The Mayo Clinic Approach to Leadership


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Dr. Richard Winters is an emergency physician and director of leadership development at the Mayo Clinic. In addition to working with leaders internally at Mayo, Dr. Winters delivers programs that help healthcare leaders worldwide. We discussed all of this and more this week on the On Brand podcast.

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About Dr. Richard Winters

Dr. Richard Winters is an emergency physician at the Mayo Clinic.  As director of leadership development for the Mayo Clinic Care Network, Dr. Winters delivers programs that train leaders at all levels of healthcare organizations worldwide. As an executive coach, Dr. Winters provides coaching for Mayo Clinic leaders. Winters graduated from the Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine in 1994 and returned to Mayo Clinic in 2015.

Previously, Winters served as managing partner of a democratic physician group, department chair of an emergency department, president of an 800-physician medical staff, and CEO/founder of a startup managed care organization that struggled to survive amidst the complex relationships among hospital, physician, patient, competitors, and insurance providers. He lives in Rochester, Minnesota, with his family.

Episode Highlights

So, you worked in healthcare during the past few years … I believe “Gah!” was how I phrased my less-than-eloquent opening query about working in emergency medicine during COVID-19. “Healthcare has always been a place of volatility and uncertainty,” Dr. Winters explained.

Helping the helpers. As a leadership coach at Mayo, Dr. Winters’s work could be described in connection to the Mister Rogers quote about “looking for the helpers.” He’s charged with helping the helpers, “Ensuring that each level has the resources they need.”

“Leadership is culture,” Dr. Winters detailed. “It’s not just the placards and screensavers. You have to walk the talk.” For the Mayo Clinic, this goes all the way back to the founders and continues today at every level.

What brand has made Dr. Winters smile recently? “Song Tea from San Francisco,” is a brand that Richard loves as it makes him feel connected to the world.

To learn more, go to his website and connect with him on LinkedIn.

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Until next week, I’ll see you on the Internet!