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Health & Wealth: Leading with Purpose in Healthcare’s Most Challenging Era · Becker’s Healthcare Podcast

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Everyone. This is Molly Gamble with Becker's Healthcare.
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Thank you so much for tuning into the
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Becker's Healthcare podcast series.
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In this special edition of the podcast, we
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are sitting down with two guests, Surya Kalluri,
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head of the TIA Institute,
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one of the most respected research organizations in
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the financial services industry.
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Joining Surya is Stephanie Connors, president and CEO
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of BayCare Health System. Stephanie is the inaugural
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recipient of the TIAA Institute Louise Whitfield Carnegie
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Award, a distinct honor that recognizes exceptional leadership
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in the healthcare C suite.
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Today, we will dive into the TIAA Institute's
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powerful research, health and wealth, two sides of
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the same coin,
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explore what it means to lead with purpose
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in one of the most demanding industries in
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the world, and celebrate a leader whose impact
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on health care is nothing short of extraordinary.
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Surya and Stephanie, thank you for being here
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today.
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Thank you for having us. Thank you, Molly.
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Surya, I'm gonna turn to you first here
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with a couple questions. First, can you tell
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us about the TIA Institute's research mission and
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why health care leadership has become such a
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focus area for your work? And then also,
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what was the driving force behind the introduction
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of this new health care award?
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Wally, thank you so much. It's a real
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pleasure joining you and Stephanie for this conversation
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today.
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And thank you for allowing me to speak
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a little bit about the TI Institute.
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At the institute, we generate research
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and insights that help people and institutions
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make better decisions
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around financial well-being,
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around retirement security,
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and honestly,
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long term resilience.
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And over time, we have come to understand
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in a
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very deep way,
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as you said in your opening remarks, that
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health and wealth
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are not two separate conversations.
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Indeed, we think of them as two sides
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of the same coin.
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We simply cannot have meaningful conversations
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about financial security and well-being
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without also taking health into account. And on
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the other hand, we cannot talk about health
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without acknowledging
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economic forces
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that shape access,
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quality, and the outcomes.
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So
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health care
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has become a very natural focus for us,
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an area that we are kind of been
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doing research on
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because of the scale and complexity
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of the challenges
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that the health care sector faces.
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We're talking about an industry that employs
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millions of people,
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anchors communities as we're gonna learn shortly,
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and is under enormous and simultaneous
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pressure such
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as workforce shortages,
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burnout that our research shows, financial sustainability,
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and, of course,
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without question, the rapid technological transformation.
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And the leaders,
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in health care are navigating all of that
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and deserve serious attention,
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serious research, and recognition.
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So to conclude the answer to this two
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part question, Molly,
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this is what really drove us to create
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this award.
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We wanted to actively recognize and celebrate leaders
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who are doing the hard
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values driven work of building strong, resilient
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health care organizations.
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Really helpful, Surya, to understand your focus area
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at the TIAA Institute on health care and
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then also the impetus for this award.
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I wanna go back to the name of
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it, the TIAA
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Institute Louise Whitfield Carnegie Award.
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It recognizes exceptional health care leadership. Can you
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briefly walk us through, Surya, the criteria
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behind this honor,
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and what specifically distinguished this year's winner?
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Terrific question.
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Molly, we were very intentional
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about designing this award. It was rigorous,
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credible,
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and grounded in values.
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And so we drew upon our experience with
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another institute award that we have for leadership
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excellence in higher education,
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and we established
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five
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core evaluation criteria that we applied,
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for this inaugural
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round as well. The first is visionary leadership,
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meaning the ability to see around the corners
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and set a direction that inspires an organization.
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The second is measurable impact
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because leadership has to translate into real outcomes.
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The third is workforce engagement, and I'm particularly
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passionate about this.
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Workforce engagement, which is especially resonant given the
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staffing and burnout challenges across the sector
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that our research has clearly shown.
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The fourth is partnership within an institution
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across the broader health care community and maybe
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even across sectors.
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And the fifth and final is health care
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transformation.
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The degree to which a leader is actively
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moving the needle
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on how care is delivered
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and how organizations
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evolve. A little bit about the process
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that was also equally rigorous,
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a distinguished panel of five judges
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with expertise spanning health care delivery,
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policy,
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leadership
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independently
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scored each finalist
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and ranked
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and finally came together for a facilitated discussion
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to reach consensus.
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And the results were anonymized
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and aggregated toward to ensure fairness.
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What distinguished
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Stephanie Connors,
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president and CEO of BayCare Health System, was
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the strength of Stephanie's record across every single
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one of these criteria.
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The judges were particularly struck by the combination
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of measurable organizational impact,
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deep and authentic commitment to workforce engagement,
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and a genuinely
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community centered approach to care.
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So Stephanie's leadership reflects the spirit of this
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award
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in its fullest,
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and the spirit is rooted in the legacy
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of Louise Whitfield Carnegie,
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a philanthropic leader who would champion public health,
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human dignity,
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and equity
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during some of the most challenging periods of
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our country's history.
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So we could not be more proud
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that Stephanie is our inaugural
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recipient of this award.
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Thanks for taking us behind the scenes, Surya,
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of of the method and the criteria.
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Five really meaningful things that you were considering
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as you looked at the contenders for this
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recognition.
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Stephanie, time to turn to you and hear
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from the first ever recipient of the Louise
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Whitfield Carnegie award. First of all, congratulations.
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Second, what does this recognition mean to you?
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Thank you. I'm
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when I heard the five points clearly stated,
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again, it's I I can't tell you how
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much it means to me. I don't live
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my life expecting to be recognized. I never
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have. But when
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recognitions is meaningful come forward, it really grounds
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me in my purpose and my why.
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Not because of the award, but because what's
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being noticed is making a difference. That's just
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an incredible gift to know that what I'm
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doing is changing
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the course of
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health care, not because of the care that
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we're delivering, but the people that are delivering
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it. And that's important because we can't deliver
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exceptional care without great people.
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So I'm really deeply humbled and grateful. I
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hope you know my appreciation is beyond words.
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You mentioned, Stephanie, that you have background as
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a nurse. That's how you began your career.
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You mentioned these 34,000
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teammates who you described as the heart of
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BayCare.
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But if we can, I'd love to just
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take a moment and learn a bit more
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about your leadership style.
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I think as Surya laid the groundwork and
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spoke to, healthcare leadership right now comes with
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enormous complexity from the workforce challenges within,
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the patient outcomes, financial sustainability,
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more and more external pressures.
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What leadership philosophy has really guided you and
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continues to guide you through those pressure points?
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Thanks for the question. It's a very good
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one. So coming up as a nurse, but
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also from my childhood,
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there's several things that I've learned.
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Well, one is resilience
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and two is courage. Because in health care,
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you have to have the resilience to adapt
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to not only life changing
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experiences
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for yourself and for others,
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but also the courage to take leaps to
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define health care of the future. We can't
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be traditional any longer.
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Our community and the world needs us to
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be bold and to think differently.
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And empowering individuals to think bold,
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bring those good intentions forward with a desire
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to be a part of the solution
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is really a framework
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of my leadership. I believe that
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creating that runway for individuals to be the
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best of who they are
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and giving them those opportunities
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creates such an incredible environment of innovative and
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bold thinking.
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Leadership
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and caring,
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they go hand in hand.
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When you think about what nurses do every
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single day in caring for the population,
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and then the multidisciplinary
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team that works alongside
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to deliver that extraordinary care,
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it takes a lot of grit.
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And I believe that as a leader,
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your your role is
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integrity. It's dedication to meaningful impact.
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But giving those individuals
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everyone you surround yourself with, from the person
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who greets you at the front door to
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the individual that takes you out
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to your car to go home or to
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bring you back into the environment where you
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thrive.
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It's a complex journey,
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and we, as leaders, have to give
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everyone who surrounds us the opportunity to make
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it better.
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And so in our world of health care
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today, we're evolving.
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We are innovating.
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We are advancing health care in ways that
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are
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unique,
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but bold.
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And day care specifically
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is very much at the forefront
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of technology and advancing care. We're doing so
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many things right now with this large
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force
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to make sure that no one ever has
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to leave West Central Florida for care. We
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wanna take care of patients from first breath
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to last breath. There's no need that they
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need to leave. And our organization
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is has been very successful in advancing the
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environment
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so that you can live, work, and play
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where
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you where where your home is, where your
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family is, and where you wanna be, and
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where you can be most healthy.
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Stephanie, I love that. I love that that's
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the way you're focusing on health care excellence,
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and I think it goes back to Syria's
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point about health and wealth
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so well and sticking close to home when
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you're able to with great care available to
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you.
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One reason awards like this can be really
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meaningful
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is not only for the existing leadership and
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those currently in leadership positions, but also for
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the next wave of healthcare leaders who are
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coming up, the the next generation of executives
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who are watching or listening right now.
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Stephanie, what would you say is the most
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important piece of advice that you would share
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with them as they're building their careers, especially
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in these challenging times?
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This is my favorite question
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because leadership is about impact. It's not the
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title. In fact, I often say, one day
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when I'm no longer on this earth, I
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wanna be remembered as
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a great mom,
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a loving wife,
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a good friend, and someone who made a
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difference in the lives of others. Sometimes one
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person at a time and sometimes in my
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situation, 34,000.
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A title is temporary, but the impact you
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have on the human life is forever.
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And I believe that as leaders, everyone has
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the ability
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to make a difference, but not only as
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leaders, those that you influence. So when I
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speak to individuals coming up in the ranks
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or saying in their exact role for their
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entire career, what I tell them is this,
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I never dreamed of being a CEO.
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I became a nurse, and I thought I
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hit that pinnacle.
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And
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individuals saw things in me that sometimes I
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never even saw on myself,
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but I always worked the hardest in every
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job I was in. I was never looking
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for the next thing. So what I like
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to
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really help people understand
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is
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that if you are your best
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in every job that you have or in
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everything that you do in life, that you
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give it the best of who you are.
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And as in leaders, we enable you to
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be the best of who you are. You
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will reach that pinnacle. And that may be
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something very different than my journey, but it's
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your journey, and your journey is as special.
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So be the best human that you can
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possibly be.
12:36
Live with integrity. Live with compassion.
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Drive yourself in ways that you never dreamed
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possible,
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take measured risk.
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There are so many possibilities out there. Surround
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yourself with incredible people.
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I as I was coming through my career,
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there were so many individuals that I looked
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at that I thought, wow. One day,
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I wanna be just like that, and that's
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because of who they were as a person.
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And then there were other individuals that I
13:06
looked at and I thought, don't repeat those
13:08
behaviors because
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that's not who I want to be. So
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avoid those that you
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don't want in your circle that will influence
13:19
you negatively and surround yourself with those that
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will influence you positively
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because it's important that not only do you
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learn from your mentors on what to do,
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but you also learn what not to do.
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And when you give people that runway to
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be their best human
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possible
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and you are your best self,
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then it's remarkable what you can accomplish together.
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So that's my message.
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Be the best person you can possibly be
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at every step of your life,
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and the world will return in return give
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you what's possible.
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Stephanie, just a real privilege to be able
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to hear from you and hear your thoughts
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and hear you speak to some of the
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pillars, those five pillars behind this recognition as
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you live them daily.
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Surya, I'm I'm gonna turn back to you
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here. Having heard just now from this year's
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Louise Whitfield Carnegie award recipient about the pressing
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challenges and the bold steps needed to move
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health care leadership forward,
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what can we expect from the institute in
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the future as it continues to champion the
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connection between health, wealth,
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and strong leadership in health care.
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Wally, thank you. And I also wanna thank
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you for asking that third question, especially, miss
14:26
Stephanie. How inspiring was it to listen to
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that answer?
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It reminds me of a column I read
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ten years ago
14:32
about distinguishing between
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resume virtues and eulogy virtue virtues, which is,
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you know, who are you as a human
14:39
being? It was genuinely inspiring to listen to
14:42
Stephanie articulate that. And what Stephanie has shared
14:46
in the responses to your questions
14:48
really
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reinforces
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something that we believe deeply at the institute,
14:53
that the well-being of people who lead our
14:55
health care system is inseparable
14:57
from the well-being of patients and the communities
15:00
that they serve. So going forward,
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you can expect the TI Institute to continue
15:06
deepening our research
15:07
at the intersection of health and wealth with
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a particular focus on the forces shaping the
15:12
health care workforce,
15:14
such as financial security,
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burnout,
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talent retention,
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and the evolving,
15:21
what we call
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employee
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value proposition
15:25
that health care organizations
15:27
need to get right
15:29
if we continue to want to attract and
15:32
keep the best people.
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We will also continue to invest in recognizing
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and convening
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the leaders who are driving this sort of
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meaningful change.
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Our hope is that over time,
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this award becomes one of the most meaningful
15:48
recognitions in the health care leadership
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and signals to the entire sector
15:52
that excellence,
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values,
15:55
and impact matters.
15:57
Thank you, Surya, for the look ahead. I'm
15:59
gonna go back to something that Stephanie had
16:01
said as we wind down here. She sees
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her role as serving the 34,000
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individuals who serve the BayCare community
16:08
and ensuring that community has the opportunity to
16:11
receive outstanding care at home from first breath
16:14
to last.
16:15
What stands out to me most today in
16:17
this conversation is how the well-being of those
16:19
who lead our health care system
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is not distinct from the well-being of the
16:23
patients and communities they serve. They are deeply
16:25
connected.
16:26
When we invest in the financial security and
16:28
overall wellness of our health care leaders, we
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are really investing in the future of healthcare
16:33
itself.
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To Surya and Stephanie, I wanna thank you
16:36
for your time, your candor, your commitment to
16:38
making a difference in healthcare and beyond.
16:41
We at Becker's also wanna thank our podcast
16:43
sponsor, TIAA.
16:45
You can tune into more podcasts from Becker's
16:47
Healthcare by visiting our podcast page at beckershospitalreview.com.