Lead Well MD: Transforming Healthcare Through Effective Clinician Leadership
Welcome to Lead Well MD where we dive into the art and science of effective clinician leadership. Through compelling stories and insightful conversations with guests from across healthcare, we explore the intersection between the foundational skills of emotional intelligence and effective clinician leadership. We examine how leaders can drive meaningful change and transform how they care for their teams, their organizations, and their patients.
Join Ashley Wendel, MA—physician leadership consultant, 1:1 advisor, and trusted guide—as she shares practical leadership tips and strategies honed over 17 years of partnering with clinician leaders like you. Each episode is designed to empower you with tools to lead more effectively and inspire change within your teams and organizations.
Our mission is to help you understand yourself and others more deeply while building the critical leadership skills needed to make a lasting impact. Together, let’s equip you to be the most effective leader possible, driving meaningful and transformative change in healthcare.
Tune in and lead well—because your leadership matters more than ever.
Lead Well MD: Transforming Healthcare Through Effective Clinician Leadership
"Building High-Trust Teams in High-Stakes Environments: Lessons From The Battlefield" with Randall Wickman, Col. (Ret.) US Army
In this powerful episode of Lead Well MD, we step outside of medicine and into the world of military leadership — but stay firmly rooted in what matters most: building trust in high-stakes, high-pressure environments.
Ashley is joined by Colonel Randall Wickman, a retired U.S. Army Infantry Officer, combat-wounded veteran, and former Pentagon leader who now works in healthcare leadership development. With nearly 30 years of active duty, Colonel Wickman has led soldiers in some of the most intense environments on earth - and he brings battle-tested wisdom directly to clinician leaders navigating the chaos and responsibility of modern healthcare.
Together, they explore:
- Why trust is everything when the stakes are high
- A three-part framework for trust: competence, character, and reciprocity
- How quiet teams - not loud ones - are often the ones in crisis
- How structured reflection builds accountability and prevents blame
- What it means to truly earn the title of "leader" - in the OR, on the floor, or in combat
If you’re a physician leader navigating burnout, team dysfunction, or the isolation of responsibility, this conversation will change how you think about trust - and how you build it.
