GI Unit Leadership: Shaping a High-Performing Endoscopy Unit (On-Demand) | February 2026-01_Winters

01_Winters_Youre the Leader

Pdf Summary

The presentation "You’re the Leader. Now What?" by Richard Winters, MD, MBA, PCC, focuses on practical leadership strategies for addressing complex challenges in healthcare settings. Dr. Winters, an Emergency Physician and Leadership Development Director at Mayo Clinic, introduces a structured approach called the ROW Forward Framework to guide leaders through decision-making processes.<br /><br />Key concepts include identifying a "Complex Challenge," which is framed as an actionable, forward-looking question beginning with “How do we…?” This question sets the stage for collaborative exploration and solutions. Leaders are encouraged to develop a "Shared Reality" by capturing diverse perspectives through surveys, group discussions, or interviews, thus overcoming individual cognitive traps like simple stories, rightness, agreement, control, and ego, which can limit problem-solving.<br /><br />The framework emphasizes balancing personal viewpoints (“What do I think?”) with collective understanding (“What do we think?”), fostering a shared vision and addressing fears and worries among stakeholders. Various option types are presented for moving forward—such as implementing specific tasks, investigating open questions, removing unhelpful activities, or opting to maintain the status quo—highlighting flexibility in leadership responses.<br /><br />Dr. Winters also underscores the pitfalls of leadership mindtraps identified by Jennifer Garvey Berger and draws on Heifetz’s concept of the "dance floor" metaphor for adaptive leadership. The cautionary note stresses that decision-making loses momentum if participants disengage after meetings without committed follow-through.<br /><br />Overall, the presentation offers a practical, research-backed guide to navigating leadership complexity using a systematic approach that integrates self-awareness, shared understanding, and action planning. It serves as a resource for healthcare leaders aiming to lead effectively through ambiguity and foster meaningful progress in their organizations.

Keywords

Leadership strategies

Healthcare leadership

Complex challenges

ROW Forward Framework

Shared reality

Cognitive traps

Collaborative decision-making

Adaptive leadership

Leadership mindtraps

Healthcare organizational progress