Lead Well MD: Transforming Healthcare Through Effective Clinician Leadership

What happens when a psychiatrist trained in homeless outreach decides the real problem isn't the patients - it's the systems supposed to serve them?

In this episode, host Ashley Wendel sits down with Dr. Patrick Runnels, Chief Medical Officer of the Veale Initiative for Healthcare Innovation at University Hospitals Cleveland, for a wide-ranging conversation about what's broken in healthcare leadership - and what it actually looks li...

What happens when doing everything “right” still leaves you feeling stuck, exhausted, and disconnected from the work you once loved?

In this honest and deeply human conversation, Dr. Ben Reinking - a pediatric cardiologist, educator, and founder of "The Developing Doctor", a physician coaching practice - shares a story many clinicians may recognize. From the outside, his career was thriving. But beneath the surface, the ...

The transition from practicing physician to system leader looks smooth from the outside. Internally, it’s often much more complicated.

In this episode, Ashley Wendel talks with Dr. Rob Nordgren, Divisional Chief Medical Officer at Sutter Health, about what physicians have to learn as they move from bedside expertise into broader organizational leadership. They discuss the identity shift that comes with leadership, the role of ...

Episode Summary (succinct, with key highlights)

In this episode, Ashley sits down with Dr. Erica Kreismann - emergency medicine physician turned executive coach - to explore what it means to be a woman and clinician leader in today’s healthcare landscape. Erica shares her own formative journey, from training in New York City during 9/11 to making a radical “pattern interrupt” move to Tasmania, and how those experie...

What if leadership felt less like carrying all the answers - and more like creating the conditions for others to think and act well together?

In this episode, Ashley Wendel is joined by Dr. Richard Winters, a practicing emergency medicine physician, Director of Leadership Development for the Mayo Clinic Care Network, ICF-certified coach, and author of You’re the Leader, Now What?, for a grounded, honest conversation about what...

In this episode, Dr. Stephen Beeson and I dive deep into what it truly takes to build, and sustain, a culture of excellence in healthcare.

Drawing from his experience leading transformation at Sharp Healthcare and founding Practicing Excellence, Steve shares why identity-based change is far more powerful than behavior correction alone, and why clinician engagement is the single most important predictor of successful transformation.

W...

ER physician–turned–healthcare leader Dr. Tony Briningstool joins Lead Well MD to unpack how trust is built when seconds matter - and what the HBO series “The Pitt” gets right about life in the trauma bay. From first-contact behaviors that create instant patient trust to the moment-to-moment cues that make teams feel psychologically safe, Dr. Briningstool breaks down the leader habits that steady a room unde...

In this episode of Lead Well MD, host Ashley Wendel talks with Dr. Sergio Zanotti, Chief Medical Officer for Critical Care at Sound Physicians and host of the podcast Critical Matters, about what it takes to build what he calls a “Fearless ICU.” 

Drawing on decades in critical care leadership, Dr. Zanotti shares why psychological safety is the single most important factor in high-performing ICU teams - and why it&rs...

In this powerful episode of Lead Well MD, we step outside of medicine and into the world of military leadership — but stay firmly rooted in what matters most: building trust in high-stakes, high-pressure environments.

Ashley is joined by Colonel Randall Wickman, a retired U.S. Army Infantry Officer, combat-wounded veteran, and former Pentagon leader who now works in healthcare leadership development. With nearly 30 years of ac...

How does a clinician leader balance being professional with being an authentic, vulnerable leader that builds trust? In this episode of Lead Well MD, we sit down with Dr. Greg Johnson, the System Vice President and Chief Medical Officer at UnityPoint Health, to talk about just that. 

In our conversation we discuss this delicate balance between being real and being professional and offer strategies for how leaders can build trus...

In healthcare today, change is constant—and emotional fatigue is real. In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Karen Weiner to explore what it really takes to lead when clinicians are stretched thin, burned out, and wondering if the work is still sustainable.

Karen shares hard-earned lessons from her journey—from primary care pediatrician to CEO of a large medical group—leading through organizational transformation, a...

In this open and candid conversation, Dr. Holly Beeman shares her evolution from being a hands-on problem-solver to becoming a more empowering and emotionally intelligent leader. Drawing from her journey as an OBGYN turned senior healthcare executive, Dr. Beeman reflects on early leadership missteps, the role of vulnerability in building trust, and how creating psychological safety can transform team culture and performance.

We talk...

Healthcare is facing a crisis—not just of resources, but of culture. Burnout, disengagement, and top-down leadership structures are leaving clinicians feeling disconnected from their purpose. But what if we could reimagine healthcare leadership as something radically different?

In this episode of LeadWellMD, I sit down with Dr. Apurv Gupta, a physician leader, consultant, and founder of the Loving Organization Consortium, to e...

In the debut episode of LeadWellMD, we discuss the importance of emotionally intelligent clinician leadership. Drawing on her 17 years of experience as a physician leadership coach and consultant, Ashley Wendel, MA, narrates three stories to illustrate the impact of these core relational skills in leadership.  She examines how leaders can either excel by cultivating these skills, or be derailed by their absence. She emphasizes...