Physician leaders are often chosen because they are the people who can handle things.
They are responsible and responsive. They notice the problem before someone else does. They take the shift, answer the email, and stay late to fix what is not working.
Those qualities can make us excellent physicians. They can also pull us into a version of leadership that is exhausting for us and for everyone around us.
In this episode, Dr. Jessie Mahoney explores what it means to lead with a lens to wellness: your wellness and the wellness of the people you lead. This is not about adding one more thing to your leadership to-do list. It is about noticing that you are already modeling a way of being—through your urgency, availability, tone, attention, and nervous system.
Jessie offers several practical reframes for physician leaders:
Tenacity is not the same as toxic endurance.
Being approachable is not the same as being endlessly accessible.
Just because you can do something does not mean you should.
Control is not safety.
A rushed leader creates a rushed culture.
When people do not feel safe, they shift from contribution to self-preservation.
She also shares the image of the lighthouse and the Zodiac raft. A lighthouse is grounded, present, and intentional with its energy. It shines a light that helps others find their way. A Zodiac raft is reactive, loud, fuel-consuming, and always rushing toward the next emergency.
What would it look like to be a lighthouse in your department? What light do people need from you right now?
Learn more about 1:1, small-group coaching and retreats
Join Jessie Mahoney’s Yoga: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/yoga
*Nothing shared in the Healing Medicine Podcast is medical advice. The Healing Medicine Podcast was formerly known as the Mindful Healers Podcast.