You can learn to be resilient, says author-speaker

In this episode, Matt Holsen with Sanford Health News talks with author-speaker Chad Foster on the topics of leadership, resilience, and overcoming adversity. 

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Transcript

Alan Helgeson (announcer):

“Reimagining Rural Health, a podcast series brought to you by Sanford Health. In this series, we explore the challenges facing health care systems across the country, from improving access to equitable care, building a sustainable workforce, and discovering innovative ways to deliver high quality, low-cost services in rural and underserved populations. Each episode examines how Sanford Health and other health systems are advancing care for the unique communities they serve.

In this episode, Matt Holsen with Sanford Health News talks with author-speaker Chad Foster on the topics of leadership, resilience, and overcoming adversity.

Matt Holsen (host):

Thanks for being with us here this morning.

Chad Foster (guest):

Thank you for having me. Pleasure to be with you.

Matt Holsen:

You have an incredible story that's inspired people around the world. Can you share a little bit about your story and how you got here today?

Chad Foster:

Sure, yeah. I have a bit of a unique story. I grew up, was able to see pretty well, couldn't see well at night, and ended up losing all of my eyesight when I was in college at roughly 21 years old. And, you know, wasn't sure what I was going to do. Wanted to go into the medical field to help other people.

Then after I went blind, you know, I wasn't even sure if I could help myself and switched my major to business. Ended up becoming a better blind student than sighted student. You know, made straight A's, made the dean's list, got a job in tech. Ended up moving up through the tech ranks and negotiating billion-dollar deals and doing some things that some people would consider remarkable.

I guess the kicker is I did it without being able to see. And so now I do things that most blind people don't do. Like jump out of airplanes, and fighting jujitsu tournaments, and downhill ski on double black diamonds. So, I try not to feel limited by my circumstances. And so now that's what I do is I teach people the anatomy of resilience. How did I go from blind and broke to negotiating billion-dollar deals? And so I like to teach people the anatomy of resilience so that they don't have to feel limited by their own circumstances.

Matt Holsen:

That is an incredible message. Of course, we work in health care, so we want to know if leadership as a concept is sick; what's its diagnosis?

Chad Foster:

You know, I'm not sure if leadership itself is broken, but I do feel like as a society, we have a tendency to shy away from some of the hard truths, the hard reality. And so I do feel like we've shifted as a society to be a little more fragile. And some of that's our own doing, you know, trying to shelter people from the harshness of situations.

In my situation, there was no sheltering me from the harshness of my situation. I went blind, and it was either figure out a way to move forward or, you know, go in my corner and cry for the rest of my life. And so I had to figure things out. And so I think that actually forced me to grow up. It forced me to be accountable. And I think if I had to say there's one thing that is probably missing more so than anything, it's probably that accountability.

Matt Holsen:

What would you say resilience means, and how can it make leaders stronger?

Chad Foster:

Well, resilience, there's actually an anatomy of resilience, a formula for resilience. A lot of people think it's something you're born with or not. I don't believe that at all. I think it's a set of learned behaviors. So that's what I'd like to teach.

I'll break down the five pillars really quickly here, but there's a lot of nuance to these that we'll go into here in just a few moments when I keynote. But the first one is, you have to learn that. You have to choose your response. That's pillar number one. If you don't choose your response, you just react to whatever's going on around you, then you don't have control of the situation. You're not responsible for your circumstances, but you've got to own your outcomes.

Pillar number two is you got to tell yourself the right stories. You don't get to control everything that happens to you, but you alone get to choose how you respond and the meaning that you attach to those circumstances. I could have sat around telling myself that I went blind because I've got terrible luck. But instead, I told myself that I went blind because I'm one of the few people who can deal with it and help other people by what I've learned.

Pillar number three is you've got to visualize greatness. And sometimes you got to do that in unfavorable circumstances. I had to figure out how to make blind look good. It's a little tongue-in-cheek, but there's a lot of truth to it because if you can't ever imagine greatness in your unfavorable circumstances, how could you ever move towards acceptance of them, let alone thriving in them? And so that's really important.

Pillar number four is where mindset meets action. You've got to get comfortable with discomfort. Because if you're never getting outside of your comfort zone, then you'll never grow. It's where life begins is outside our comfort zones.

And then finally, pillar number five is you have to take advantage of your perceived disadvantages. Every perceived disadvantage offers us some advantage if we can just use it in the right context.

Matt Holsen:

I love that. And these are pillars that, you know, can help anyone. Of course, we work in health care. So, why is it especially helpful for leaders in health care, do you think, to look at these pillars?

Chad Foster:

Health care's been through a lot. Not saying anything that your listeners don't know, right? We went from a pretty tough environment and then into COVID chaos. And then shortly after that, everything that we've seen over the last several years, and most recently, you know, all the supply chain disruption and burnout, workplace violence, workplace incivility, all these things, people need to be more resilient.

I'd say, particularly in health care. I'd say one out of every three events that I do right now is in the health care space. And it's because they've been under so much pressure for so many years. If you go back, things weren't great before COVID, and that was in 2020.

So, we're now looking at what six, seven years of pressure that the industry has been under? And you know, folks are hurting. And I think resilience is really important so that they can find the meaning and find the purpose in why they're navigating the circumstances that they're navigating. It's the meaning we attach to those circumstances that determines how we feel about them. And it was Nietzsche who said, “He who has the why to live can bear almost any how.” So, it's really important to find the right meaning to attach to those circumstances.

Matt Holsen:

Health care is always changing. What tips do you have for leaders who are trying to lead through that change?

Chad Foster:

Well, you have to get out in front of your teams and help them understand the right narratives to attach to them. The whole framework for resilient thinking, you know, as human beings, we tend to default to whatever comes to mind. We're less intentional about how we choose to digest a situation.

Well, as leaders, it's leaders' jobs to go in and help their teams, their organizations understand, how do I help my team choose the right response? Help them tell themselves the right stories? How do I help them visualize their greatness in these circumstances? What can I do to set them up to get more comfortable with discomfort? And what perceived disadvantages can we take advantage of to help out?

And so, I think, you know, really helping the team understand and not default to just, oh, I'm going to react to whatever's going on around me. You know, helping them understand how they can be more intentional about how they approach a situation.

Matt Holsen:

Exactly. I mean, you talked a little bit about, you know, how you can turn maybe something that you perceive initially as a problem into an opportunity. Do you think challenges and setbacks can fuel innovation?

Chad Foster:

Where would we be without them? Honestly, if you never had any challenges in your life, how rewarding would your life be? If you look back on some of the most fulfilling moments in your life, I'd be willing to bet that they're probably some of the hardest things you've ever done.

But you're proud of those moments because they tested you, they tried you, and you came out on top. A life without any obstacles at all, without any setbacks, any challenges, removes all opportunities for growth. The only way that we can ever grow is to face difficult situations. The only way that we can innovate is to get comfortable in the discomfort, to experiment, to face the fear, move towards the fear, do the things that are uncomfortable. And that's how you expand. That's how you grow.

Matt Holsen:

Very, very well said. You're on a podcast right now, but we want to ask you, what book or podcasts are you listening to right now? What's in your playlist?

Chad Foster:

Well, I've got a few things that I'm listening to right now. I've been really tied up right now working on my masterclass, trying to button all that down. But I'd say I'm really into anything that's all about, you know, how do we control the stories that we're telling ourselves and mindsets? So, I don't really have anything that I'm actively listening to right now at the moment.

But I have a few favorites, you know, that I've listened to several times. I really like, you know, Chris Voss’—I don’t know if you've ever heard or listened to, or read, “Never Split the Difference.” Really good book. And people think it's about negotiations, but it's really more about human empathy and understanding, which I think we need now, maybe more so than ever.

A lot of people have conversations, and what they're doing is just waiting on their turn to talk as opposed to really hearing that of the person and making them feel seen and heard. And he talks about it through the lens of negotiations. Specifically, he was the lead FBI international hostage negotiator.

Matt Holsen:

Wow.

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Chad Foster:

And so that's where the name of the book comes from: “Never Split the Difference.” You can't split people, right? And so he had to figure out a way to secure the hostages, but it's all about meeting people where they are and understanding.

And it's not about what can I get out of you, but it's about, you know, how can I get to know you better and maybe understand why you want something or think something that's different than me? Maybe I can learn something from you. That empathy, that humility of being able to meet people where they are, not where we think they should be, that allows us to connect with them.

Matt Holsen:

Amen. How can our listeners learn more about your journey and, yeah, maybe your leadership lessons as well?

Chad Foster:

Yeah, if they go to my website, chadefoster.com, from there, they could find videos, blog articles, press, pretty much everything, links to the masterclass – all the things are right there at my website, chadefoster.com.

Matt Holsen:

Is there anything else you'd like to say before we wrap up here?

Chad Foster:

I think folks right now in health care are going through a lot. I just, I think it's so so important to not only determine what stories you're telling yourself about the circumstances, you know, why this is happening to you, why this is happening to health care. But making sure that you stay grounded in why you're doing the work that you're doing.

As someone who wanted to go into the medical space myself, what was drawing me in was serving other people. And I know that's what's drawn folks in here. And sometimes we get caught up in the day-to-day and we forget about that. But if you can stay grounded in why you're doing the work that you're doing, the meaning of the work, and how you're contributing to that in your way, then I think it'll help you navigate whatever unfolds in front of you.

Alan Helgeson:

You’ve been listening to “Reimagining Rural Health,” a podcast series brought to you by Sanford Health. Hear more episodes in this series or other Sanford Health series wherever you get your podcasts and at news.sanfordhealth.org.