← Becker’s Healthcare Podcast
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- [00:00]
A
Welcome to the Becker's Healthcare Podcast. I'm Chris Sosa, your host, and I'm thrilled to be joined today by Stephanie Connors. In addition to being a nurse, she is the president and CEO of BayCare Health System in Florida. Stephanie, thank you for joining us today.
- [00:12]
B
Thank you for having me.
- [00:14]
A
Wonderful. Yeah. This sort of conversation is a little bit different from others you might have heard of Becker's, in that we're diving into who you are and what made you the leader that you are today. You ready?
- [00:23]
B
I'm ready.
- [00:25]
A
Excellent. So the first question I have for you is simply, what is something you learned outside of healthcare that you've applied to your career?
- [00:32]
B
I would say it comes down to my personal mission in life, and that's to make a difference in the lives of others. Sometimes focusing on one person at a time, and other times like this point in my life, 33,000 plus individuals. And the reason why I say I learned it outside of health care is because my journey was really the result of incredible human beings that saw potential in me sometimes when I didn't even see it in my. And what I learned is giving individuals the Runway to be the best of who they are. You can really impact people in a way that they've never dreamed possible. And giving them that Runway makes them the best human they can possibly be. And in return, you surround yourself with incredible talent to impact lives. And that's what we do every day in healthcare.
- [01:31]
A
I mean, that's a wonderful attitude. I'm sure. I'm sure it's gotten you not only to the B.C. of Baycare, but any other. Any number of places, using that as a segue a little bit. In terms of giving yourself Runway, what do you do to keep yourself healthy? Whether it's emotionally, physically, mentally. We all have, you know, tough days, and we'll get into those in specific in a minute here. But yeah. So what are some things you do to keep yourself healthy?
- [01:59]
B
Well, I am a interim runner. I basically try to do 10 miles at least five to six times a week. That is, whether it's in the morning or in the evening or while I'm taking meetings. Because in my role, I have a lot of focus on ensuring that the vision that's set forward for our organization is delivered on. And that involves many, many people that I interact with on a daily basis. So I emphasize the import importance of healthy living and that mindset where you can find an activity that clears your head. And I enjoy very much modeling those behaviors. So it is often that I will be on my run, taking a phone call or doing interval running so that I'm able to fit that in throughout my day. And I believe that showing that and being the example helps my organization realize that a healthy mindset and healthy body makes you have better days.
- [03:04]
A
I think you're the first executive that I've spoken to who has that approach of maybe taking meetings while you're running. How does that work? I mean, you said it clears your head, which is great. So when you're out there on the trail or wherever it is you're running and you're on a meeting, I mean, what's your mindset like?
- [03:24]
B
Typically it's with my direct teams where I'm meeting. I obviously wouldn't do it in a circumstance such as this, but it's with those that are influencing the day and needing to hear what's happening. We have things in the morning. We have meetings called huddles every morning with my cabinet team. And that huddle engages the team on the event of the week or quality throughout our organization, things we want to emphasize or updates on strategy. And I will often take that meeting while I'm on my run. And it's good because I have a group of individuals that are talking through what their week is like or what the event of the week will be like. And then I'm able to chime in with a very clear head. But it creates bold thinking. It really clears my head. So when I'm running, I'm a very big thinker and I believe in the art of the possible and that anything's possible. So when I'm thinking bold and differently and I'm hearing my team and their strategies and what they need to accomplish, it really does influence the day in a very positive way. And I encourage them to be active during those calls as well.
- [04:40]
A
Have they taken you up on that? Just can I ask, are they ever out there running with you or are they doing their own thing or how has it rubbed off on them?
- [04:48]
B
If at all it has rubbed off so they each have their way that clears their head and their activities that make them feel as they can create that work life balance. So I would say some may be walking their animals or others may be just walking versus running or treadmill or just really activity of any sort is really welcome during that phone call.
- [05:16]
A
I like this trend you're discussing here, Sephi. I'm going to see if other members of our team are willing to be a little more active while we're or having meetings.
- [05:25]
B
I love that it's Important, because an active lifestyle, I think promotes brain health and really gets us thinking. And we're all big thinkers and we all have the art of the possible. And it's a fun interaction. It's not the only time we interact, but I would say that's probably a great example.
- [05:45]
A
I completely agree. Next question I have for you, Stephanie. Everybody has tough days. It's just inevitable. It's just part of life. So when you're having those, where to whom are you turning to kind of get yourself back on the right track to move forward?
- [06:01]
B
It's a really great question. I would say without hesitation, my family serves as my anchor. They always have. And my toughest days, depending on the situation and the circumstances, I will turn to those members of my family that I hold extremely dear. And that could be my husband of 30 plus years, my older children who are 29 down to 16. If I need a perspective that is a different generational mindset, I will ask my children for advice. And then there is always my father, who was never well educated through his life, but made many sacrifices, as well as my mother. But whenever I had my hardest days, I would say I picked up the phone and called my dad and he has been there for me my entire life.
- [06:55]
A
Sounds like you have a really solid support system there and hopefully they're able to use you for the same, right?
- [07:00]
B
Yes. I have a great family and like I said, they're my anchor in life. So my greatest days are with my husband of 30 years and my children. The journey has been remarkable. I'm blessed to be surrounded with a lot of love and faith and family. And like I said, my hardest days growing up where they were a little more challenging. My parents were there for me every step of the way.
- [07:24]
A
That's truly fantastic. Stephanie. We talked a little bit about what you've learned outside of healthcare along those lines, but just a little bit of different twist. So what is something you've learned about yourself from working in healthcare?
- [07:38]
B
Healthcare is, I believe, the most rewarding field because you're capable of more than you ever would give yourself credit for. Many that are in healthcare save lives every single day. And that's whether you're in the back office or you're touching the patient with your own hands. We all influence the care of the patient. And I would say that being a very shy child and growing up to a confident leader, it's really shown me that being in healthcare and making a difference enabled me to be that confident individual. Because you have so much impact on individual lives and Making a difference in individuals and their path, that is a pretty rewarding field. And not only did healthcare teach me to be my best self and to bring that level of confidence, I always tell leaders that are coming up in the ranks, they ask me, how did you do it? You grew up with food and housing insecurities and you tell people all the time that anything's possible. But I want to repeat your journey. And I tell them, you can't repeat my journey. What you need to be is the best individual you can possibly be. Work the hardest in the job that you're in and be really happy with that effort, because that may be your journey and your path. Or when you give it all that you have, you surprise yourself and new doors open. And I tell people that if you work the hardest in your job, you're in and you're not looking for the next thing, that next thing finds you. And I would say healthcare is really an example of the opportunities are endless. And from being a bedside nurse to the CEO of the largest academic health system in west Central Florida with the highest safety, service quality and 33,000 plus people that are our greatest asset is an example of anything's possible and, you know, sky's the limit.
- [09:42]
A
I love how you touched on your confidence and how you're able to build that through healthcare. I think that's really relatable. I think that a lot of our audience might see CEOs as people who've had this throughout their entire lives. And I think some of them probably have. I know some of them probably have, but it's not always that way. And your journey, it sounds like it's a little bit different and it's worked out tremendously so far, so different.
- [10:08]
B
Not only was I extremely shy because I was so poor growing up and we had so many challenges and I had different situations in my life that I could have just crawled up in a ball and never saw my potential or never see the potential that I live today. But I surrounded myself with individuals that really wanted to make a difference for not only my journey, but also it's their legacy. And what I've learned through my life is my legacy isn't going to be the fact that I'm a CEO. My legacy is going to be the people that I've influenced and that my hope is people see me as a great mom, a loving wife, and a good human that cares about others. And although I am a CEO and that's really rewarding, it's just so incredibly powerful. When you look back and you think, how did I make a difference? And you can think about the people in your life and where they were and where they are today. I think that's a real testament to leadership. It's about the people you influence. They are our greatest asset. They're the ones that make a difference to the lives of those that we serve. I don't touch the patient any longer, although when I'm rounding, I will still answer call lights. But I believe I can make a difference for those that are physically in those difficult trying spaces, and also for the future of health care. Because we want to be bold. We don't want to be traditional, and we want to be the organization that advances medicine. And so when you ask me the question, what is something I learned about myself by working in health care? I've learned that anything's possible, that we're capable of moving from traditional to bold new concepts that will save many more lives in the future. And the people make the greatest difference.
- [12:10]
A
That is very well said indeed, Stephanie. And you use the word bold more than once. So I want to that I think that's the perfect place to go to our next question and last one, which is simply, what is one risk that you've taken that has paid off? It could be personally been professionally, honestly, if you want to give us more than one answer, great. Doesn't have to be limited to one, but whatever you feel comfortable with, what's one risk that's paid off? At least one.
- [12:33]
B
I believe in taking measured risk, and I'm an example of that. Through my entire life, where I grew up in the inner city and took the chance of applying to a very reputable, difficult school to get into, which was Villanova University. And I'm a proud graduate of Villanova. But I will say my greatest risk was probably my resilience and courage in ensuring that not only did I take a risk for my career, but that my family was alongside of me. What I mean by that is coming to Florida, leaving where I was born and where I raised my children. That was a measured risk. I turned my life upside down and brought my entire family with me, all four of my children, their significant others, my grandchildren, and my husband, who also grew up in the Northeast, we took this leap from COO to CEO. It was a calculated risk, but influenced by my family and the support of shared values. And they I tell you all that I tell people often, and I've said it in this podcast, every job I've been in. I feel as though I hit the pinnacle the day I graduated nursing school. I thought my dream, I made it. And then new opportunities just would come in my path and I would take measured risk and I would take those leaps and. And it's what brought me here to Florida. And being in west central Florida and taking that measured risk with my family involved. I have to tell you that if they weren't all in, I would not have left them behind because they're everything to me. That this family decision was the greatest decision of our lives. And all of us are very happy to live, love, work, in one of the greatest communities I feel that exist. West central Florida is pretty special, and it's now our home.
- [14:43]
A
Yeah, you touched on it. It's one thing to just say, okay, I'm going to do this for me, but rarely can you do that when you have a family involved. Usually you. Almost always, pretty much always, you have to say, okay, this is not just about me, because it isn't. And you illustrated that beautifully.
- [15:01]
B
Thank you, Stephanie.
- [15:03]
A
That is all the time we have for today's interview. Thank you so much for just being with us and sharing all your insights. We're going to see you again at our conference in novemb summer. We're very much looking forward to you speaking there and yeah, we just look forward to seeing you next time.
- [15:17]
B
I look forward to it as well. Thank you for having me.