The transition from practicing physician to system leader looks smooth from the outside. Internally, it’s often much more complicated.

In this episode, Ashley Wendel talks with Dr. Rob Nordgren, Divisional Chief Medical Officer at Sutter Health, about what physicians have to learn as they move from bedside expertise into broader organizational leadership. They discuss the identity shift that comes with leadership, the role of trust and emotional intelligence, how to navigate resistance and change, and why courageous conversations matter so much in complex systems.

This is a grounded, honest conversation about what leadership really asks of physicians now - not just expertise, but influence, self-awareness, and the ability to bring people with you.

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Episode Summary (succinct, with key highlights)

In this episode, Ashley sits down with Dr. Erica Kreismann - emergency medicine physician turned executive coach - to explore what it means to be a woman and clinician leader in today’s healthcare landscape. Erica shares her own formative journey, from training in New York City during 9/11 to making a radical “pattern interrupt” move to Tasmania, and how those experiences reshaped her understanding of purpose, contribution, and sustainable leadership.

Together, they unpack why so many high-performing women in healthcare feel hollow or stuck - not because they’re failing, but because they’ve outgrown the unspoken rules they were taught: be nice, be liked, don’t disappoint, and “if not me, who?” Erica names the invisible weight of emotional labor, the mental load, and the structural realities of medical training that still aren’t designed for women’s lives. The conversation reframes resilience as a shared responsibility - part individual self-awareness and compassion, and part organizational systems that reduce moral injury and create conditions where clinicians can thrive.

Key highlights include practical pathways for change:

• Using curiosity (especially self-curiosity) to identify the narratives we’ve carried
• Recognizing how old stories once protected us but now hold us back
• Building a mindfulness practice that supports presence over performance.

This conversation is a powerful invitation for women leaders - and those who care about women leaders - to give yourself permission to disappoint others, take up space, and lead from a more authentic, sustainable truth.

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What if leadership felt less like carrying all the answers - and more like creating the conditions for others to think and act well together?

In this episode, Ashley Wendel is joined by Dr. Richard Winters, a practicing emergency medicine physician, Director of Leadership Development for the Mayo Clinic Care Network, ICF-certified coach, and author of You’re the Leader, Now What?, for a grounded, honest conversation about what clinician leadership really asks of us.

Together, they explore why leadership can feel so destabilizing for clinicians and how practical frameworks, coaching skills, and facilitation can make the work both more humane and more effective.

In this episode, you’ll hear about:

• Why the shift from expert → facilitator is one of the hardest (and most important) transitions for clinician leaders
• How leadership struggles are normal, not a personal failure—and why naming that matters
• The difference between technical problems and adaptive leadership challenges where no one has the “right” answer
• How to build shared reality before rushing to solutions - and why knowing the answer can actually get in the way
• Why emotional intelligence alone isn’t enough - and how effective leaders balance connection and results
• Coaching as a core leadership competency, not a remedial tool or “extra” task
• Why leadership development must lead to real behavior change, not just completed courses

If you’re a clinician carrying pressure to have all the answers, this episode offers relief, clarity, and practical ways to lead with more intention - without losing yourself in the process.

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