Our Existing Assumptions Fail Us

Authority Isn’t Enough

What if the biggest obstacle to improving health in Kansas isn't a lack of resources, knowledge, or will — but a fundamental misunderstanding of what leadership actually is? In this episode of the Leading Health Podcast, we unpack one of the most provocative ideas in the book: having authority and exercising leadership are not the same thing. Fancy titles don't automatically mobilize people. And if Kansas is going to climb the national health rankings, those with power need to understand both what they can uniquely contribute — and what they simply cannot do alone. Teresa Lovelady, President and CEO of HealthCore Clinic in Wichita, joins us again to bring these ideas to life with real-world stories, including a powerful moment during COVID that shows exactly what happens when authority either opens the door — or slams it shut. HIGHLIGHTS • Leadership is an activity, not a title. Exercising leadership means mobilizing others to make progress on tough, adaptive challenges — something a position alone cannot do. • The 30,000 are necessary but not sufficient. Kansas's key civic and institutional leaders must play their part, but no single person or organization has enough authority to close the health gap alone. • Even a governor's authority isn't enough. Adaptive challenges like improving population health require distributed effort across all levels of society. • Authority comes with expectations — and those expectations often work against change. The people who grant authority typically want stability, not disruption. But real progress requires disruption. • People in authority can make change less risky for others. By casting vision, acting as resource brokers, and creating safe spaces to experiment and fail, leaders with authority create conditions where others can lead too. • The framework: protection, direction, and order. Marty Linsky's teaching offers a practical lens — authority's job is not to have the answer, but to protect risk-takers, provide direction, and establish order so others can do the work. • When authority goes wrong, people fall through the cracks. Teresa's COVID vaccine story shows how rigid top-down thinking left 300 homebound seniors unvaccinated — and what it cost the people trying to do the right thing. • Call to action: Build a culture that accepts risk. Members of the 30,000 should examine whether their organizations genuinely create space for risk-taking — because progress on closing the health gap demands it. CHAPTERS 0:00 – Introduction & Episode Overview 1:49 – Why Authority Isn't Enough 1:55 – Leadership vs. Authority: Fancy Titles Don't Mobilize People 3:16 – The 30,000's Role: Necessary but Insufficient to Climb the Health Rankings 4:22 – Guest Returns: Teresa Lovelady on Dual Citizenship (30,000 + ALICE) 5:55 – Making It Concrete: Teresa's Definition of Exercising Leadership 7:07 – COVID as a Case Study: Sharing Leadership Beyond Positions of Power 8:57 – What We Need From Authority: Certainty of Process & Casting Vision 10:49 – Authority as Resource Broker: Clearing Paths, Connecting Resources, Setting Policy 12:44 – No Magic Wand: Wicked Problems, Limited Authority, and Working Together 14:42 – The Tension of Real Change: When Leadership Threatens Organizational Survival 15:42 – Where Authority Comes From: Expectations, Accountability, and Who Grants Power 15:56 – When People Expect "No Chaos": Why Leadership Disrupts 16:22 – The Penalty for Change: Trust, Access, and Job Risk 17:43 – Authority Isn't Enough: Avoiding Martyrs by Sharing the Work 18:50 – Using Authority Well: Direction, Resources, and a Safe Space to Lead 20:17 – What "Safe Space" Really Means: Permission to Make Mistakes 20:33 – Case Study: The Clinic Expansion "Swimming Pool" and Board Support 25:07 – Protection, Direction, Order: A Practical Framework for Authority 26:24 – How Authority Goes Wrong: The COVID Vaccine Homebound Gap 28:44 – Calls to Action & What's Next in the Series RESOURCES • Kansas Leadership Center (KLC) — https://kansasleadershipcenter.org [https://kansasleadershipcenter.org] • HealthCore Clinic (Teresa Lovelady's organization) — https://healthcoreclinic.org [https://healthcoreclinic.org] • America's Health Rankings — https://www.americashealthrankings.org [https://www.americashealthrankings.org] • ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) population framework — https://www.unitedforalice.org [https://www.unitedforalice.org] Leading Health is an invitation to move the needle on Health in Kansas, and we invite you to join us in leading the way.  Don’t have a copy of Leading Health? Claim your copy and learn more about the movement at kansashealth.org/leadinghealth [http://kansashealth.org/leadinghealth] And be sure to subscribe, and drop a comment to let us know what you think.

It’s Risky

Leadership isn't all kumbaya. The truth is, real leadership, the kind that moves the needle on something as daunting as closing the health gap, is risky. It requires disrupting the status quo, disappointing your own people, and absorbing the discomfort that comes with change. But as this episode makes clear, the cost of avoiding that risk is even higher. In this episode, hosts Ed O'Malley and Susan Kang are joined by returning guest Kenny Wilk to unpack why exercising leadership is inherently risky, what it looks like in practice and why the reward on the other side is worth it. Highlights * While many individuals placed in leadership roles believe they’re exercising leadership, it’s actually exceedingly rare.  * Leadership is risky because it’s about disruption, and how it requires disappointing your own people at a rate they can absorb.  * The risk-reward mismatch in health equity: the 30,000 Kansans with the most influence must take risk to benefit the people with the least, such as the ALICE population (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed). * The remarkable turnaround of the University of Kansas Health System, from one of the worst-rated hospitals in the nation (below the 5th percentile in patient satisfaction) to consistently above the 90th percentile. * Kenny's personal framework for staying motivated to lead on issues that don't directly benefit him: gratitude, paying it forward and finding deep satisfaction in others' success. * The "Salad Week" story from the 2002 Kansas legislative budget crisis. A vivid example of leaders forcing uncomfortable conversations their own caucus didn't want to have. * The Kansas Capitol restoration decision: why Kenny and Senate counterpart Steve Morris refused to defund it even in a financial crisis and why it paid off. * Examples of risk in what Kansans experience every day, but could deliver a great payoff.  * How embracing the opportunity to challenge one another with different ideas can introduce new ways of thinking.  Chapters 1:19 – Review, Preview and Big Picture  2:57 – Introducing Chapter 10: [Leadership] is Risky 5:33 – How Leadership Involves Disruption and Loss 7:50 – Leadership Requires Disappointing Your Own People 9:33 –  KHF Strategy as an Example 12:21 – Risk vs. Reward in Health Equity 14:31 – Kenny on the risks and transformation of the Kansas Health System 16:14 – From Worst to Best: Culture Shift 19:05 – Metrics and Momentum Wins 21:07 – The Risky Turnaround Story 23:08 – Pay It Forward Mindset 26:19 – Hallmark Promotion Risk 27:58 – Post-9/11 Budget Crisis 30:14 – Salad Week Disruption 32:55 – Capitol Restoration Resolve 34:50 – Everyday Risk Examples 37:10 – Acceptance and Pushback 39:01 – Make Leadership Ubiquitous 40:10 – Resources and Final Challenge 42:45 – Closing and Next Chapter Resources * Kansas Leadership Center (KLC) — kansasleadershipcenter.org [https://www.kansasleadershipcenter.org/] * Proud but Never Satisfied — book about the transformation of the University of Kansas Health System - https://www.kansashealthsystem.com/proud-but-never-satisfied [https://www.kansashealthsystem.com/proud-but-never-satisfied]  * University of Kansas Health System — kansashealthsystem.com [https://www.kansashealthsystem.com/] Leading Health is an invitation to move the needle on Health in Kansas, and we invite you to join us in leading the way.  Don’t have a copy of Leading Health? Claim your copy and learn more about the movement at kansashealth.org/leadinghealth [http://kansashealth.org/leadinghealth] And be sure to subscribe, and drop a comment to let us know what you think.

It Requires Loss

It’s no secret that to solve the Health Gap in Kansas, we need those in authority to stop thinking of this as a health challenge and start thinking of it as a leadership challenge that requires a lot of change. We know that what people often fear most about change is losing something that matters to them. Understanding that distinction is the key that unlocks real progress.  In this chapter of Leading Health, Ed O'Malley and Susan Kang dig into one of the most important and most overlooked concepts in leadership: the relationship between change and loss. Joined again by Johnathan Sublet, founder of SENT, Inc. in Topeka, they explore what it truly takes to help communities let go of what is to make room for what could be. Kansas has climbed to #27 in the health rankings — three consecutive years of improvement for the first time in 35 years. Getting to #1 will require leaders who can name the losses, speak to them honestly and create space for others to do the same. Highlights * People don't fear change — they fear loss. Reframing resistance as data, not opposition, shifts the locus of responsibility back to the leader. * When someone pushes back on your idea, that's information. It means they perceive a loss you haven't yet addressed. * Speaking to loss is powerful. So is letting loss speak — inviting others to voice what's hard creates trust and energizes people toward change. * Johnathan Sublet shares five universal fears (death, being an outsider, the future, chaos and insignificance) and the five corresponding needs leaders must address to reduce anxiety and improve performance. * The story of Topeka's first net-zero home and a significant tree to a grieving family. Illustrating what it looks like to speak to loss in a deeply human way. * Technical experts (engineers, health professionals, administrators) face a particular challenge: their expertise can lead them to double down on logic when empathy is what's needed. * The Moses framework: leadership requires both systems-thinking and shepherding, and most leaders are naturally strong in only one. * Closing the urban-rural divide in Kansas health requires people to lose their attachment to the idea that their challenge is uniquely theirs. * Prioritizing health means deprioritizing something else, and that's a real loss for the people who care about those other things. * Think 401k, not day trading: small, consistent, compounding investments in a shared strategy, not swinging for the miracle, is how Kansas gets to #1. Chapters 0:47 — Introduction: Chapter 9 — It's a Leadership Challenge Because It Requires Loss 4:00 — People Don't Fear Change — They Fear Loss 5:03 — Resistance as Data: What Pushback Is Really Telling You 7:25 — Speaking to Loss vs. Letting Loss Speak 10:01 — Guest Introduction: Johnathan Sublet, SENT 12:38 — The Five Universal Fears and Five Universal Needs 15:19 — Real-World Loss: Topeka's First Net Zero Home and the Tree 18:17 — The Moses Framework: Systems Thinking Meets Shepherding 27:27 — Letting Go of Your Preferred Strategy: The K-State Transdisciplinary Housing Team 32:57 — Six Sigma and Prioritizing for Impact: The Sent Network Approach 36:07 — Takeaways: Acknowledging Loss to Make Progress 37:24 — 401k vs. Day Trading: A Mindset for Long-Term Health Leadership Resources Mentioned * America's Health Rankings [https://www.americashealthrankings.org/] * SENT [https://senttopeka.com/] — A Topeka-based nonprofit that focuses on Community Health and Wellness, Education and Workforce Development and Housing and Revitalization.  Leading Health is an invitation to move the needle on Health in Kansas, and we invite you to join us in leading the way.  Don’t have a copy of Leading Health? Claim your copy and learn more about the movement at kansashealth.org/leadinghealth [http://kansashealth.org/leadinghealth] And be sure to subscribe, and drop a comment to let us know what you think.

Our Existing Assumptions Fail Us

What if the biggest barrier to better health in your community isn't a lack of resources, but a set of assumptions you didn't even know you were making? In this conversation, co-hosts Ed O'Malley and Susan Kang are joined by returning guest Kenny Wilk of the University of Kansas Health System. Together, they unpack how hidden assumptions — about who should be involved, what needs to be done, and how fast progress can happen — quietly shape how people in authority think and act. Wilk shares candid stories from his time in the Kansas Legislature and offers a fresh lens on exercising leadership. This conversation will challenge you to surface the assumptions driving your own work before they become "premeditated resentments." Highlights * The three most common assumptions the 30,000 make when tackling complex health challenges, and why each one can derail progress. * The critical difference between adaptive and technical challenges.  * Kenny Wilk's hard-won insight from the Kansas Legislature: don't ask people to change their minds; give them new information so they can make a new decision. * How sharing information to ‘slow things down’ can help a group go farther, together.  * The "sidewalk story" is a simple metaphor that reframes how we see ‘work’ being done.  * The danger of bringing people together only to present a baked solution, and what to do instead. Chapters 0:47 —Leading Health Review, Preview and Big Picture.  3:02 — Chapter Eight insight: "Closing the Health Gap Is a Leadership Challenge Because Our Existing Assumptions Fail Us" 4:55 — The three common assumptions the 30,000 make 6:28 — The quick fix trap 8:37 — Technical vs. adaptive: a broken bone example 11:14 — Kenny Wilk joins the conversation 12:18 — The water debate: a lesson from Kenny's first year in the legislature 14:52 — Defining "assumption" — and why we're all starting from different places 15:56 — You have to slow down to go far 16:22 — Getting up on the balcony to examine assumptions 17:52 — New decisions, not mind changes 19:13 — How authority can create space for assumption-surfacing 21:05 — Why leaders jump straight to solutions 22:59 — From kitchen table to campaign trail to governing — three different phases 24:27 — Technical vs. adaptive challenges in practice 27:13 — What authorities must do differently on adaptive challenges 30:46 — The sidewalk story: seeing the invisible work of adaptive leadership 33:50 — Takeaways and preview of the next episode Resources Mentioned * Kansas Health Rankings [https://www.kdheks.gov/] * University of Kansas Health System [https://www.kansashealthsystem.com/] * Kansas Leadership Center (KLC) [https://kansasleadershipcenter.org/] Leading Health is an invitation to move the needle on Health in Kansas, and we invite you to join us in leading the way.  Don’t have a copy of Leading Health? Claim your copy and learn more about the movement at kansashealth.org/leadinghealth [http://kansashealth.org/leadinghealth] And be sure to subscribe, and drop a comment to let us know what you think.

We Don’t Agree on What Caused the Problem, or the Solutions

What if the biggest barrier to improving the health of an entire state isn't a lack of medicine, money, or expertise, but a failure of leadership? In Chapter 7 of Leading Health, we tackle one of the most provocative ideas in the book: Kansas can't climb the health rankings without first confronting the reality that we don't agree on what caused the problem or what the solution is. That makes it a leadership challenge before it's a health challenge. This episode features a special guest — Ben Hutton, President and CEO of Hutton Company — who brings a private-sector perspective to a conversation typically dominated by the public sector. We explore what it means to lead with both humility and bold experimentation, and why getting people focused on the right problems might be more important than having all the right answers. Highlights * Kansas has improved its health rankings for three consecutive years, a meaningful milestone that deserves more attention. * Leadership is an activity, not a position and authority and leadership are two distinct things. * The role of those in authority isn't to proclaim solutions; it's to center the problem and create alignment. * Every person in the "30,000" has a part of the mess — defining your part is often the most actionable first step. * Goals and strategies are not the same; confusing them is one of the most common traps when tackling adaptive challenges (Medicaid expansion is a strategy; ensuring Kansans have adequate health insurance is a goal). * The Hutton Company implemented the Dream Manager program — helping employees name and pursue personal dreams, from climbing Machu Picchu to buying a first home. * Discuss why businesses need to think about both  Capital H health (everything we need to thrive) vs. little h health (healthcare). * The "$50,000 experiment" framework: big enough to matter if it works, small enough to survive if it doesn't. * Third-grade literacy as a leading indicator: solving upstream problems prevents a cascade of downstream challenges. * Two people — and two ideas — can both be right at the same time. The tragedy of our era is that we've shifted from advocating for our ideas to advocating against our opponents' ideas. * Purpose-driven businesses that invest in capital H health tend to be more profitable in traditional measures too; the data bears this out. Chapters 0:48 — Introduction & Chapter 7 Overview 4:49 — Leadership vs. Authority: Lessons from COVID 11:51 — Introducing Ben Hutton 13:27 — Capital H vs. Little H Health in the Workplace 15:24 — The Dream Manager Program 19:18 — Finite vs. Infinite Games & the Case for Experimentation 25:23 — Disrupting Entrenched Narratives 35:46 — Goals vs. Strategies: How to Create Alignment 37:09 — Closing Takeaways Resources Mentioned * The Dream Manager [https://www.dreammanger.com/] by Matthew Kelly * The Infinite Game [https://simonsinek.com/books/the-infinite-game/] by Simon Sinek * Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maslow%27s_hierarchy_of_needs] * Hutton [https://huttonbuilds.com/] Leading Health is an invitation to move the needle on Health in Kansas, and we invite you to join us in leading the way.  Don’t have a copy of Leading Health? Claim your copy and learn more about the movement at kansashealth.org/leadinghealth [http://kansashealth.org/leadinghealth] And be sure to subscribe, and drop a comment to let us know what you think.