Hello, everybody, and welcome to another amazing episode of Unstoppable Success, the podcast.
Speaker AWe hear from amazing leaders, humans and professionals and how they have risen to success and had that unstoppable success.
Speaker AAnd today I have another great human with me, and that is Chris Nicholas.
Speaker AAnd let me tell you a little bit about Chris.
Speaker AHe actually is the chief executive officer of Renown Regional Medical center, which he in Reno is one of, well, the only hospital you actually ever want to go to.
Speaker ABut he has had a great rise, starting off in Texas and rising up through administration, executive directorship to again now being the CEO of the Regional Medical Center.
Speaker AHe has had a great rise and he's got great tips, shares of wisdom on how he has risen to this position in such a short amount of time.
Speaker ASo welcome, Chris.
Speaker BThanks, Jacqueline.
Speaker BAnd to the comment about the hospital, we're proud of what we do here, but I do think we have other good, good providers in our community and around our community as well.
Speaker BBut we're definitely proud of the work we do at Renown.
Speaker AWell, you know, I am a little partial, but, you know, for those of you that don't know, my husband is actually a physician at the hospital.
Speaker ABut it is like most communities, there are great medical providers at all the different locations, but we are partial to Renown.
Speaker ASo, Chris, you know, as I shared, you started in Texas.
Speaker AYou actually have got a little bit back and forth from Texas to Nevada, but you're now the CEO of the hospital.
Speaker AAnd it has not been like many, many, many, many years, like 20 years.
Speaker AIt's been a short amount of time.
Speaker ASo can you share a little bit about your rise to CEO?
Speaker BYeah, absolutely.
Speaker BI'll give you a little bit of background, but I'll attribute it to two simple things, which is a little bit of dumb luck and timing.
Speaker BBut going back, I really didn't intentionally go into healthcare originally.
Speaker BI went to law school and on day three realized that that wasn't the path in life for me and called my then girlfriend of two weeks and now wonderful wife Denise of 15 years, actually as of two days from now.
Speaker AHappy anniversary.
Speaker BThank you.
Speaker BAnd.
Speaker BAnd told her I was going to drop out of law school and she said okay.
Speaker BAnd thank goodness she was there because I don't know that I would have made that move without that kind of support.
Speaker BAnd funny enough, I called her back two weeks later and told her I was going to be a golf pro.
Speaker BAnd she told me no, said I wasn't good enough.
Speaker BAnd thank goodness again that she was there because she was very Much right.
Speaker BAnd very likely right.
Speaker BSo.
Speaker BBut then I obviously found my way into health care.
Speaker BI decided to go get an mha.
Speaker BStill not for the typical reasons that people get into healthcare.
Speaker BMost of the people in healthcare have this calling from a pretty early point in life, whether it's because of a life event or they just are naturally called to the profession and the science.
Speaker BBut I got into it because it used to be seemingly a recession proof industry, a father who was a financial advisor.
Speaker BAnd so it made a lot of sense.
Speaker BThe Affordable Care act was happening and the government was pretty focused on changing healthcare.
Speaker BAnd so it seemed like a good field to go into because I didn't have that typical path in.
Speaker BI really struggled to find a job.
Speaker BI was seemingly overqualified getting an MHA to take an entry level position in a hospital, but I was seemingly under qualified to lead people because I had not led anybody before.
Speaker BAnd so I found myself in this gray area.
Speaker BI ultimately found my way into what they call post acute care or skilled nursing facility leadership, which I thought would be a one year stop and then I would just catapult my way into being the CEO of a hospital and ended up spending six years in the work.
Speaker BI generally loved what I did.
Speaker BI got the opportunity to care for some of the most vulnerable population and probably one of the most challenging areas of healthcare.
Speaker BAnd it taught me some true values around how to operate and lead in the healthcare space.
Speaker BIt really forced me because of no layers to learn how to engage with patients, how to engage with clinicians and really how to navigate challenges across the board, whether it be in the rev cycle or the human resources or obviously the clinical aspects of things.
Speaker BAnd then what brought me into Renown was a couple of years later you mentioned I had moved back and forth.
Speaker BI had kind of seemingly told my wife we were going to move from Texas to Reno.
Speaker BWas really drawn by snowboarding and a little bit naive and novice in marriage.
Speaker BAnd so I said we're moving to Reno and apparently you should ask.
Speaker BAnd so we ultimately moved.
Speaker BShe's always again been a wonderful support system.
Speaker BAnd then a couple of months, couple of years into that, sorry, we, I got the itch to move back to Texas.
Speaker BThings didn't materialize as I thought they would here.
Speaker BAnd we did so in about eight months.
Speaker BAnd she looked across the table and said, I'm moving back to Reno.
Speaker BYou can come if you want.
Speaker BAnd that's when Renown called.
Speaker BAnd I don't think that there's such a thing as coincidence.
Speaker BI think everything Happens for a reason.
Speaker BAnd I started in our inpatient rehab hospital and that's where I realized I was always called to healthcare.
Speaker BI just didn't know it.
Speaker BIt took a exceptional not for profit healthcare organization like Renown to make me realize the impact that you can have leading in healthcare and participating in healthcare in a community like Reno.
Speaker BAnd then the rest is kind of history.
Speaker BIn Renown.
Speaker BI've just a little bit of it, like I said, has been kind of right place, right time and timing and luck and I've had the opportunity to progress through the organization.
Speaker BI've had a lot of support in doing that.
Speaker BBut you know, if you attribute it to a couple of things like how do you go from running a skilled nursing facility to I GUESS it's maybe nine years now later, 10 years later, having the privilege of being the CEO of the largest hospital in the region.
Speaker BOutside of the luck and timing, it's self investment.
Speaker BI actually gave this advice to a healthcare MHA student a couple of months ago.
Speaker BHe met with me and I recommended some books for him.
Speaker BAnd then when we came back together about six months later, I asked if he read them and he said no, he didn't have time.
Speaker BMy next question was how many social media apps do you have and how long do you spend on them?
Speaker BHe proceeded to tell me about 30 minutes a day and I said 30 minutes on each app and that's two or two and a half hours a day.
Speaker BAnd I just simply said, you know, if you want to be different, you have to behave different and so pick up the books and read them there.
Speaker BThere's a reason that that there's a recommendation for them.
Speaker BI think the other is often new leaders especially, or just people in general really think about the organization as their sole source of development.
Speaker BAnd while I think that it is the organization's responsibility to develop people, I also think that that that doesn't take you as far as you want to go.
Speaker BIf you're that passionate, you've got to invest in your own sel.
Speaker BGood organizations will have development for leaders and for the team members, but you can go much further if you take the time to invest yourself.
Speaker BThe other is just being a sponge, right?
Speaker BAggressive learning, picking up anything that I could.
Speaker BI already kind of touched on it, but obsessive reading is how I would categorize it and then finding my way into rooms and next to people that were doing the things that I wanted to do.
Speaker BEd Mylett has a great quote that most learning is caught, not taught.
Speaker BAnd I think that that's really true.
Speaker BObserving and listening, you can pick up a tremendous amount of skills and expertise just from that.
Speaker BAnd then I'd say lastly is, well, maybe two more things.
Speaker BSeeking mentorship.
Speaker BIt's pretty surprising how available people that have had high levels of success will make themselves to people that are eager and hungry to learn and grow.
Speaker BAnd LinkedIn has been a great resource.
Speaker BI picked up several mentors along the way, both through that avenue as well as others.
Speaker BAnd the last one is being coachable.
Speaker BYou know, it's sometimes harder the higher you get that you have to control that ego a little bit.
Speaker BBut I think being open to feedback and seeking that feedback aggressively and then doing something with that feedback is critically important.
Speaker AYeah, I love that.
Speaker AWell, you said a couple of things I want to kind of go back to.
Speaker ASo you went in to that first, you know, facility, you know, and you were thinking, you know, one year.
Speaker AYou were thinking one year, and then off to a CEO.
Speaker BYeah, of course, right.
Speaker B23, 24 years old.
Speaker BOf course.
Speaker ASo this is gonna sound like a.
Speaker AYou know, what made you decide, like, so then, right.
Speaker AI mean, obviously you say there's six years, but.
Speaker ABut what made you decide that you wanted to be a CEO, and then was there something that made you, in that six years, realize you had to learn?
Speaker BI think it's a lifelong learning experience, but, yes, what made me want to be a CEO, I think initially, going into the mha, that's just kind of the natural mindset of a lot of people, is that's kind of the progression that you see yourself getting to at some point.
Speaker BBut the reality is, I think it became more real as I was leading that first facility, and just the impact that I could have on the people that I led, the people that.
Speaker BThat they led, and the people that they cared for.
Speaker BAnd so I said this to leaders often, especially clinicians.
Speaker BClinicians always struggle to make that leap into the.
Speaker BYou know, sometimes the full leadership or just the leadership role in general.
Speaker BWe talk to a nurse, and they'll say, you know, I just.
Speaker BI really love caring for my patients and making sure they get great care.
Speaker BAnd I said, well, you can multiply that by 100 or 500.
Speaker BIf you really focus on, you know, leading your teams in the right ways and empowering and supporting your teams to care for patients.
Speaker BYou can.
Speaker BYou can have that effect, but at a much more magnified proportion.
Speaker AYeah, that's.
Speaker AThat's.
Speaker AYou know, it's.
Speaker AIt's.
Speaker AYou know, it's the impact and the duplication of, like, or the, the mass.
Speaker APeople that you can actually affect is.
Speaker AIs great in that leadership role, more so than just obviously the one on one.
Speaker ASo, you know, the.
Speaker AAnd I think this is something that is.
Speaker AIs somewhat harder for a lot more people than they actually realize, but which is, you know, you even said, you know, it's great where you can actually, you know, whether it's leadership knowledge, a lot of times it's caught, not taught.
Speaker AAnd that takes listening.
Speaker AAnd so how do you as a leader really bring that out to people?
Speaker ABecause so many people, you walk into the room and they're so used to like, oh, I've got to raise my hand, I got to raise my hand or I got to speak.
Speaker AAnd, and they, they don't know how to use these two things next to their, you know, on the side of their head, which are their ears.
Speaker BYeah.
Speaker BI think I have two sayings.
Speaker BOne is, I think commonly known and the other comes from an executive coach that I recently had.
Speaker BThe first one is, is you have two eyes and two ears and one mouth for a reason.
Speaker BRight.
Speaker BIs you should be observing and listening more than you should be talking.
Speaker BAnd great leaders do that.
Speaker BMy most recent coaching venture, which had some of the most profound impacts on my life, he said good leaders know how to ask the right questions and then shut up and the people will help get to the right answers.
Speaker BAnd a lot of times it's not the answer that you would have come up with as the leader.
Speaker BAnd so I think it's a skill I continue to work on and I think many leaders try to focus on is usually when you're in executive leadership rooms, everybody's technically smart and technically good at their job, but it's those what we call interpersonal skills that.
Speaker BAnd listening is one of those.
Speaker BHow do you become kind of a fanatical listener is critically important.
Speaker BAnd I think by doing that, you really empower your teams too.
Speaker BIf you're the first to speak as the CEO, it's pretty likely that people are going to run with that idea or that thought as opposed to generating their own original thoughts.
Speaker BOr they may know exactly what to do, but they may decide not to say it.
Speaker BSo I think you sometimes have to get out of your own way.
Speaker BAnd a lot of times, like my coach said, ask the right questions and then just be quiet.
Speaker ARight.
Speaker ASo would you say that, you know, I mean, I, I find that the active, active listening is so much harder and then also being able to ask the question and then as we say chip, clip it or zip it.
Speaker BYeah.
Speaker BYou know, there's actually a simple thing you can do to these days to help with listening.
Speaker BI think we are a distracted society.
Speaker BRight.
Speaker BIt's.
Speaker BAnd how often do you sit in meetings and see phones and computers and iPads and all of those things.
Speaker BRight.
Speaker AAnd.
Speaker BAnd trust me, I'm guilty of it.
Speaker BLike anybody you have that the dopamine hit almost right.
Speaker BAnd you want to solve the problem quickly and that little device in your hand gives you the ability to do it.
Speaker BBut, but oftentimes you the substance and the context and the importance of the discussion.
Speaker BAnd so, you know, even creating rules around meetings can be valuable with your teams to say, hey, we're committed to this next hour of time to, you know, discuss whatever the topic is we're here to discuss.
Speaker BAnd let's, let's put the phones down and be present with each other and make sure that we're giving this our full attention because it probably deserves it given that we brought this group of people into the room.
Speaker AYeah.
Speaker ASo how do you go.
Speaker AHow.
Speaker AAs a CEO, I mean, you know, by creating that meeting structure.
Speaker AAnd a lot of times people say, like meeting paralysis.
Speaker AHow do you avoid that?
Speaker BYeah, I think it starts first with kind of rules to engagement.
Speaker BAnd so depending on the meeting, if it's kind of your routine executive leadership meeting, call it each week.
Speaker BYou know, having a clear agenda is really important.
Speaker BThat's done in advance.
Speaker BI think any meeting should really have an agenda.
Speaker BHow often do we, especially these days, we get on virtual meetings and you've got 10 people sitting there and you can kind of, you can kind of add up how much the meeting costs for the hour.
Speaker BAnd, and there's no agenda.
Speaker BIt just somebody tries to kick it off.
Speaker BAnd there's not a lot of structure.
Speaker BSo I think a little bit of rules of engagement, a clear agenda.
Speaker BI think content in advance, like pre reads are really important.
Speaker BSo this is something our team has been working on is, is that if you have a topic that you're going to be presenting content on that it's in there 24 hours in advance.
Speaker BAnd then everybody else's responsibility is to look at it and do the pre read so that you're.
Speaker BYou're informed coming into the room.
Speaker BAnd then we really try to practice two things kind of throughout the meeting.
Speaker BAnd really at the end is.
Speaker BIs making sure that we do the next agenda while we're sitting there so that the people that have that responsibility to bring something into the next encounter know it and are on the hook for it.
Speaker BAnd then secondly, Is, you know, really making sure that we understand what did we talk about today, what decisions did we make and what should people know that aren't in this room that we need to communicate to them?
Speaker BSo that helps create clarity and alignment from the team.
Speaker BWe all heard the same thing, we all agreed to this and this is what we're going to communicate.
Speaker BSo there's some consistency coming out of it.
Speaker AYou know, I really like that, being able to create the agenda and create that consistency.
Speaker AAnd it kind of brings me back up to the question of accountability and where people are, you know, today were one of the topics that, you know, I've been actually listening to a book, I tend to listen to a lot of books as I walk my dog.
Speaker AAnd you know, as leaders, you know, one thing that has been said in like the past, like when I was in the corporate world, it was like, you know, you had your job, you did your, you know, you came in, you had the blinders on, right?
Speaker AAnd people didn't necessarily know what your, what your life was outside side of work or that you were not supposed to even think about your life outside of work while you were sitting at work.
Speaker ASo how do you now like, you know, with all the different tools and things that are out there as a leader, you know, maybe bring into that emotional intelligence into leadership and, and creating those accountabilities without creating, I guess the, you know, I guess the, the negative.
Speaker AAny negativity in the like water cooler talk.
Speaker BMaybe try to answer the question.
Speaker BI'm not sure I fully understand it, but I'll take a stab.
Speaker BI, I think first what you're kind of hitting on is a separation of your personal life and your work life.
Speaker BAnd I, I don't actually think that that exists.
Speaker BAnd, and I'll give you a great example.
Speaker BSo at Renown Regional Medical center, We have roughly 3,500 or so employees all in.
Speaker BAnd that's a lot of people to talk to.
Speaker BAnd how do you do that in an effective way that's meaningful?
Speaker BAnd I was fortunate to have a mentor that did similar work to me in a similar sized hospital.
Speaker BAnd he pushed me pretty hard to do what we call employee forums.
Speaker BAnd so 3 times a year for a 2 week period, I do 28 forums that are 30 minutes long kind of morning, noon and night.
Speaker BAnd we get about 3,000 of our employees that show up to those three times a year.
Speaker BIt's a powerful way to connect with people, to share where we're going, what we're focused on, how we're Performing and frankly, where we need to focus differently and the other one, and there's always an ask in it.
Speaker BThere's always first say, here's what we're going to do as leadership and as the organization, but here's what we need from you as a frontline team member.
Speaker BSimplest example is, you know, if we're dealing with, you know, infection rates and things like that, it's like we need you to wash your hands.
Speaker BRight.
Speaker BIt sounds simple, but being able to say that to 3,000 people is.
Speaker BIs impactful.
Speaker BAnd so in those forums, I bring myself into them.
Speaker BI bring my family into them.
Speaker BMy wife's not always ecstatic about the pictures that I might use to share the family.
Speaker BShe always looks great, and I always remind her that I'm standing next to her so she'll look even better.
Speaker BBut, you know, sharing stories about your family and humanizing yourself and being vulnerable I think is a critically important skill these days.
Speaker BYou know, people want to know that the organization they work for has the right mission and that they can connect to it.
Speaker BAnd they want to know that the person that's leading that or the people that are leading that are.
Speaker BThat they're people and that they care about the not only success of the organization and its mission, but of them and that they're there to support them.
Speaker BAnd another great saying from a recent executive coach was that people will only be as vulnerable up to the level, but not beyond that, that you are with them and you.
Speaker BYou gain an incredible level of trust and confidence by just sharing with people a little bit of insight about yourself.
Speaker BI don't know if that answered your question, but.
Speaker AYeah, no, it does.
Speaker AAnd the part about, you know, it's like.
Speaker ABecause one thing that people used to say is that sometimes when people are too personal, it actually ends up breeding that some negativity comes into it.
Speaker ASo there's almost like, don't be personal because it'll help curb negativity.
Speaker ABut not necessarily.
Speaker BYeah, I don't.
Speaker BI don't know.
Speaker BI think.
Speaker BI think being a full.
Speaker BBeing your full self at work has tremendous value.
Speaker BI mean, you.
Speaker BYou have to be careful, but you also should be a consistent person in my mind, inside and outside of work.
Speaker AYeah, no, that's actually really true.
Speaker ASo, you know, as, you know, with, I guess, things that are happening today in the world and, you know, I've heard different.
Speaker ADifferent.
Speaker ASome people say there's more layers, some people say there's less layers.
Speaker ASo as the.
Speaker AAs a CEO of the hospital, how do you deal with you know, creating the team.
Speaker AAnd is it, is it better to have a lean team or is it layers?
Speaker ALike, what if, like, how do you help those, you know, the organization?
Speaker BYeah, you take me back to a class in, in undergrad organizational theory that I was just thought, thought it was going to be the worst class in the world.
Speaker BIt ended up being an amazing class.
Speaker BAnd some of the, some of the teachings in that were about org structure and, and we're all constantly evolving our work structures to find the right balance and the right numbers.
Speaker BI think that there's some pretty clear indications of how many direct reports a leader can effectively lead and have.
Speaker BAnd so I think that's a foundation.
Speaker BIt's kind of a directional or a guidepost to use.
Speaker BAnd then it's just, you know, a little bit of art, I guess.
Speaker BThere's, there's some science to it from a foundational perspective and then a little bit of art.
Speaker BBut, you know, what we focus on is, yeah, one, can the person effectively lead the group of people that they have just by pure numbers and then really setting some clear operational priorities.
Speaker BWe created, created a system, we call it leader alignment.
Speaker BAnd it's about taking the priorities, the strategic priorities of the organization and of the hospital and cascading those down through leaders and making sure that they clearly understand how their work, that they do, connects to the strategic and operational priorities of the organization.
Speaker BAnd then you gotta give them the authority and the autonomy to actually do that.
Speaker BAnd then you actually have to.
Speaker BOne thing that I think I've been labeled with is being protective of their time and really trying to make sure that we don't throw too much into the top of the funnel and that the right stuff comes out of the bottom, that the right work and, and the good work gets done first and always.
Speaker BAnd then lastly is give them the support, the tools, the training to actually do the work that we're asking them to do.
Speaker AYeah, that's.
Speaker AYeah, it, yeah, it's having a team and, and having people actually, you know, seeing where people take the work is really important.
Speaker AI want to, I do want to go back to something that you said, you know, again, on your, on your way up and in part of your success, you know, it's.
Speaker AIt's something that I think a lot of people forget about, and that is using resources and asking for, either asking for mentorship or asking or being inquisitive.
Speaker ASo is there something that, you know, somebody who's a rising leader or somebody who's looking for that success?
Speaker AYou know, how do how do you, how would you share or tell somebody, like to be able to just go out and ask?
Speaker ABecause some people are afraid.
Speaker BThat's probably a hard one for me to answer because I don't know that I've ever been labeled as shy.
Speaker ARight.
Speaker BSo, yeah, I mean, I think as a, you know, if you have a goal and you have a position you want to be in, what better way to learn how to get to that place than from the people that are doing it today?
Speaker BAnd I like, I think I sort of touched on it.
Speaker BPeople that have excelled to a certain point, they, they feel a responsibility, I think, and, and actually I think find a tremendous amount of joy in helping kind of pay it forward and pass that on.
Speaker BIt's not even like an owed debt.
Speaker BI think it's actually meaningful and I think reinforcing to them to be able to coach.
Speaker BAnd then often times the mentor learns more from the mentor mentee relationship than the mentee does.
Speaker BRight.
Speaker BWhen you try to teach something, you recognize some of the opportunities you have in and of yourself to learn from it.
Speaker BAnd so I think you just have to have the courage to reach out.
Speaker BI tell you, there's a prominent author pretty well known in healthcare and as I was trying to, to make the decision of actually accepting this job, there was some unique challenges with it kind of coming in the door.
Speaker BI reached out to him on LinkedIn and didn't expect much, but I tell you, I think the same day he responded and said, here's my cell phone, let's jump on a call.
Speaker BAnd it was 30 or 40 minutes of some of the probably best advice I've ever gotten in my career.
Speaker BAnd it was all because I was willing to just send a message.
Speaker BI think today you have the people that are trying to come up in leadership have more access to some of the thought leaders and the people doing the work than you ever have before.
Speaker BLinkedIn is, like I said, an incredibly powerful tool for professionals if used in the right ways.
Speaker AYeah, you know, I absolutely love that.
Speaker AAnd I think listeners as you're, you know, I think that's actually one of the biggest things is, is being able to have that courage to be able to ask people do like to share and know like if you have a goal and where you want to go look for people or companies that you admire or, and have like values that align with what you like.
Speaker BYeah.
Speaker BAnd I think internally in your own organization, you know, oftentimes people aren't trying to exclude people.
Speaker BAnd so sometimes just the opportunity to ask you Know, could I join that meeting?
Speaker BI'd really like to learn about what you guys are talking about.
Speaker BI think more often than not people are going to be willing to accommodate that.
Speaker BThey, you know, they want their leaders and their people to learn and be interested in growth.
Speaker BAnd you know, I think one important thing, we recently went to do a search for a key position on our leadership team and a couple of internal candidates applied and just saying thank you for the interest because when people internally are saying, I want to do more and I want to commit more of my, my time potentially and obviously my life to the, to you and the team and the organization, it means something.
Speaker BPeople don't step up unless things are going well in the organization from their perspective.
Speaker BSo yeah, you've just got to have the courage to ask.
Speaker BAnd I think that all the avenues are there both internally and externally today, probably more than they ever were.
Speaker BAnd I, I'd also say that organizations, I think are more focused on internal talent development kind of post pandemic in the healthcare space than they have been previously.
Speaker AYeah, you know, and you, and you, you shared, you know, that something else that I think is really important for, you know, is to be coachable.
Speaker BYeah.
Speaker AAnd so, so tell us a little bit about that because I think that people, some, I think people think that they're all coachable, but they're not.
Speaker BYeah, yeah.
Speaker BIt goes back to the listening thing a little bit.
Speaker BRight.
Speaker BFirst and foremost, you have to be willing to hold up a mirror or have somebody else hold up a mirror.
Speaker BAnd oftentimes when that happens, like in professional coaching situations or informal coaching situations, is that mirror doesn't often show what you want it to show when you're really objective about it.
Speaker BAnd so, yeah, I think that you have to constantly challenge yourself to say, where could I have been better?
Speaker BWhere can I be better?
Speaker BAnd then what do I need to be able to do that?
Speaker BAnd you know, the higher you climb, the harder it is to get people to be honest with you and give you feedback whether they're above you or, or next to you or below you in the org structure.
Speaker BAnd so I think you have to create that, that personality and that Persona that you want it and that you're actually going to receive it.
Speaker BWell, the worst thing that you can do is ask somebody for feedback.
Speaker BThey give it to you and then you dispute it almost immediately.
Speaker BRight.
Speaker BYou just, you killed the whole purpose.
Speaker BSo I think it's showing people not only that you want it, but that you'll actually take action from it.
Speaker BAgain, not to reference it too much.
Speaker BBut the most recent coaching experience, one of the people who had to give me feedback was my wife.
Speaker BAnd I would say it was direct, it was honest, it was pretty accurate, and it was hard to hear, But I took action on it.
Speaker BAnd because I took action on it, things are different in that part of our relationship.
Speaker BAnd so it's meaningful if you seek it out and if you actually do something with it.
Speaker AYeah, you just said something, too, that it's hard to hear, Right?
Speaker ALike, that is, you know, I think that is actually one of the things that, you know, can make a person, you know, when they hear something is how do you not be negative about it?
Speaker AIt's.
Speaker AAnd being reflective of yourself and being able to look inward and being able to be open to hearing something that's negative and so.
Speaker AOr maybe not as positive.
Speaker AHow much do you think when people do that, whether it's yourself or like, as you said, it's made a difference.
Speaker AHow much do you think it really does make a difference for somebody when they are open to hearing?
Speaker BOh, I think that when you recognize where you are in whatever is being assessed and the feedback being given on it, it allows you to see things from a completely different perspective.
Speaker BThere's this grid.
Speaker BI'm going to get this wrong, but it's like the things that you know about yourself that others don't know, and the things that.
Speaker BThat others know about you that you don't know about yourself.
Speaker BI think that.
Speaker BAnd there's four quadrants to it.
Speaker BI'm giving you two of them.
Speaker BBut, you know, that perspective of people looking from the outside in, they see you from an entirely different place.
Speaker BIt can be really powerful.
Speaker BSo I think if you are open to hearing the feedback and you actually want to do something with it, you have to want to do something with it.
Speaker BAnd likely when you're asking for feedback, you actually sometimes have to push people to give you the negative.
Speaker BThey'll tell you, you know, you're really great at this, or you do a good job at that.
Speaker BAnd you sometimes have to say thank you.
Speaker BAnd then can you tell me where I could be better?
Speaker BWhere can I be a better leader for you?
Speaker BWhere can I be a better leader for the organization?
Speaker BWhat can I do?
Speaker BFrom an interpersonal perspective is another one I touched on that a little while ago is, you know, at a certain point, everybody in the room is pretty smart and technically good at their job.
Speaker BThen it comes down to what I call blind spots or interpersonal behaviors.
Speaker BAnd where, where are some of those Gaps.
Speaker BAnd, you know, there's a simple way to do it in my mind, which is, you know, sit down with the person and say, you know, I'm really looking for some feedback on this topic.
Speaker BWhere would you rate me on a 1 to 10 scale?
Speaker BAnd, and once they rate you, well, what would it take me to be a 10?
Speaker BSo not only are you asking them to tell you where they think you are, but you're asking them what would help me progress to a different place from your perspective, from an outsider's perspective, and then.
Speaker BThen it's your job to take action on that.
Speaker AYeah, I really love that.
Speaker AYou know, Chris, you've given some amazing insights and, you know, I think some of the key things that I want the listeners to really understand.
Speaker AYou know, there's a lot of things that we've covered here, but really understanding the fact that for that to be truly unstoppable and to have the rise, know what your goal is, speak to the people.
Speaker AYou know, be, be able to ask questions and search out people to.
Speaker AWhether they're mentors or people that are in a position that you really would like to have or that you admire.
Speaker ABe active in, in learning and listening and, and be coachable.
Speaker BYeah.
Speaker BAnd keep raising the bar.
Speaker BYou know, once you reach a certain point, there's really no endpoint in this.
Speaker BRight.
Speaker BYou're constantly evolving and pushing yourself.
Speaker BAnd so, you know, once you've reached, whether it's the position or you've completed the project or the initiative, it's, you know, where's my next opportunity and what am I going to need to do to become better?
Speaker BWhether it's as a person or as a leader or both.
Speaker BAnd so I think you have to keep pushing yourself whether the.
Speaker BAnd again, I said it earlier, organizations, I think, have a responsibility to invest and support their people.
Speaker BBut it's sort of like parenting a kid in my mind.
Speaker BLike, it's so easy to blame the school, but at the end of the day, the kid's with you for, you know, much more time than they are at school.
Speaker BAnd so that comes down to you investing in your child's development, just like.
Speaker BLike you investing in your own development.
Speaker AYeah, that's so true.
Speaker AAnd actually, somebody had said to me, if you take your.
Speaker AThe.
Speaker AThe number is 10 of your income or is.
Speaker AShould go to personal development or development for yourself.
Speaker AYeah, that's, you know, it's a, it's a.
Speaker AIt's a number that sticks in my brain.
Speaker ASo, you know.
Speaker BYeah, I've never, I've never Heard that I'd have to do the math on the investments.
Speaker BBut yeah, if you put a, if you can quantify the time that you spend and reading, reflecting, having conversations, that's probably pretty accurate.
Speaker BIs, you've kind of, you've got to carve some portion of it out to make sure you're, you're self investing.
Speaker AYeah.
Speaker ASo, Chris, I'm going to ask you a question you may or may not want to answer.
Speaker AWhat's next for you?
Speaker BI don't know.
Speaker BI'm, you know, I'm really thrilled where I am.
Speaker BWe've, we've got a lot of work, as you know.
Speaker BYou, you mentioned it at the beginning.
Speaker BWe just, we just finished our 10 year strategy.
Speaker BIt's pretty hard to do a three year strategy and look that far out into the future.
Speaker BTen years is, is, you know, ambitious, I would say.
Speaker BBut we're pretty clear on what we think we need to do to achieve our mission and serve our community.
Speaker BAnd I'm enjoying the role that I'm playing in it.
Speaker BI think that we still have lots of things that we can improve on.
Speaker BWe have lots of things that we can create and develop.
Speaker BAnd I'll tell you, I've never worked with a better leadership team, both at the organization level with our leader, Dr. Brian Erling, and also at the hospital level.
Speaker BI'm incredibly proud of the work we've done over the last three years from our financial recovery, coming out of the pandemic like most organizations, to, you know, fairly quickly being able to say, now it's time to look forward and say, what do we need to do to grow with our community and for our community?
Speaker BAnd there's, there's nine years and four months left of work in that strategy to go.
Speaker AThat's it.
Speaker AThat's many years of great work to be done and great leadership.
Speaker ASo, so, Chris, thank you listeners.
Speaker AHere's what I want you to do.
Speaker AI want you to connect with Chris on LinkedIn.
Speaker AIf you have the DEs desire to be a CEO or to have unstoppable success, I am sure that Chris would be happy to give you some extra insight as well.
Speaker AAnd please do me the favor of hitting subscribe and sharing this episode with your friends, your colleagues and your business associates.
Speaker ABecause the more people that can learn these great tips and insights, the better we all become as leaders and as people.
Speaker ASo thank you, Chris for being a great guest and thank you listeners.
Speaker AThis is unstoppable success.
Speaker AI'm your host, Jacqueline Strominger, and keep being unstoppable.