I recently went one-on-one with Wayne Wilson, CEO of Low T Center, SynergenX, and HerKare.
Adam: What were the keys to transitioning from clinician to leader?
Wayne: The keys to transitioning really came from my military background. In the military, we get a lot of leadership training. I was enlisted, so I made sergeant, staff sergeant, and sergeant first class before switching over to become an officer. I went through many leadership courses in the military, which helped me become a successful leader outside of it. After retiring, I joined an entrepreneurial organization that also supports leadership growth. I do a lot of reading, and now with social media platforms, you can search and learn about leadership easily. Every night, I spend 15 to 20 minutes researching topics related to leadership or whatever my monthly theme is, like marketing. That’s how I stay updated and work on bettering myself.
We’ve given leadership roles to what we call center directors, who are mid-level providers like physician assistants and nurse practitioners. I believe in leadership so strongly that I partnered with a former military consultant who was my battalion commander in Iraq. He coaches our center directors through three months of leadership training. He’s a lifelong coach and always available to them. We provide that opportunity to mid-level providers and support their growth through coaching and leadership development in our business.
It’s extremely important to have someone you can talk to about leadership, especially when challenges arise. Being a leader is unique, particularly in health care. Many nurse practitioners have leadership experience, like being in charge of an ER and managing a team of 20 nurses, but transitioning to leadership as a provider is a unique challenge that requires specific skills.
Self-development is essential. I call it opportunity. In the military, I had a great career and worked under great leaders, but I also witnessed bad leadership. When I say opportunity, I mean learning from those situations. You absorb the good traits of strong leaders and avoid the mistakes you’ve seen others make. I take those experiences and build myself by saying, I want to be this kind of leader, not that kind. I think that’s key. Having someone to talk to, a mentor to bounce ideas off, is critical. Not everyone has every answer, but leaders face different challenges every day. It’s important to mentor others and maintain momentum in your company to be a top leader.
Adam: What were the most important skills that you developed and how did you develop them?
Wayne: Yeah, that’s a great question. Going from clinician to CEO, I love what I do. Being a provider in the hormone space is one of the best roles you can have. You see medication work immediately with patients, so it’s hard to step away. I wouldn’t say I stepped away completely. I’m still involved, just not as a clinician. As CEO, I’ve had to take a broader view. It’s not just about patient care anymore, although that’s the most important part. Now I deal with operations, marketing, financials, billing, and insurance. I had to remove myself from day-to-day patient care and start looking at the full picture. I know what happens behind closed doors when clinicians see patients, and I apply that experience to operations, marketing, accounting, finance, legal, and more. What’s helped me succeed is using my clinical background to inform my leadership. I also think I have the respect of our providers because I’ve been in their shoes. I’ve made the tough decisions they have to make.
One of the most important skills I’ve developed is understanding accounting and finance. Clinicians don’t typically receive training in those areas. I took online courses and watched educational content on YouTube and social media to learn. Like I said, I pick a theme and spend 15 to 20 minutes each night learning. Staying ahead of the ever-changing landscape is crucial to developing yourself.
Adam: What do you believe are the keys to effective leadership in the field of health care? And what can anyone in health care do to become a better leader?
Wayne: I think a lot of leadership is about culture and leading from the front. I’m not the kind of leader who says do what I say. I prefer to be side by side with the team and share the why behind our actions. One of the biggest challenges I’ve faced is how spread out our company is. We have 64 clinics in 10 states and 280 providers. Leading from the front is difficult in that environment, but setting the right culture and explaining the why behind business decisions is critical.
The single most important thing in our industry is listening. Good leaders listen to problems, sort through them, and provide solutions. Listening is the first and most essential skill. Right behind that is communication. People interpret words differently, so it’s important to verify what was said and make sure both sides are clear before solving problems. Listening, verifying, and then solving are key steps for any leader.
Adam: What can anyone do to become a more effective communicator?
Wayne: Personally, I’ve gone to counseling, and it’s helped me become a better communicator. I talk regularly with someone who helps me understand communication better. To be a little vulnerable, my wife and I go to counseling not because we have problems, but because it helps us communicate better. One thing I’ve learned is to repeat what I heard and say, what I heard you say is X. Sometimes that’s what I heard, but not what she said. It could be the way I interpreted it. Then we verify and move on. That skill has helped me tremendously as a CEO and also at home.
Feedback is something I talk about all the time. It’s essential, especially in training and communication. If you don’t circle back and ask for feedback after a project, you miss the opportunity to improve. You can have a good process, but if you don’t ask how to make it better, you risk failing as a leader. We talk about feedback constantly at our corporate office. It’s just like onboarding. We want to share who we are and build culture, but we also ask for honest feedback to keep improving. Feedback is key, not just in communication, but across the entire business.
Adam: Are there any other qualities or characteristics that you believe are essential to succeeding as a leader in the field of health care?
Wayne: I do. As a leader in health care, especially as a practitioner, I believe in treating patients with what we call white glove treatment. Treating patients as you would want to be treated or as you’d want your family treated is essential. It makes you a better leader. For example, if a provider tells a patient to wait until tomorrow morning to pick up a prescription but doesn’t clearly explain that, the patient may try to pick it up that evening and get upset when it’s not ready. That breakdown in communication affects patient experience. So I always say, how would you feel if your spouse or child came home upset about something like that? Empathy and communication make better providers and better leaders.
Adam: A lot of what you’re describing is empathy, which is critical to success as a leader. What can anyone do to develop and improve their empathy as a leader?
Wayne: Creating empathy as a leader means working and communicating together. I think that’s one of the things that makes me different. I’m a practitioner and the CEO. Because I’ve been behind the scenes with patients, providers respect my perspective more. They know I understand what they go through. I’m not just a business leader telling them what to do. That connection bridges the gap between business and clinical sides. We talk about empathy a lot, especially how to break things down clearly for patients. In this industry, people want to understand what we’re doing and why. So we take the time to explain and show empathy.
Adam: How can anyone working in the field of healthcare become a better leader?
Wayne: You have to want to be better. It starts with you. I always say be a sponge. I use the acronym: get it, want it, and have the capacity. You have to want it, then figure out how to get there. That’s probably the best advice I can give.
Adam: What have been the most difficult decisions that you’ve had to make as a leader and how have you been able to make them?
Wayne: One of the hardest decisions I’ve made was choosing clinical integrity over business interests. In September 2022, right after we acquired Low T Center and HerKare, we inherited a technology platform with a patient app. It was one of the big reasons we did the acquisition. But during our first town hall, employees gave overwhelming feedback about the platform’s shortcomings. There were medical issues, and it was creating more work instead of solving problems.
Even though millions had been invested in it, I made the tough call to remove it and go back to a manual process until we could rebuild a better platform. It cost us four to five million dollars. But clinical decisions must always come first. Business will follow. Now, after almost two years, we’re rolling out our new technology. We took our time to get it right, making sure it fits our clinical needs first.
Adam: What are some of the difficult decisions that healthcare leaders have to face, and what advice do you have for those facing them on how to navigate difficult decisions in the best way possible?
Wayne: Leaders, especially practitioners, face tough decisions every day, even with simple things like motivating staff. You’re only as good as your team. One of the biggest challenges is that practitioners are trained clinically, not in leadership. That’s where coaching comes in. We give our providers leadership support and help them manage their staff.
We talk about culture and consistency. For example, how do you handle someone showing up late? You may have a great employee who’s late once and another who’s done it multiple times. You have to apply standards fairly. I always go back to the military definition of leadership: providing purpose, direction, and motivation to accomplish the mission. That means understanding your staff, finding what motivates them, and adapting your leadership style accordingly. You can’t lead everyone the same way.
Adam: How can you train your staff on decision-making?
Wayne: Our leadership coach plays a big role. He does a three-month coaching program, but he’s also always available afterward. We also hold clinician meetings where we discuss leadership and tough decisions. Providers share experiences, like HR challenges, and we use those as learning tools. We go over different outcomes and how things could have been handled. That’s important because decisions can lead in many directions, including legal or HR implications.
As leaders, no one is perfect. You learn from mistakes. If you can share those experiences, like a difficult call you had to make, others can learn too. As you said, it’s about the facts you have at the time. It’s easy to look back and second-guess. But when you’re in the moment, you make the best decision you can. Then you learn from it and do better next time. That’s our culture.
Adam: Do you have any other best practices to follow or pitfalls to avoid on decision-making?
Wayne: I’d say don’t be afraid. A lot of leaders are scared to talk about mistakes. But it’s okay. Be vulnerable. Talk about what you didn’t know, what you learned, and what you’d do differently. That vulnerability leads to better decisions and helps others grow. Some people avoid these conversations because they don’t want to look bad. But that’s how you develop.
