← Becker’s Healthcare Podcast
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- [00:00]
A
Welcome to Becker's Healthcare Podcast. I'm Chris Sosa, your host and thrilled to be joined today by Marty Bonick, who of course is the President CEO of Ardent Health Services down in Tennessee. Marty, how are you doing today?
- [00:11]
B
Doing great, Chris. Thanks for having me.
- [00:14]
A
So great to have you on the podcast, Marty. I know you've been on our podcast before. This is a little bit different. We want to dive a little bit deeper into you as a leader and anything you might want to share, things you've learned along the way. Sound good?
- [00:25]
B
Sounds awesome. Thanks, Chris.
- [00:27]
A
Awesome. Well, the first question I have to you is simply speaking of learning. What is something you've learned outside of healthcare that you've applied to your career?
- [00:34]
B
Yeah, that's a great question. And I think there's so much that we can learn from looking outside of healthcare. Those of us that live and work in healthcare, we love it, we think about it all the time, but at the end of the day, we've got a mission to provide and we can learn from other industries. But personally, I've always had a fascination with aviation and piloting, and, and so that's been something that, as I think about what it takes to be successful in aviation, there's. There's a lot of parallels. You know, from a regulatory standpoint, our industry, you know, has a lot of parallels. But, but personally, as a pilot, you know, they teach you in aviation to aviate, to navigate and to communicate. If there's ever an emergency or if there's ever a, you know, a situation where things are not going to plan, that's what they drill into you and they teach you aviate, navigate, communicate, and so fly the airplane. You know, no matter what's going on, the first thing you got to do is fly the airplane, then navigate to where you're going. If you've got a land, make an emergency, get to where you're going, and then communicate your intentions, declare an emergency, tell them what's going on, what's happening, but you got to do it in that order. So, you know, I think it's a great lesson in leadership, you know, in any industry, but for ours, just given that the constant changes and challenges that the industry faces, we've got to remember to first and foremost take care of our patients. You know, that's what we're here for. You know, navigate the situation. If we have to course correct and make changes along the way, we do that and then communicate what we're doing. It's really, I've always believed it's really important for people to understand the why behind the what and what we're doing. And oftentimes when we've got frontline caregivers that, that are impacted by changes from outside of the four walls of the institutions that they work in and hospitals, clinics, what have you, there's opportunities for them to understand, okay, something's happening, here's what we're going to do. But never lose sight of the fact that we've got to take care of our patients first and foremost.
- [02:31]
A
Yeah, I can only imagine that, that sort of process that as you apply it to your mission or anything that's involved in the healthcare system, that comes in handy quite a bit. I am curious though, so you mentioned they teach you in aviation. So is this something you have first hand knowledge of? Are you, are you an aviator yourself?
- [02:50]
B
I, I am. I got my pilot's license a number of years ago and really enjoy doing that. It's, there's a personal catharsis of flying that, that's, that's stress relieving and, and fun. But it, you know, it can have stressful situations at times. So you always have to be ready and prepared. But it, but it's something that I've always had a fascination with and find. Finally took the opportunity to get, to get my license a number of years ago.
- [03:14]
A
Yeah, that's super cool. I can only imagine just freeing yourself from gravity, if only for a short while.
- [03:22]
B
Exactly. When you're up in the air, it's just like you have to forget about everything else that's on the ground. And so there is a little bit of meditative aspect to it that you're just focused on that one single issue of, you know, making sure that airplane stays, stays flying and going in the direction you're pointing at.
- [03:37]
A
Thank you for singling out that word. Meditative. I think that's probably the perfect word to describe that. All right, moving on to the next question for you, Marty. This might be similar to your experience with aviation, but it's simply how do you keep yourself healthy? Whether it's physically, mentally, emotionally. As someone who leads an entire healthcare organization, you're meant to be in control or assumed you're in control all the time. Can't always be easy to keep yourself in that sort of frame of mind. So what do you turn to?
- [04:10]
B
Yeah, I mean, it's similar to what they tell you when you're flying an airplane. Even as a passenger, if there was an emergency, the oxygen mask comes down, put the mask on you first before you help your fellow person. Next to You, I think the same is true especially in leadership and in life. If you're not taking care of yourself, it's really hard to take care of others. And so I think that that is important that you're taking care of yourself. Phys, Mentally and emotionally, you know, this is a challenging industry. It demands the best and a lot out of all of us as leaders and so, you know, physically staying in shape so you've got the energy and stamina to, to do what we do and just have that, that resilience and grit and endurance that we all need. And so I, I like to prioritize consistency over intensity. As I've, as I've aged, I like to do triathlons and so I do a lot of swimming, biking and running. But when I can't do that, you know, just a daily walk, you know, just to get outside, just to get moving, you know, to stay active, some strength training and then, you know, matching in those other workouts as I can. So you know, on a physical aspect I think that's really important. Mentally, you know, I like to carve out time for reading and reflection as we talked about. I like to look at other industries and thought to try to find those parallels and challenges that we face, to seek outside solutions. Also a big believer emotionally and staying grounded and spending time with family and close friends and just unplugging from work so you can recharge and be at your best. And you know, it's, it's really important. We all have busy lives, busy calendars, but if you don't take the time to take care of yourself again, it's just really difficult to, to be your best and show up for others.
- [05:51]
A
Is your love for marathons, has it translated, has it become more popular at Ardent just through your experience?
- [06:00]
B
Yeah, and we've got a couple of triathletes now that I'm aware of and we find ways to talk about that. And again, it's less about getting other people to do what I do and just encouraging them to also take care of themselves and be active. That's what I'm more focused on is just whatever moves you. Some people just can't run or can't swim or bike or what have you, but there's different things you can do. But whatever is going to help you physically and mentally, you know, take care of yourself is, is the most important thing.
- [06:33]
A
Small, tiny follow up. Just out of curiosity, what's the longest triathlon that you've completed?
- [06:38]
B
I have done a, a full Ironman, Louisville, Kentucky. So that's a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike and a marathon to cap things off. But I've done I think six or seven half Ironmans and then a number of shorter distance sprin, Olympic triathlons as well.
- [06:57]
A
Yeah, it's just nuts to me in terms of the physical and mental requirements to do that. So congrats on that, Marty. And yeah, just everything you've done, we appreciate you sharing that with us. We all have days that are not so great, let's just put it that way. It's just part of life, it's inevitable. Right. So on your toughest day is what did you do, what did you turn to, who did you turn to? To kind of pick things up and move forward?
- [07:25]
B
Yeah, you've got to. I think it's really important that you have a trusted group and a network that you can turn to. Mentors, peers, my wife, all people that understand the weight of leadership but also can challenge me to grow and not let me get stuck in my own self pity or what, you know, issues. You know, we all have that. But you need somebody that's going to, you know, again, acknowledge, empathize and help you in those situations, but again, push you to say, okay, you've spent time thinking about this or being challenged by it, what are you going to do about it? And really just pushing you back into action, just not letting yourself get stuck in that spin cycle. You know, sometimes I also like to, to turn inward. A big believer in sort of stoic philosophy and you know, controlling what you can control. So sometimes it's a quiet moment, you know, I like to work out issues in my head over long runs, prayer. All of those things, you know, I think are helpful tools that we all have available to us. And just channeling that into something productive. Focusing on the negative doesn't solve the problem as much as, you know, turning that into that, those negative thoughts or those negative days into actions of okay, how are we going to pivot? How are we going to, how are we going to rebound from this and come out and emerge from that? But you know, I think it's a combination of inward reflection as well as, you know, having a close network of people that you can trust and share, you know, and as you climb the leadership ladder, it does get more difficult because you can't always talk about certain issues with just anybody. And so having a network of people that you can trust, sometimes in the industry, sometimes outside the industry, I think all of those things are helpful for you to have that own little Personal board of directors that can help be that trusted advisor in those tough times.
- [09:14]
A
I like that. You also pointed out that your network, your board of directors, to use your term, part of their job is to push you back into action. I really locked in on that phrase because I think it can be helpful in terms of, yes, you might need to feel a certain way for a certain amount of time, but then moving forward is part of it. And having people who can support you in the right way, I'm sure is crucial to that mission.
- [09:39]
B
Yeah, I think over the years, I've learned, too, that I've got a number of sayings and Marty isms that people will credit towards me, but one of them is the one constant life is change, you know, And I think this industry has been constantly changing. I've been at this for almost 30 years, and that has certainly been true. And yet, you know, we always find a way to emerge stronger as we move on, despite the challenges and sometimes the setbacks. You know, that's what propels the next iteration of innovation and growth that we all need, both personally and professionally, to lead our organizations.
- [10:19]
A
As you discuss growth, that's a great segue. So my next question for you is, what is something you've learned about yourself from working in healthcare? I mean, growth is part of our grand journey. Right. So in your case, how would you apply some or again, something you've learned about yourself from being in healthcare?
- [10:42]
B
Yeah, and I think this translates the personal and the professional side. But I think, you know, what we've. What I've learned from working in healthcare is that I am resilient and can be resilient as a result of all the trials and tribulations and challenges that we've gone through. It's also taught me to be more empathetic and to recognize that everybody is also going through their own unique journey struggles, personally or professionally. And I think healthcare exposes you both to both of those dimensions. I think the fragility and strength of the human spirit, both of those can be true at the same time. You've seen patients that go through just these personal struggles, health challenges, issues, cancer, heart, stroke, rehabilitation, all of these different ailments. And then you see the strength and recovery of people going through that and coming out victorious on the other end. But it takes courage. It takes resiliency. It takes that stick to itiveness, to. To thrive in that despite, you know, a challenging circumstance. I've always said in this industry, we take care of people, but. But we have a reluctant consumer base. You Know, nobody really wants to be a patient in a hospital or have to do that. Something happens to you and you need that care. But, you know, just looking at, again, you know, both sides of the human spirit, you know, both the fragility and vulnerability we all have and needing others to help us and that personal internal strength to emerge through that whatever situation you're going through.
- [12:16]
A
Resilience is certainly a fantastic trait for anyone to have, certainly in a leadership position. Last thing I want to run by you here today, Marty, is what is an underrated leadership trait and whom have you seen embody it? It can be one person, a group of people, however you feel fit to answer that question.
- [12:34]
B
Yeah, I think particularly in this day and age where everybody's got. Trying to get their sound bites or their point of view across, you know, I think listening, empathy and humility are, you know, sort of key leadership traits that are so important and so needed, particularly in healthcare right now. You know, humility in particular is, you know, can be perceived as weakness or shying away from something, but in reality, it's a strength. It helps to build that trust, it builds collaboration. And, you know, I see this in our nurse leaders, you know, the issues that they have to lead through every day. You know, it's not always the easiest job, it's not always the most glamorous job, but. But, you know, literally, people's lives are on the line at the end of the day, and just to have that, that humility, to understand their role. And I think we see it in leaders and, you know, the CEOs that can admit when they don't have all the answers, but, but they commit to finding them and to follow through. You know, I think those are the things that embody true leadership, more so than the charisma or the, the bravado or what have you that, you know, the media likes to sensationalize. You know, it's that quiet strength that often is what brings teams forward and helps to lead them into the future.
- [13:47]
A
Marty, it's been wonderful talking to you today. We keep going on for hours. I'm afraid we don't have that kind of time. But we're so glad you're joining us at our conference in the fall here. We will definitely see you then, and hopefully I'm very confident we'll either see you, hear you, or talk to you in some other way, shape or form in the near future. Thank you again.
- [14:06]
B
I look forward to it. Chris, thanks for having me on the show today.
- [14:08]
A
And next time I'm in a plane. I'm thinking, you know what? I know someone who knows how to do. Awesome. Awesome. Thank you. Until next time.
- [14:18]
B
Thank you.