”Leading4Value” See! Believe! Achieve!

In this reflective episode, Ken Rethmeier, DrPH departs from his usual leadership-focused discussions to share a personal testimony about faith of "grace, & peace". Drawing on a sermon by Pastor Michael Flake, Lead Pastor at Storyhill Presbyterian Evangelical Church in Davidson, NC from the book of Galatians 1:3-5, to provide the framework to describe how it applies to his own life journey.  What Ken believes is God's calling him to serve in leadership opportunities throughout his life as his blessings from Ken’s belief in God & his son Jesus Christ.  As noted in the Bible, God's the unearned gifts of "grace & peace" consist of three spiritual phases: "cautious, curious, & committed". Ken describes how each phase influenced his continuous development as a leader. Phase one, "cautious" guides one to focus on being “safe” as the foundation to create a stable base for future development.  Phase two of “grace & peace” focuses on “curiosity” & “seeking” & constantly searching" God’s way for Ken to take advantage of every leadership role to continue to learn what God’s role for him to develop.  The final or third phase, is represented by “committed” & “stretching & getting out of our comfort zone".  For Ken, that translates the results of the first two phases into his latest experiences in leadership roles focusing on how he applies God’s gifts of “grace” into meaningful leadership development activities during his consulting & international teaching opportunities that still endure today.  Living God's gifts leads one to complete well-being, wholeness & rest with God.

In his presentation built from Phase one, Ken recounts formative experiences from growing up in Whittier, CA living as an exchange student during the summer during the summer of his junior year in at Sierra High School in Germany.  Ken also describes his ten years in the Boy Scouts & how earning the Boy Scout Eagle Award was also a true gift of God's grace. He also recounts how working as the “skipper & guide down the rivers of adventure", the Jungle Cruise at Disneyland, and a 22-year career in the U.S. Navy Medical Service Corps, including service in Vietnam & leadership roles in Navy Bureaus of Medicine & Surgery opened a plethora really blessed leadership opportunities. From Phase three, Ken reflects & discusses how his consulting, teaching & mentoring students & healthcare leaders across Eastern Europe & Maastricht University’s Double Masters Program in Public Health, the gift he was provided as collaborating & contributing to the first ever competency-based leadership model for Public Health in Europe.  All of these wonderful gifts of “grace & peace” from God & his son Jesus Christ led Ken to publish his book entitled ‘Leading4Value:Transforming Field Tested Thinking & Tools Into Inspired Healthcare Leadership’.

People experiencing this podcast will hear very interesting stories of Ken’s gift of his own service, practical leadership lessons (authority, responsibility, accountability), & reflections on how his continuous faith in God & Jesus Christ has provided gifts & direction throughout Ken’s life. The episode closes with a heartfelt benediction—wishing listeners “grace & peace”—and a challenge to make a difference.

Grace & peace!

Host Ken Rethmeier sits down with Dr. Marius Ungaranu, Chair of the Department of Public Health at the School of Public Health in Cluj-Napoca and adjunct professor at Johns Hopkins, to explore a leadership journey that spans clinical training, public health systems, and national health policy (including service as Deputy Minister of Health).

The conversation covers core leadership themes from Ken's book — Capacity, Capability and Confidence — framed as "See, Believe, Achieve"! Dr. Ungaranu emphasizes the often-overlooked quality of being "leadable," the shift from individual patient care to systems thinking, the role of vision and persistence in building institutions, and practical lessons from mentoring, teamwork and international collaboration (including Project HOPE and Leadership Excellence in Healthcare).

Key takeaways include the importance of serving others, learning from mentors, building bridges across disciplines, and encouraging younger leaders to dream and act. Listeners can expect concrete examples from Romanian public health, reflections on accountability and feedback, and inspiration for leading change at any level.

Host Ken Rethmeier, DrPH sits down with Dr. Mihnea Samoila of Bucharest to explore leadership in healthcare through the See–Believe–Achieve model. They cover Michna’s journey from clinical medicine and public health training to leading corporate healthcare at OMV Petrom, steering pandemic preparedness and response, and his current consultancy work with the European Investment Bank and digital health initiatives for rural communities.

Topics include the leadership competencies that drive results—passion, emotional intelligence, credibility, authenticity—and how creating purpose and trust empowers teams to deliver uncommon outcomes. The conversation also highlights practical change-management examples, digital solutions for remote care, and turning leadership development into measurable impact.

Listeners will gain concise, practical insights on leading in multi-stakeholder healthcare environments, building capability and confidence in teams, and translating leadership coaching into real-world health system improvements.

Ken & Mihnea met in Brussels, Belgium in 2014 during a leadership development program for which Ken was one of the presenters.  He then had the opportunity to be Mihnea's executive coach that then led to a long time friendship on top of their collegial joint opportunities.  Ken delivered a "Leadership for Excellence in Health Care" for 25 hospital directors in Bucharest, RO in 2019.  Ken will tell you how Mihneea has set an excellent standard of leadership in the Romanian healthcare system and continues today to lead and guide some very innovative and impressive new solutions to healthcare needs in Romania!  He is a true leader who adds value every day in every way!

In this episode host Ken Rethmeier, DrPH interviews Tom Gibbs, retired executive and principal from Landmark Builders, about the enduring leadership competencies that drive organizational success. They discuss the host’s See–Believe–Achieve framework inspired by Degas and explore practical topics driving organizational success. Tom outlines and describes the 5 key leadership competencies that have served as the foundation for his own leadership journey.  His key competencies are: communication, accountability, adaptability, team building, and creating a compelling vision.  He describes how they fit within his own leadership style and how those competencies were the basis for creating an organization-wide very deep level of "trust"....."trust", in Tom's perspective was the absolute key to the success of the company.  He also illustrated how these competencies were characterized by the average career time for supervisors in the Landmark company averaged 20+ years! That is an incredible achievement and measure of the outstanding leaders throughout the company! 

Tom shares real-world stories from construction projects in the U.S. Southeast and the Caribbean — including an anecdote about fixing a faulty foundation at no charge — to illustrate how trust, follow-through, and repeat business grow from leaders who deliver on commitments and inspire others. Listeners will gain concrete insights on adding value every day and applying these timeless leadership behaviors across industries.

In summary, this episode illustrates in personal testimony and terms how one's focus developing a meaningful leadership style benefits the leader and the people with whom he works!

I really appreciate Tom's participation in this podcast....Thank You!!

In this episode the host, Ken Rethmeier, DrPH, author of "Leading4Value," walks listeners through a classic logic puzzle about three light switches to illustrate better problem-solving and leadership thinking. Topics include creative reasoning, avoiding habitual pathways, the importance of stepping back to reassess processes, and how clinical-style pathways can both help and limit teams.

No outside guests are featured — this is a solo episode with practical coaching, a clear solution walkthrough, and actionable takeaways for leaders seeking to add consistent value to their teams.

Key points: use non-obvious clues (like heat, not just light), challenge routine thinking, periodically review and update standard procedures, and apply these habits to improve organizational decision-making and deliver value on time.

As leaders, we are best when we step back periodically to "challenge" our own thinking & problem-solving styles....it's better for us & an excellent learning opportunity for our teams & organizations!  

My "challenge" to you?  Take a chance....you will succeed!  

Well, today we're going to try something a little different. It's going to be a challenge question. And I'm going to share the screen in just a couple of minutes and ask you to solve a problem that you're going to see on the screen. And as leaders, often we find ourselves in a situation where we like to be able to step back periodically and ask ourselves, how do we solve problems? How do we deal with challenges when we are encountering those as leaders and working with organizations and our teams? So it may look a little simple, and it is, but I hope it gets you to thinking about how you would approach this. And in this podcast, I'm going to walk through the question or the challenge, and then tell you the next podcast shortly will be the answer. But I want you to think about it and think about how you would approach this kind of issue with your team or your organization. So we're going to share the screen now and I'll walk through the challenge. So here you are. You are on the first floor of a three-story building with light switches, with three switches right next to you, and one light bulb on the third floor. Oh, by the way, you can't see the light bulb, and there's only one light in the whole building. You have to pick one of the three light switches and identify which one of those three turns that light on. Here's the catch. You can only go to the third floor to check it out one time. Oh, and I've often been asked, well, how about if I go outside and look in the window? Do you see any windows? No. Sorry. So the idea here is three floors one light bulb and you've got to identify which of those three lights were just turns that light on and in the next podcast as i said in my introduction, i will go through and show you how to solve that but i want you to think about it first I hope you enjoy it. I know it's not a complex issue, but for leaders, it's an opportunity to once again show that we have value, and we add that value every day. And as I tell people, it's on target, on time, every time, without fail. Well, I'm going to stop here, and I'll see you next podcast. Bye. Thank you.

In this episode we cover the Cornelius town meeting where Novant Health sought approval to build an independent emergency room near the I‑77/Highway 21 exit. The commissioners signaled they were opposed from the start, and the discussion raised questions about capital investment, taxation, jobs, and the Certificate of Need process.

Guest speaker Dr. Kenneth Rethmeier — a Navy veteran, former Joint Commission consultant, and past Mayor of the Town of Bermuda Run — presents a detailed defense of the project, emphasizing population growth, strained ER capacity, and the importance of continuity of care when patients are transferred or discharged. He cites examples like Davie Medical Center’s success and warns of potential harm and lost lives if access isn’t expanded.

Key topics include the Certificate of Need requirements, access and transfer logistics, continuity between health systems (Novant vs. others), veteran health concerns, and the broader leadership responsibility to provide timely medical services for a growing community.

Bottom line....Town Commissioners Voted the Project Down....

Ken RethmeIer, DrPH, podcast host, speaks directly to Maastricht University’s Global Leadership in European Public Health students, sharing a lifetime of leadership lessons drawn from experiences in Germany, UCLA and UNC, the U.S. Navy (including Vietnam and Long Beach), corporate and nonprofit roles, and local government as a mayor.

This episode covers core themes—leadership as an ongoing journey; the triad of authority, responsibility and accountability; the three Cs (capacity, capability, confidence); the central role of trust; the power of mentoring, volunteering and influence; and how to absorb uncertainty and encourage creativity. Ken illustrates each point with concrete stories (Jungle Cruise at Disneyland, disease control in Vietnam, building leadership programs, hospital accreditation work, and consulting projects).

Viewers can expect practical takeaways, memorable anecdotes, and mentions of collaborators such as mentor Dr. Arnold Kaluzny and Dr. Tobias Gantner (HealthcareFuturist, Labenswerk.ai). The episode offers actionable advice for emerging leaders on how to step up, build trust, inspire teams, and make a measurable difference. Inspired leadeership is having & exercising the Capacity, Capability & Confidence to Add Value as a Leader Every Day...Every Way....without hesitation!  I know you will be a success!!

Host Ken Rethmeier, DrPH explores the role of communications in leadership, sharing candid outtakes from a  project he produced with Dr. Charlie Jacobson for Adventist Health System and Disney’s new-town, back in 1997, Celebration Health Education Center. The episode mixes behind-the-scenes anecdotes with practical lessons about articulating vision, the gap between vision and execution, and why presentation skills matter for leaders! 

Ken draws connections to his work with Disney (including a Jungle Cruise storytelling anecdote) and his time as a Commanding Officer of the Naval School of Health Sciences (1987-1988) to emphasize that leaders, as Walt Disney described it for Ken's summer as "the skipper and guide down the rivers of adventure" are always "on stage" when they come out of their offices.  As a consequence you as the leader better mind what you say and do because everyone is watching. That is particularly true when speaking a message of vision, values and objective in your organization.  So,  Expect humor, reflections on learning from mistakes, and a focus on how great communicators energize teams and communities.

Upcoming episodes will feature conversations with other proven leaders to surface the real qualities and competencies of effective leadership.

Host Dr. Ken Rethmeier welcomes Dr. Tobias Gantner, founder of Healthcare Futurists, for a forward-looking conversation about creating value in healthcare. They discuss AI as a practical tool (not a replacement), the democratization of health through prevention and digital tools, telemedicine innovations like the Healthcare Maker Mobile, and Tobias’s Lebenswerk project that uses AI to preserve life stories. 

Key takeaways include using AI to reduce errors and free clinicians for empathetic care (the ‘‘seatbelt’’ analogy), the rise of preemptive and evidence-driven medicine, the importance of future skills and multidisciplinary leadership, and the potential of narrative-based outcomes research and patient empowerment. Expect insights for entrepreneurs, clinicians, and leaders on implementing innovation in real-world practice.

Dr. Gantner's extensive work in Germany and other European countries to provide advances in the organization, development and delivery of healthcare and medical services represents the essence of what Ken Rethmeier and his book 'Leading4Value: Transforming Field Tested Thinking & Tools Into Inspired Healthcare Leadership' offers to stimulate new & unique motivation to be extraordinary contributors to new ways of healthcare for now and the future. 

Dr. Rethmeier sincerely appreciates Dr. Gantner & his exceptional contribution to today's podcast!