What Does It Mean to Lead?

Applying Hospitality Practices to Leadership in Health Care

Two Northwestern Medicine leaders, Lisett Bringas and Joanna Casillas, share how their backgrounds in the hospitality industry have molded how they approach their roles in health care today. Lisett is the manager of Support Services, overseeing Environmental Services at Northwestern Medicine Huntley Hospital, and Joanna is the residency program manager in the Obstetrics and Gynecology Department at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. In this episode, they share how they apply hospitality practices to health care to effectively lead their teams.

Leading With Approachability: Daniel O'Donnell

Daniel O'Donnell, PA-C, is a Northwestern Medicine physician assistant with nearly 20 years of orthopaedic experience. He's one of the first advanced practice providers (APPs) at Northwestern Medicine to manage a team of APPs. In this episode, he talks about his model of everyday leadership and how he grew from a hesitant new leader to managing dozens of APPs across multiple specialties.

Building Systems With Soul: R. Kannan Mutharasan, MD

R. Kannan Mutharasan, MD, cardiologist and medical director of Northwestern Medicine Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute at Palos Hospital, shares his leadership journey in integrating cardiovascular care across Chicago's south suburbs. He emphasizes that leadership is a mindset rooted in relationships, curiosity and service — not titles. Drawing from a range of experiences in medicine, engineering and history, he introduces frameworks like VOICE (Vision, Opportunity, Innovation, Communication, Execution) and advocates for "systems with soul" that prioritize people. His stories highlight the power of noticing, listening and acting to improve patient care. Dr. Mutharasan's approach blends humility, continuous learning and a deep commitment to building compassionate, collaborative healthcare environments.

Learning is Leading: Ali Stewart

On this episode of Anatomy of an Everyday Leader, the spotlight is on Alexandra "Ali" Stewart, MSN, MBA, RNC-OB, C-EFM, CBC. Ali manages a complex and dynamic float pool nursing team at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. Her approach to leadership is grounded in curiosity and driven by connection. Ali shares how she gained the respect of a team working across dozens of units and how she creates a culture where everyone feels empowered to grow.

What Does It Mean to Lead?

Gaurava Agarwal, MD, chief wellness executive at Northwestern Medicine, and Logan Pause, program director of Executive Development at Northwestern Medicine set the scene for the Anatomy of an Everyday Leader podcast, discussing their personal journeys, values-based leadership and the workplace determinants of well-being.