0:00:00 Maia Carter: Here is your host.
0:00:02 Will Rucker: Good morning, Las Vegas, and welcome to A Healthier Tomorrow. I’m Maia Carter and I am so grateful that you have joined us for this week’s program where we have real conversations with real people to get us real healthy. How about that? Today’s conversation is especially exciting because it sits at the intersection of purpose, performance and identity. You know, there’s an old story about a young saxophonist who spent years mastering every single note, learning every skill, every technique imaginable.
0:00:38 Will Rucker: And one day she was invited to play with a world renowned jazz band. She walked into that rehearsal confident in her talent, but by the end of that first hour, she was so overwhelmed. Not because she couldn’t play, because girlfriend could jam, but because no one had taught her how to lead herself in that environment. How to listen across sections, how to recover from mistakes under pressure, how to manage that emotional weight of high expectations.
0:01:07 Will Rucker: Yeah, she knew how to perform, but she didn’t yet know how to navigate the room she had earned the right to enter. And honestly, that shows up everywhere it happens in healthcare, which is what we’re gonna talk about today. But you know, as a new parent, it shows up at home with my 5 month old baby girl. So people work so hard to become technically excell, only to discover that success at the next level requires totally different skills.
0:01:37 Will Rucker: Let me tell y’, all, if you don’t know, being a parent requires some different skills. Okay, I’m getting off my soapbox here, but that’s why today’s conversation matters. So even if you are not in healthcare, trust me, you want to text your friends, text your co workers, alert the group, chat, send a carrier pigeon if you have to. A Healthier Tomorrow is officially on the air and our guest today live in Studio, is Will Rucker.
0:02:02 Will Rucker: She is a medical doctor, a coach, a public health professional, and you know what? She’s just a great human being. She wrote a book called the Leadership Prescription. And I think that title tells us exactly what we’re going to talk about today. Because leadership isn’t something most people just inherit the moment they get a title or promotion. It requires preparation and as she reminded me earlier, some emotional intelligence, too. So with that, without further ado, welcome to A Healthier Tomorrow, none other than Dr. Niea Carter. Good morning.
0:02:33 Maia Carter: Good morning, Will. Thank you so much for having me on your show today. It’s a pleasure to be here.
0:02:37 Will Rucker: Oh, I am so excited that you’re here. Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to talk with me and our amazing audience. That’s listening intently right now. So your book is called the Leadership Prescription. I want to dive right in and tell me why that title felt right for your message.
0:02:56 Maia Carter: Well, the Leadership Prescription, I chose this title because this really resonated with me when I said, this is what it is, a prescription. Because I’ve been practicing medicine for 18 years. I’ve been a leader. I’ve been in leadership roles for over 11 years now. In 2015, when I was tapped for leadership, I was qualified, but I felt unprepared and I needed a prescription, I needed a framework. I needed some structure on how to go about this new foreign land.
0:03:30 Maia Carter: Edgier, beautiful analogy that you just mentioned with the musician. I felt the same way. I was seeing patients. I mean, I was coming in early, staying late, clinical excellence. I was the go to person for primary care and really was well respected. But then when I got into that first leadership role, it was just completely unfamiliar and having to step into an environment, having conversations with non clinicians, people who had or outside of direct patient care, and really learning the language, the vocabulary, having to understand this conversation and tapping into emotional intelligence on a whole nother level.
0:04:14 Maia Carter: I needed a prescription and creating a framework for myself is what I needed to do. And I share that framework with others in this book.
0:04:24 Will Rucker: I love it, I love it, I love it. So let’s back up to. Before you even start. I can’t believe it’s at 18 years.
0:04:30 Maia Carter: 18 years. I know.
0:04:32 Will Rucker: Oh, my goodness. But before we got you actually putting on that white coat, right?
0:04:37 Maia Carter: Yes.
0:04:37 Will Rucker: What led you to that moment?
0:04:39 Maia Carter: Wow. You know, as a child, I was always interested in science. I did well in science. I come from a family of medical professionals. All right. My mother has a bachelor’s of nursing. She also has multiple degrees in social work and sociology, including a double PhD. My father is an anesthesiologist. So I was exposed to health and science and wellness and caring for people. I also grew up watching my mother care for her parents and bringing us along and making my siblings. And I and I had jobs to do, right. In terms of caring for my grandmother, who was blind, and really understanding what it is to respect our elders and care for people and have a heart for people. So early on, and in addition to some shadowing I did in hospitals, I learned that I was good at science and I really love caring for people, the humanity of it. And I had this appreciation for the environmental factors, the community, the health and wellness. I always say health happens at home.
0:05:45 Maia Carter: You know, we can take care of patients in the Clinic all day. We can see them in the hospital and discharge them. But what happens at home, that’s where health really is. And so that is very intriguing to me. It’s important to me, and that’s been part of my mission and focus for the last almost 20 years now.
0:06:05 Will Rucker: I love it. So one thing that really stood out to me is you have a master’s in public health. Yes. And, you know, well, let’s just call out the elephant in the room. You are a black physician, right?
0:06:17 Maia Carter: Yes, I am.
0:06:17 Will Rucker: And so it’s not. Not a whole lot of us yet. But, you know, the numbers are growing, but you’re making waves in that. So you’re a unicorn, in a sense, for multiple reasons. But why did you include public health in your studies?
0:06:31 Maia Carter: I included public health because in addition to really loving to take care of that patient in front of me, I just always had that appreciation for the community in which that patient comes from. Growing up, traveling, growing up, my parents exposed me to different economic situations that people were going through. We got to see a lot. I got to travel to different countries and really be able to see the dynamic and the variabilities.
0:07:00 Maia Carter: So we can give out and prescribe medication all day, but if the environment is not congrusive to health and wellness, you know, what’s in the home? Who is in the home? You know, is this a safe place for people to be? Right. And so looking at things holistically is something that has always been intriguing to me, and I’ve always felt led to work in underserved populations. My medical training was in California, in the Bay Area, in an underserved community.
0:07:32 Maia Carter: You know, I serve right now, you know, in the federal sector with, you know, our veterans. And so it’s just part of me. It makes sense.
0:07:43 Will Rucker: Yeah. It’s really important to me that people understand you’re coming at this with a community mindset. And I like that you said health starts at home, because it really does. I mean, we won’t get on this soapbox, but who’s in your house does matter, and those relationships actually do impact your health. So it’s so important to have not only the broader community, but that household community be in line and together and working towards some of those similar goals.
0:08:11 Will Rucker: So I want to get into kind of the concept of this book a little bit first. Why do clinicians need leadership skills?
0:08:19 Maia Carter: Well, we, as clinicians, we need leadership skills because we need more clinicians, physicians, and other clinicians at the leadership table. We need to be in the boardrooms making decisions on patient care. Now we don’t.
0:08:35 Will Rucker: I want you to unpack that just a little bit for me because the boardroom is where the decisions are made. But you know, as a patient, you walk into the doctor’s office, you think that that’s kind of the end of the story. Well, the doctor said, I need X, Y and Z. Or the other side is like, man, they only talked to me for five minutes. But they don’t understand that that doctor’s doing what they have.
0:08:55 Will Rucker: Why is that important?
0:08:57 Maia Carter: Right? And so we have a unique role as physicians and other clinicians because we get to interact with patients. We are right there, boots on the ground, understanding the workflow, the operations, understanding firsthand what’s working and what’s not working. And so when we’re making decisions with other, our non clinician administrator colleagues, it’s really helpful to really leverage our superpower, as I like to call it, and be able to say, you know what, I get it.
0:09:29 Maia Carter: We need to make sure that our hospital organization is efficient and that, you know, we make good business sense. But how do we. Right, but how do we balance that with, you know, wellness and making sure our patients get what they need, Right? And so really having that tactical, practical, real time input into what’s working and what’s not working, because something can look like, wow, you know, we are cutting costs, we’re efficient, we’re seeing more patients, but at what cost, at what risk? And so where is that sweet spot? And that’s where I think us as clinicians can step up. Right, and rise to the fullness of our leadership capacity and really sit alongside our non clinician friends and have some impact.
0:10:16 Will Rucker: You are listening to A Healthier Tomorrow right here on the people station Power 88.1. Our guest today is live in studio. Her name is Will Rucker and as you can hear, she is an incredible leader and a thought leader in this space of how do we make healthcare holistic? And I love that she is saying health and wellness because the two go together. So her book the leadership Prescription is phenomenal.
0:10:46 Will Rucker: It’s part of this book. She created a thrive framework. And so Dr. Good doctor.
0:10:52 Maia Carter: Yes.
0:10:53 Will Rucker: What is this thrive framework?
0:10:55 Maia Carter: The Thrive framework is what I believe every leader in healthcare or outside of healthcare really needs to embody in order to be successful in leadership and have sustainability. We can go to leadership programs all day long and learn business acumen and learn different things. But thrive is an acronym, so Thrive starts with T. Trusting your leadership identity, knowing who you are before anyone else can gives you Any validation?
0:11:23 Maia Carter: We don’t need external validation. We go inward. Right. And we make sure that we switch our inner critic to our inner advocate. All right. And be able to rise up and trust our leadership identity. H is harnessing our strengths, understanding what we’re good at, understanding what people are complimenting us on, leveraging those strengths. We’re finding roles and positions that help us to leverage those strengths for excellence.
0:11:50 Maia Carter: All right. R is rebounding from setbacks. We all are going to make mistakes, but we’ve got to focus on our get up and create an ecosystem around ourselves that allows ourselves to get up quickly and rebound and move forward. I is for impacting economics. Wherever we’re going, we want to make sure that we are improving ourselves financially. And then when we get to a place financially, we help others around us so they can grow financially as well.
0:12:18 Maia Carter: V is for valuing your success circle. This is my favorite one. Who is in proximity to you, who is around you. That’s going to affirm you and where you want to be and who you are. Who’s going to challenge your perspectives and help you grow and develop. We have to be really careful about who’s in proximity to us. Who needs to go come to the inner circle, who might need to come to the outer circle. Right. We can move people around.
0:12:42 Maia Carter: And then finally E is empowering ourselves with resources. So again, do another inventory going inward. What skills do I know as far as how to do this job and what skills do I not yet know? And those things that I don’t know. I’m committed to making sure that I acquire what I need to get where I need to go. That could be joining organizations. I joined the American College of healthcare executives in 2024, rose up to be chapter president for Nevada.
0:13:11 Maia Carter: Right. You know, it could mean formal leadership training to me. It also meant doing a formalized coaching program when I decided to become a certified coach. And so that is thrive. So we want to be able to really embody what we’re doing and really show up in rooms and really own our space and realize that what we have to say is just as important as anyone else’s. Right? And walk boldly forward. So that’s. That’s why I wrote this book.
0:13:41 Maia Carter: And that is the prescription and that’s what I enjoy coaching others. Healthcare providers and those even outside of healthcare. I’ve enjoyed coaching them and how to really present them their best selves right forward and whatever it is that they strive to do.
0:13:59 Will Rucker: I think that it’s quite evident that though this is healthcare Focused. This really applies to any and everyone I really appreciate. I mean, well, all of the, the letters there. Right. But I think one that really spoke to me was the. Well, actually all of them really spoke to me. But valuing your success circle, I think that that’s so powerful because you’re made up of, we’re interconnected. So you’re made up of every relationship that you’ve ever had, every person you’ve ever loved is always with you, whether they’re physically present or not, because they imparted something in you by the mere fact that your paths crossed. So I think that success circle is powerful, but also that harness for strengths piece, and this is one, you know, I’m transparent.
0:14:47 Will Rucker: I struggle with this because some things I’m just good at and they’re natural and I’m like, what? Everybody can’t do that. And so I undervalue some of those things that are really, really valuable because they’re easy for me. And I like that you talk about those natural gifts and harnessing your strengths and knowing what they are and then pairing that with the empowering the resource. Because you, you probably were a fantastic coach before you even took the classes, but you gave yourself that training to up level to increase your skill set in that space. And I think that that’s what we all owe ourselves.
0:15:23 Will Rucker: Like we deserve to be poured into as well.
0:15:26 Maia Carter: Absolutely.
0:15:26 Will Rucker: Not just giving away what we have to others, but like we can receive and that’s really important. So you did mention coaching, which is one of my favorite subjects. And before we kind of get into what you do as a coach, I’m curious, how do you distinguish between being a coach and a mentor?
0:15:43 Maia Carter: Yeah, great question. Thank you for that. Coaching and mentoring are two different things. I am a mentor and I’ve been a. And I’m a mentee and I’m a coach and I’ve been coached and I have a coach. So on all sides of that. So when you think about mentorship, we really think about what are some things that I can give advice. I think of it as advice, you know, from my own lived experience, things that I can give advice to someone else I’m mentoring. Right. So, you know, information that you give someone else, advice that you give someone else based on your own education, based on your own lived experience.
0:16:22 Maia Carter: And coaching is different. Where coaching is under the understanding that the answers lie is within the coachee. So the answers. So the coach asked really powerful, thought provoking questions to be able to uncover the answers within the coachee so that the Answers lie within you anyways. I don’t need to give you the answers. You know the answers. I’m just asking you great questions so that those answers come out and we slowly start to put things together and create a roadmap to wherever your destination is.
0:16:58 Will Rucker: As a coach, that’s so important to establish up front in the relationship because everyone comes and they’re like, just tell me how to fix it. Because they think like a sports coach. They’ll, you know, demonstrate and hears how you. It’s a little different. What is your favorite coaching question?
0:17:15 Maia Carter: Oh, my favorite coaching question. That’s great. Let’s see. I think it would be. What would success look like to you? And then my next one is always going to the heart of how would that make you feel if this were to happen? Because I think we need to go inward. We don’t go inward a lot. If you’re anything like me, we’re in our heads a lot. But going inward to how does this, the desire, the feeling, the really honoring our heart space and making sure that our heart is aligned with our thinking and our actions.
0:17:59 Maia Carter: And so questions aligned with the heart are probably my most ones that give me great sensations.
0:18:07 Will Rucker: And, you know, it’s so interesting because again, with the coaching relationship, a lot of people enter it thinking that they’re at a deficit. And I think at least my personal perspective is a great coach helps level set and say, no, you’re not at a deficit. You’re the expert on you. And so for folks that are listening and they may feel capable, but they’re still struggling with confidence or imposter syndrome, what would you say to them?
0:18:33 Maia Carter: Yeah, I mean, I think we all at some point will struggle with. We have those moments of self doubt. We have those moments of should I really be here in this room? Imposter syndrome. I want to make sure everyone knows that coaching doesn’t mean you’re broken. There’s not a deficit there. What we need to do is help you to create a framework for yourself, help you to organize your thoughts and your feelings to move forward.
0:19:01 Maia Carter: Let’s think about what’s the confidence. Take some time to think about where that’s coming from. Right. And what are some things that we need to do to get you more confident?
0:19:15 Will Rucker: What are some of the emotional, or we can maybe even call them psychological challenges that people face when they move into any position of greater responsibility, Whether that’s a leadership role, whether that’s me as a parent, whatever that might be. What are some of those things that
0:19:31 Maia Carter: you’ve encountered just, I mean, it’s happening all the time, right. In our personal and professional lives where we’re stepping into new territory. We’re stepping into even just me here being on the radio. This is a new thing for me. Right. We’re writing books. I’m, you know, doing. I have my own business now. This is new territory. Having children, having teenage children, aging parents stepping into new. A new job, kids moving away.
0:20:02 Maia Carter: It’s scary, it’s uncertain, it’s unfamiliar. And, and that’s what’s resonating, I think as I’m talking to my readers where my book has been able to really help them to create an ecosystem around themselves of support so they’re no longer feeling alone, they’re not longer feeling isolated where they’re having to figure this all out by themselves of how to navigate. So I want people to know, to ask questions early.
0:20:32 Maia Carter: Don’t hesitate. Reach out. Say what it is that you’re. You’re concerned about. Express your feelings, express your desires, what it is that you need. Put it out there and attract you will attract people that will help you and, and so you can navigate and move forward so you’re not alone. Reach out for help. Get a coach.
0:20:56 Will Rucker: Definitely that, that success circle again. Yes, that’s coming up again. So what’s one leadership myth you wish more people would let go of? And here’s why I’m asking. Let me just let you answer. I’m just let you answer. I’ll tell you why after.
0:21:10 Maia Carter: Okay. The what comes to mind first, as far as the leadership myth is that many folks think that they need a need formal leadership training in order to be a leader. So for instance, in health care, folks feel like they’ve got to have a master’s in business administration in order to apply for that promotion. And I am all for formal leadership training because I’ve got a lot of it. However, as far as note, MBA is great.
0:21:42 Maia Carter: I feel like you can learn a lot at mba. It could be very, very valuable. But really what really makes us thrive in leadership is how we own it ourselves, how we identify it as part of our journey, how we acknowledge who we are on the inside. And everything professionally and personally that we have been through all these years has led us to this moment and how we could really see ourselves. I really big on visualizing what it smells like, what it looks like, what am I wearing, what it sounds like when I’m showing up in that room.
0:22:16 Maia Carter: Right. And so how we show up, how we think and how we speak is what leadership is all about even more so than any formal management training.
0:22:26 Will Rucker: Wow. Okay. That’s. That’s powerful. That. That’s really big. And it’s what I heard in three words. Yeah, three words. Go for it.
0:22:36 Maia Carter: Go for it.
0:22:37 Will Rucker: That’s what I heard. So I love that your work emphasizes impact beyond just the technical skill. And I’m gonna keep harping on this mph because I just love that so very much. I might be biased, but what can I say? It. It’s beyond the technical skill, but how do leaders expand their influence without losing that. That thing that made them successful in the first place?
0:23:04 Maia Carter: It’s got to stay grounded. You know, you got to have people in your circle that will keep you grounded, that will keep you focused on your goal, you understanding your why. Every step of the way. Everything I do that I know why I’m doing it, there is purpose to it. And just the more we can tune into ourselves as to what our mission is, where our heart spaces are, is what I’m doing aligned with my purpose, aligned with my heart space, does this feel right? Does this make sense to me?
0:23:39 Maia Carter: That helps us to kind of stay focused on it. I will always be a physician who has a patient first ethical focus. That’s who I am. That’s my core training.
0:23:47 Will Rucker: I need you to say it one more time for me.
0:23:49 Maia Carter: Okay. I will always be a physician who has that patient first ethical focus. That’s who I am. Now. I’ve grown and expanded that right into leadership and understanding how we can impact the delivery of care, how I can go from seeing one patient at a time really well, to having impact over a multitude of patients. And that is a joy for me. But I’m also, you know, interested and appreciate, again, the community and all the other factors that involve health.
0:24:26 Maia Carter: And so really blending all that together are things that I continue to do, whether I’m serving in the community, volunteering, facilitating conversations on cardiovascular disease. You know, all those different things are in line with who I am. And I think that would be my advice to those who don’t want to lose themselves. Right. Stay true to who you are and everything you do.
0:24:49 Will Rucker: We’ve got about two minutes remaining in our show today. Time has gone by so quickly.
0:24:53 Maia Carter: Yes.
0:24:54 Will Rucker: And you’ve really shown that leadership isn’t just about gaining a title. It’s really an identity shift. Why is this conversation on leadership, on coaching, on mentoring, on going forward, why is this actually a health conversation?
0:25:10 Maia Carter: This is a health conversation because we have to lead ourselves first. We have to give ourselves the same compassion Love, respect that we give everyone else. We have to be easy on ourselves and gentle with ourselves and dance with our mistakes. We have to take care of our bodies, our minds, our spirits. And when we’re feeling off balance, we have to pay attention to that. What is our body telling us? What’s our mind telling us we need to do? Do we need to exercise? That’s what I needed to yesterday.
0:25:43 Maia Carter: I was feeling a little stressed and I was like, okay, I need to go work out. And I came back and I felt better. So tuning into ourselves is the health. Learning how to say no is the health. Like I said, say no and they will be okay. And just taking care of ourselves so we can be well and we can be present, fully present in the moment.
0:26:05 Will Rucker: I love that. How do folks get in contact with you? Where can they find your book? How can they learn more about this Thrive Framework?
0:26:13 Maia Carter: Yeah, I would love to connect with your listeners. I would love to have great conversations and hear their stories. You can contact me, I’m on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok Dr. Maia Leadership coaching so D R M A I A leadership coaching all one word. That’s my handle. I’m on LinkedIn MD Carter319 and you can find my book the Leadership Prescription on Amazon. You can also find it on online Barnes and Noble and then check my website out. I would love to have a conversation with you and see how we can get you where you need to be at WWIA.
0:26:52 Will Rucker: Coach well Dr. Maia Coach, thank you for joining us on A Healthier Tomorrow. It has been such a pleasure talking with you.
0:27:01 Maia Carter: I really enjoyed this conversation. Will thank you for having me. It’s been an honor and to our
0:27:07 Will Rucker: audience, thank you for tuning in week after week. We couldn’t do this without you. What I really appreciate about Dr. Maya I.A. carter’s approach is that it reminds me that leadership isn’t just about being the loudest person in the room or having a fancy title. It’s really about clarity and self awareness. It’s about navigating this world and life without losing your humanity in the process. So thank you so much for tuning in.
0:27:33 Will Rucker: As I always remind you, you are not just a drop in the ocean, you are the entire ocean in a drop. And what you do matters. So live compassionately, take care of yourselves, take care of each other and we’ll tune in next time.
