12
  - me. I appreciate it.
• 0:14
  - Yeah. We're so glad to have you on
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  - especially considering you've been with the Bradley Center
• 0:17
  - for
• 0:18
  - quite a long time and have had a
• 0:21
  - much perspective to share with everyone and that's
• 0:23
  - what we're here to do today. But before
• 0:25
  - we do that, just give our audience a
• 0:27
  - little bit more about
• 0:28
  - yourself and your organization.
• 0:30
  - Great. Yes. I am, what I like to
• 0:33
  - call either classic or vintage.
• 0:35
  - I've been with the Bradley Center for twenty
• 0:37
  - seven years and, when I first started, I
• 0:40
  - had a five year plan and then just
• 0:41
  - led the organization so much, I extended it
• 0:44
  - out an additional
• 0:45
  - twenty two years. And I've been in the
• 0:47
  - CEO role since,
• 0:49
  - 2007.
• 0:51
  - And, the Bradley Center is a private nonprofit
• 0:54
  - located right outside of Pittsburgh.
• 0:57
  - We have a psychiatric
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  - residential treatment facility serving children and adolescents ages
• 1:02
  - six to 18. We have a day school
• 1:04
  - program where we work with,
• 1:07
  - quite a few up to, 20 different school
• 1:09
  - districts in our area,
• 1:11
  - and they have, kids coming in each day
• 1:13
  - to attend school on grounds with us. We
• 1:15
  - have a school based mental health program, and
• 1:17
  - then we also have, an outpatient program.
• 1:20
  - And we've kinda ebb and flowed through the
• 1:22
  - years right now. We have about 300 staff,
• 1:24
  - and, we serve children predominantly
• 1:27
  - from, all over Pennsylvania
• 1:29
  - and, also, parts of West Virginia and occasional
• 1:32
  - Ohio as well.
• 1:34
  - Thanks for sharing all those highlights, Lisa. Yeah.
• 1:36
  - I think vintage is a great way to
• 1:38
  - say it. I think it's fine wine. Right?
• 1:41
  - Exactly. Exactly. You know, so many things get
• 1:44
  - better as we age. Right? We have to
• 1:45
  - look at it that way.
• 1:47
  - Yeah. I'm so glad that you're able to
• 1:49
  - talk about the Bradley Center and the work
• 1:51
  - that you're doing there today through,
• 1:53
  - this conversation.
• 1:54
  - So, Lisa, the first question I wanna ask
• 1:56
  - you is simply, what is something you've learned
• 1:59
  - outside of health care that you've been able
• 2:01
  - to apply to your career?
• 2:03
  - Yeah. That's, that's a really good question. You
• 2:05
  - know, I think,
• 2:06
  - one of the biggest learn things that I've
• 2:08
  - learned
• 2:09
  - outside of health care,
• 2:11
  - also, you know, I was new a new
• 2:13
  - parent and and just doing different work within
• 2:15
  - the community,
• 2:17
  - and at different positions that I've held in
• 2:18
  - the past is that you don't have to
• 2:21
  - be the smartest person in the room.
• 2:23
  - The person who has all the answers that
• 2:25
  - everyone looks to to be the end all.
• 2:28
  - But what I would say, what I've learned
• 2:30
  - is you wanna surround yourself,
• 2:33
  - with people who are much smarter than you
• 2:35
  - are.
• 2:36
  - We cannot, I feel,
• 2:38
  - we can't be all things at all times
• 2:41
  - to all people, but there are others,
• 2:43
  - if you bring them on your journey with
• 2:45
  - you
• 2:46
  - and to the table, where you can learn
• 2:48
  - so much and they can always support the
• 2:50
  - team and the ultimate mission of the work
• 2:52
  - that you're trying to achieve.
• 2:54
  - And the other thing too that I I
• 2:55
  - really have learned everywhere is that relationships
• 2:59
  - matter enormously.
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  - Especially in health care, we can get very
• 3:03
  - focused on, you know, regulations,
• 3:06
  - numbers,
• 3:07
  - you know, reimbursement,
• 3:09
  - operations, all those those other things,
• 3:12
  - but and they all matter, and they all
• 3:14
  - matter a lot.
• 3:15
  - But at the end of the day,
• 3:17
  - people really do business with people that they
• 3:20
  - trust.
• 3:21
  - And, I think that's one of the important
• 3:23
  - things that I've learned everywhere that I've gone
• 3:25
  - is that,
• 3:27
  - you need to be trustworthy
• 3:29
  - and and work hard and and care about
• 3:31
  - people. And so I've tried to incorporate that
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  - into,
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  - you know, into every aspect of of my
• 3:37
  - leadership.
• 3:39
  - That's very well said, Lisa.
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  - To follow-up on that, so
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  - on the subject of relationships and trust,
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  - what do you and your leadership team at
• 3:48
  - the Bradley Center do to foster that?
• 3:52
  - We
• 3:53
  - we go back and forth a lot.
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  - We we really work together. And, you know,
• 3:58
  - and and
• 3:59
  - we touch upon it in in all areas
• 4:02
  - of leadership,
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  - but I feel that we really work together.
• 4:06
  - And,
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  - we don't always say things to one another
• 4:10
  - that we each wanna hear. We need to
• 4:12
  - be authentic. We need to be truthful.
• 4:14
  - And,
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  - net I don't think anyone on my team
• 4:18
  - would be a yes person. They all are
• 4:20
  - very authentic and individual, and what they bring
• 4:23
  - to the table and what really works for
• 4:24
  - us,
• 4:26
  - is that, you know, they each bring a
• 4:28
  - piece of the puzzle, which ultimately leads to
• 4:31
  - a solution.
• 4:33
  - That makes total sense to me, Lisa. In
• 4:35
  - fact, our our leadership team here at Becker's
• 4:37
  - is always reminding us that being uncomfortable is
• 4:40
  - actually part of growth. So you you can't
• 4:43
  - learn if if everyone's telling you the same
• 4:45
  - thing and and all the things that you
• 4:46
  - wanna hear to to use your treble phrase.
• 4:49
  - Everything's an opportunity for improvement. We don't have
• 4:52
  - we don't have problems. We have well, we
• 4:55
  - do have problems to solve, but they're usually
• 4:57
  - opportunities
• 4:58
  - for improvement.
• 4:59
  - There's a reason. Right? Great way to think
• 5:01
  - of it. Great way to think of it,
• 5:02
  - Lisa. Yeah.
• 5:04
  - So the next question I have for you
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  - is, you know, even though you're you're surrounding
• 5:08
  - yourself with people you trust in building these
• 5:10
  - relationships,
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  - everyone's gonna have tough days including you even
• 5:14
  - though you're the CEO. Right? So when you
• 5:16
  - do have these tough days, what are you
• 5:18
  - doing to move forward? Is it something you
• 5:19
  - turn to, something you do? What does that
• 5:21
  - process look like?
• 5:23
  - Well, I can't tell you how many times
• 5:25
  - in twenty seven years it's I've I've just
• 5:28
  - sat back and thought, you know, how are
• 5:29
  - we gonna get through this one?
• 5:31
  - And, in health care, there's never an exhale.
• 5:34
  - I've waited for it for a long time,
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  - but when you when you work to solve
• 5:39
  - or find a solution on one issue, there's
• 5:41
  - always another one,
• 5:43
  - knocking at your door. And, you know, I'm
• 5:46
  - I always go back to people in mission.
• 5:49
  - I'm very, very blessed to,
• 5:52
  - have a,
• 5:53
  - a a a really,
• 5:54
  - nice, vast,
• 5:57
  - support
• 5:57
  - group.
• 5:59
  - Friends, family, our board of directors are amazing.
• 6:02
  - I have some great mentors.
• 6:05
  - But for me personally, and this this might
• 6:07
  - sound a little bit unusual,
• 6:09
  - but on some of my toughest days, and
• 6:11
  - this was particularly true, during COVID and
• 6:15
  - and,
• 6:16
  - when we were all at such a loss
• 6:18
  - as far as what what should we do.
• 6:21
  - We have a portrait of Elizabeth a Bradley
• 6:24
  - in our lobby.
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  - And she, first started the Bradley Center, well,
• 6:28
  - in nineteen o three actually, but it it
• 6:30
  - it brought six kids in from our local
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  - area in nineteen o five. So we look
• 6:35
  - at nineteen o five as the start date.
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  - However, I I find myself, and maybe this
• 6:41
  - is just a moment to decompress
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  - and process, but I find myself staring at
• 6:46
  - her portrait going, okay. Kayla's both,
• 6:49
  - what would you have done?
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  - But but more importantly,
• 6:53
  - it's not specifically or necessarily
• 6:55
  - to her, but her portrait represents to me
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  - over a a hundred and twenty some odd
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  - years of leadership that have been able to
• 7:04
  - to to thrive and grow and serve kids
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  - and families through world wars,
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  - through other other, another pandemic, you know, the
• 7:12
  - Spanish flu, through the depression,
• 7:14
  - through through times that
• 7:17
  - that were were just really difficult times in
• 7:20
  - our history.
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  - And so
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  - staring at her portrait along with my support
• 7:26
  - group and everyone else I mentioned really helps
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  - me focus on
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  - if other leaders can do this, we can
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  - too.
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  - And I hope she appreciates that wherever she
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  - is now, but, I do sometimes like I
• 7:39
  - said, it might be unusual, but I do
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  - find
• 7:42
  - myself just saying, okay. They made it through
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  - things that were much worse than this. We
• 7:46
  - can do it.
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  - It's so lovely that you're able to lean
• 7:50
  - on that legacy
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  - that she started, as you mentioned, more than
• 7:53
  - a 100 years ago. And Yeah. Yeah. It's
• 7:56
  - just one thing after another as you mentioned
• 7:58
  - in health care, but you you find a
• 8:00
  - way through,
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  - with the people you trust the most. That
• 8:03
  - that's such a beautiful sentiment, Lisa. Yeah.
• 8:06
  - Another thing I wanted to chat with you
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  - about is
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  - certainly being in a leadership position is gonna
• 8:12
  - provide and require time for self reflection. You
• 8:16
  - know, as as we mentioned, you're you're learning,
• 8:18
  - you're growing. It's also part of being a
• 8:19
  - leader. So what is something you've learned about
• 8:22
  - yourself
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  - from working in health care?
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  - Well, I think that's every day.
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  - I don't think I will ever
• 8:30
  - land
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  - on,
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  - thinking that I've arrived or I
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  - I couldn't have done things
• 8:38
  - differently or better in some occasions.
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  - But I think because of that,
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  - what I've learned is,
• 8:46
  - resiliency.
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  - You know, we talk a lot about resiliency
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  - with our our kids and families and clients
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  - that we work with and how important it
• 8:55
  - is to be
• 8:56
  - resilient and and push through things and and
• 9:00
  - hopefully get to the other side in a
• 9:02
  - in a healthy way.
• 9:04
  - And health care, being in a nonprofit, it
• 9:07
  - just tests you all the time. There's always
• 9:09
  - staffing challenges, always financial challenges,
• 9:12
  - regulatory changes,
• 9:15
  - difficult decisions that you know,
• 9:17
  - you know, are going to make some people
• 9:20
  - unhappy.
• 9:22
  - I've learned that
• 9:24
  - I I can sit in uncertainty,
• 9:27
  - much longer than I thought I could. I've
• 9:29
  - I've always tried to be a problem solver.
• 9:32
  - And,
• 9:33
  - some things you just can't figure out immediately
• 9:37
  - And, you really need to sit back and
• 9:39
  - think through it and be okay with being
• 9:41
  - uncomfortable or being okay with not having an
• 9:44
  - answer right away,
• 9:46
  - because you need to you need to figure
• 9:48
  - it out.
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  - But I think most importantly,
• 9:52
  - what I think I've really learned
• 9:54
  - is that I I truly
• 9:56
  - care. I care about people.
• 9:59
  - I care about our mission,
• 10:01
  - and I care about our our community. I
• 10:04
  - had the opportunity to work in a lot
• 10:06
  - of different areas,
• 10:08
  - in our field,
• 10:09
  - and I I I chose kids
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  - because I really feel that we have such
• 10:15
  - an opportunity,
• 10:17
  - to change the future through the kids that
• 10:19
  - we work with.
• 10:21
  - So, yeah, finding out that I I really
• 10:23
  - do care.
• 10:25
  - And I guess that can be a strength
• 10:26
  - and a weakness, you know.
• 10:28
  - When I was new to the field, I
• 10:30
  - really had to learn how to how to
• 10:32
  - leave it at work and not bring it
• 10:34
  - home with me all the time. I started
• 10:36
  - in clinical psych as a therapist, and so
• 10:39
  - caring sometimes is a good thing and a
• 10:41
  - bad thing.
• 10:42
  - But,
• 10:43
  - but I do truly believe that one of
• 10:45
  - the things that I've learned is if you
• 10:46
  - keep
• 10:48
  - being fair, working hard, and keeping people
• 10:51
  - at the center of your decisions,
• 10:55
  - you know, you can usually find your way.
• 10:57
  - Right, wrong, indifferent, I mean,
• 11:00
  - yeah.
• 11:01
  - I I would certainly categorize
• 11:03
  - caring as a strength more often than a
• 11:04
  - weakness, but I I hear what you're saying
• 11:06
  - that it it can be
• 11:08
  - something that
• 11:10
  - inspires and and conjures difficulty in your mind,
• 11:12
  - especially in these
• 11:14
  - times of uncertainty that you mentioned. It's just
• 11:16
  - hard to be at the top sometimes and
• 11:18
  - think, okay. Especially when if you've been a
• 11:20
  - person who's
• 11:21
  - used to
• 11:23
  - having all the answers when you've gone from
• 11:25
  - one step to the next to the next,
• 11:26
  - and you get to a point and say,
• 11:27
  - oh, I'm not sure what to do in
• 11:29
  - this case and how to deal with that.
• 11:30
  - That just can't be easy.
• 11:32
  - Right. It it is very challenging sometimes. And,
• 11:35
  - again,
• 11:36
  - opening yourself up to
• 11:39
  - the authentic vulnerability that you experience
• 11:42
  - as a leader, especially I feel in the
• 11:44
  - nonprofit field and pulling in,
• 11:47
  - individuals
• 11:48
  - who can bring their perspective is just really
• 11:51
  - critical.
• 11:52
  - Speaking of challenges, Lisa,
• 11:54
  - so you mentioned COVID, and there are so
• 11:57
  - many other things that that you as a
• 11:59
  - health care CEO have to deal with on
• 12:01
  - a daily basis as you mentioned.
• 12:03
  - So
• 12:04
  - on that note, is there a moment or
• 12:08
  - period that you consider the most memorable
• 12:11
  - of your career?
• 12:12
  - Well,
• 12:14
  - working in this field for as long as
• 12:16
  - I have, we there are so many memorable
• 12:18
  - moments, especially,
• 12:20
  - you know, specific to,
• 12:22
  - patients, residents, clients, families that we've served.
• 12:26
  - You know,
• 12:28
  - watching that type of, individual growth has always
• 12:31
  - been
• 12:32
  - why
• 12:33
  - I do and many of us who look
• 12:35
  - at this as a calling
• 12:36
  - do what we do. And And if we
• 12:38
  - ever need to be to be regrounded, just
• 12:40
  - walk through a unit or go sit in
• 12:42
  - a classroom, and you can definitely
• 12:45
  - remember why we do this work.
• 12:48
  - But, honestly, you know, the periods that stand
• 12:50
  - out to me the most aren't aren't necessarily,
• 12:54
  - well, I guess the big celebrations
• 12:56
  - or the the big accomplishments,
• 12:59
  - outside of the individual,
• 13:01
  - you know, moments with,
• 13:03
  - with the kids and families. But to me,
• 13:05
  - really, they're the times that our organization came
• 13:08
  - through something really difficult.
• 13:10
  - You know, I I've seen people just step
• 13:13
  - up in extraordinary
• 13:15
  - ways.
• 13:16
  - I've watched staff members come in every day
• 13:18
  - and continue to care for,
• 13:21
  - you know, for our kids during some of
• 13:22
  - the most challenging circumstances.
• 13:25
  - And, you know, I've watched people solve problems
• 13:27
  - that initially seemed to be impossible.
• 13:29
  - And for me, from where I sit, those
• 13:32
  - are the moments that I am most proud
• 13:34
  - of
• 13:35
  - because they remind me of what an organization
• 13:38
  - is really made of.
• 13:39
  - People working together to do the right thing
• 13:42
  - for those in need.
• 13:44
  - And,
• 13:45
  - you know, after,
• 13:47
  - you know, almost, what, three decades,
• 13:50
  - you know, I'm
• 13:52
  - really blessed and and
• 13:53
  - proud,
• 13:54
  - you know, to feel like I've been able
• 13:56
  - to be part of something that hopefully has
• 13:59
  - enhanced people's lives.
• 14:01
  - And that's, you know, those that we serve,
• 14:03
  - but also our our staff and communities,
• 14:06
  - you know, around us.
• 14:08
  - I can only imagine that they're glad to
• 14:10
  - have you, Lisa.
• 14:12
  - Oh, wow. And not that anyone is is
• 14:14
  - saying, hey. Lisa's time is coming to an
• 14:17
  - end.
• 14:18
  - But but it will happen eventually. Right? Oh,
• 14:21
  - yes. Have to prepare for. Well, it depends
• 14:24
  - on how much brainpower you wanna give to
• 14:25
  - that on a given day. Right? Right.
• 14:28
  - The the question I would ask you is
• 14:30
  - is simply what advice would you give your
• 14:32
  - successor whenever that is?
• 14:35
  - Well,
• 14:35
  - I think
• 14:37
  - I would tell my successor
• 14:39
  - you do you.
• 14:41
  - And,
• 14:42
  - you know,
• 14:43
  - you have to lead authentically
• 14:45
  - and be someone that you are. You know,
• 14:47
  - for me personally, my background was clinical. I
• 14:50
  - I was never,
• 14:51
  - you know, the financial person.
• 14:54
  - You know, I didn't come to the table
• 14:55
  - with an MBA or, you know, the financial
• 14:59
  - education that that others at my table definitely
• 15:02
  - have.
• 15:03
  - But outside of that,
• 15:05
  - you can still lead. We have a tremendous
• 15:08
  - history at Bradley and, you know, respecting and
• 15:10
  - preserving that history is really important, but you
• 15:13
  - can't lead by looking in the rear view
• 15:15
  - mirror.
• 15:16
  - You have got to understand where the organization
• 15:19
  - needs to go next and you need to
• 15:20
  - have a vision.
• 15:22
  - And looking
• 15:24
  - beyond
• 15:25
  - the borders and the walls of this agency,
• 15:28
  - you need to look forward
• 15:30
  - to see how we can continue to serve
• 15:32
  - the mission.
• 15:33
  - I would also tell them to listen more
• 15:35
  - than you talk,
• 15:37
  - you know, especially in the beginning, you know,
• 15:39
  - get out there, get out of the office,
• 15:40
  - talk to people doing the work.
• 15:43
  - You know, talk to staff,
• 15:45
  - they've been here twenty, thirty years, talk to
• 15:47
  - staff who've been here two weeks, six months.
• 15:50
  - They often have, you know, a better perspective
• 15:52
  - because they're they're new to the environment.
• 15:55
  - Talk to the kids and families
• 15:57
  - and and communities.
• 16:00
  - And I think,
• 16:01
  - finally,
• 16:03
  - what I would tell them
• 16:05
  - is to protect
• 16:07
  - the mission and our culture.
• 16:10
  - And when I I say culture, you know,
• 16:12
  - we can change strategies, programs, structures, processes, but
• 16:15
  - if you lose sight of what the mission
• 16:18
  - is
• 16:19
  - and the culture,
• 16:21
  - the sense that people truly matter, you've really
• 16:24
  - lost something that's difficult to rebuild.
• 16:26
  - You can't
• 16:28
  - rebuild a culture in short term. That takes
• 16:30
  - a long term investment,
• 16:32
  - you know, into to every everything that we
• 16:34
  - do. So I know I've been a little
• 16:36
  - long winded with that, but I would say
• 16:38
  - be authentic, take care of your people, stay
• 16:40
  - close to the mission,
• 16:42
  - protect the culture, and don't be afraid to
• 16:44
  - make the hard decisions. So we're sustainable into
• 16:47
  - the future.
• 16:49
  - That's great advice, certainly, Lisa. And lastly, you
• 16:52
  - mentioned,
• 16:53
  - what gives you pride with
• 16:56
  - have all the work that you're doing at
• 16:57
  - the Bradley Center. What sustains
• 17:00
  - your mission at the Bradley Center, and what
• 17:03
  - does that mission look like on a daily
• 17:05
  - basis?
• 17:07
  - Our staff, you know, without a doubt, what
• 17:10
  - it looks like on a daily basis is
• 17:12
  - open communication,
• 17:14
  - respect for one another,
• 17:16
  - a good we're small, so we can each
• 17:18
  - have a good understanding
• 17:20
  - of what each department brings to the table
• 17:23
  - and how everyone,
• 17:25
  - staff wise, is integral to everything that we
• 17:28
  - do.
• 17:29
  - Food service,
• 17:31
  - facilities,
• 17:32
  - every department plays a critical role
• 17:35
  - in the work that we do at Bradley.
• 17:38
  - And those individuals
• 17:40
  - have interactions with the kids. The kids are
• 17:42
  - constantly watching at all levels. Teachers
• 17:45
  - have just
• 17:46
  - I would say the sustainable piece without a
• 17:48
  - doubt,
• 17:49
  - making sure that the individuals that are working
• 17:52
  - here
• 17:53
  - see it as more than a job.
• 17:55
  - See it as an opportunity
• 17:57
  - to make a difference in kids' lives.
• 18:00
  - Well, Lisa, I think that is the perfect
• 18:01
  - place to end our conversation today. Thank you
• 18:03
  - so much for being on the podcast, and
• 18:05
  - I can't wait till the next time our
• 18:07
  - pass cross. Thank you very much.
• 18:09
  - It's a pleasure. Thank you.