In this insightful podcast episode, Dr. Stephen Long interviews Pat Wadors—an esteemed HR leader and advocate for organizational health—on the critical intersection of innovation, culture, and leadership within the medical technology (medtech) industry. Drawing from her experience at Intuitive and beyond, Wadors articulates a powerful vision for what she calls a “high-performing, healthy organization.”

The conversation begins by challenging the traditional narrative that innovation is fueled by unfettered freedom. Instead, Wadors argues that constraints are not creativity’s enemy—they’re its engine. She references the metaphor of “the crow and the pitcher”—a creative device used by artists to create tension and focus—suggesting that structural limits often force more inventive thinking. This aligns with the Prosperity Trait®  that Discipline (i.e., the willingness to do the hard thing) is the first ingredient of repeatable innovation.

A central theme in the episode is the importance of psychological safety. Wadors describes how high-performing teams are distinguished not just by talent, but by trust. At Intuitive, leaders are trained to solicit feedback, model vulnerability, and play devil’s advocate with their own ideas—deliberately making room for dissent. This humility creates the conditions where innovation is not only possible, but sustainable. Wadors stresses that psychological safety is not simply a perk—it’s a system that supports creativity under pressure, especially when navigating regulatory constraints and long development cycles endemic to medtech.

Wadors also underscores the value of diversity of thought, noting that complex problems in medtech require input from a wide range of perspectives. Leaders must not only invite differing opinions but also create processes that ensure these voices are truly heard. This echoes The Prosperity Trait® insight that Self-Confidence is not bravado—it’s the strength of belief required to express imaginative ideas, especially in high-stakes environments.

The conversation shifts to the unique challenges of innovation in medtech, where product lifecycles can span years or even decades. Wadors describes how organizations can maintain energy and cohesion over these long arcs by grounding their teams in mission and purpose. At Intuitive, the company’s focus on improving patient outcomes gives people a reason to persist, even when progress is slow or uncertain. This mission-based resilience aligns with the Prosperity Trait® skill of Mental Toughness—specifically the behaviors of Patience, Persistence, and Recovery that sustain creativity over time.

Waters also explores how to build leaders who can manage the dual pressures of performance and well-being. She highlights the role of support structures—including open communication, collaborative decision-making, and active feedback loops—as mechanisms that allow teams to thrive. These structures turn innovation into a teachable, coachable, and scalable capability—not just the result of individual genius.

The episode closes with four key strategies leaders can implement to drive healthy innovation:
 1. Embrace constraints as creative catalysts. Use structure to focus energy and drive depth.
 2. Engineer psychological safety. Model humility, invite critique, and make feedback systemic.
 3. Connect innovation to purpose. Build stamina by anchoring daily work in meaningful outcomes.
 4. Develop systems of support. Coach leaders to balance ambition with well-being and collaboration.

Lt Gen (RET) Burt Field began his Air Force career as an F16 fight pilot. He ascended the ranks and retired as a three-star general. The transition from a single-seat fighter plane to commanding thousands of troops reveals Gen Field's leadership development. Gen Field experiences illustrate how leaders can apply the same skills in this age of Artificial Intelligence.    

Why would anybody in his right mind want to jump on a sled and hurl himself down an icy mountain at over 80 miles per hour? At the age of 21, Ruben Gonzalez took up the sport of luge and started training for the Olympics. Four years and a few broken bones later, Ruben made his Olympic dream come true! But he didn’t stop there... Ruben kept training, and at the age of 47, he was racing against 20-year-olds at the Vancouver Winter Olympics! Ruben is the first person ever to compete in four Winter Olympics in four different DECADES! He’s one of the most popular speakers in America, and his best-selling book "The Courage to Succeed" has been translated into 10 languages.
Get ready to be inspired.... to go for the Gold.

Avital and Bobby Carroll discuss human performance and leadership. They are the husband/wife team that created a stir on the Freestyle Skiing World Cup Tour, where Avital finished #8 in the world and won two bronze medals at the 2023 World Championships. Bobby is the head coach of the Austrian National Team and an assistant coach of the Australian Men's Team. 

After graduating from the US Air Force Academy, Burt Field qualified to fly F-16 fighter planes and then rose to instructor. His Air Force career led him to be named Commander of the US Forces in Japan and the 5th Air Force. Lt Gen Field also served as the Military Assistant to Ambassador Richard Holbrooke followed by serving as the Vice Director of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Casey Converse is the former head swimming coach at the US Air Force Academy. He is a 4X national champion and represented the United States in Montreal's 1976 Summer Olympic Games. Casey was the 1977 NCAA champion and American record holder in the mile. He has coached multiple national champions, All-Americans, and conference champions throughout his career including back-to-back NCAA National Championship teams in 1995 and 1996. Casey is a member of the US Air Force Academy Atheltic Hall of Fame and the City of Mobile (AL) Hall of Fame. He is the author of Munich to Montreal: Women's Olympic Swimming in a Tarnished Golden Era. https://www.amazon.com/Munich-Montreal-Olympic-Swimming-Tarnished-ebook/dp/B01CNAMKB6/ref=sr_1_1?crid=37EI8K7M2O5XX&keywords=munich+to+montreal&qid=1670101219&s=books&sprefix=munich+to+montreal%2Cstripbooks%2C119&sr=1-1

Dave Nordel is a retired United States Air Force Command Chief Master Sergeant with over 30 years of service. He is a registered nurse and emergency manager, and served as a medic in areas of operations that include Saudi Arabia, Somalia, South America, Iraq, Korea, Japan, and Hungary.

Dave grew up in a dairy farming community in rural Northern California and experienced all that brings to a young man raised in the late 60s and 70s. Dave left home at 19 to join the Air Force and ascended through the enlisted ranks to culminate as the Senior Enlisted Leader for all nuclear missile forces in the United States. 

He has vast experience leading small groups and large organizations and has led city government activities and large organizations as an emergency manager for multiple communities through Covid and other disaster situations.

Dave currently lives in Billings, Montana, and is an outdoorsman, a mentor, and speaks to young leaders to aid in their development and future successes. He continues to give back the gifts he has collected along the way.

Twitter: #DaveNordel
Instagram: dnordel65
www.linkedin.com/in/david-nordel-85265246/
[email protected]

https://www.amazon.com/Giving-Back-Leadership-Combat-Beyond/dp/1982285834/ref=asc_df_1982285834/?tag=hyprod-20&&linkCode=df0&&hvadid=598351558985&&hvpos=&&hvnetw=g&&hvrand=11149717278079118340&&hvpone=&&hvptwo=&&hvqmt=&&hvdev=c&&hvdvcmdl=&&hvlocint=&&hvlocphy=9020688&&hvtargid=pla-1672524547128&&psc=1

Dr. Heidi K. Gardner is a Distinguished Fellow at Harvard Law School and a former professor at Harvard Business School. Previously a McKinsey consultant and Fulbright Fellow, she is the author of Smart Collaboration: How Professionals and Their Firms Succeed by Breaking Down Silos, a Washington Post bestseller. She was named by Thinkers50 as a Next Generation Business Guru, and is cofounder of the research and advisory firm Gardner & Co.

Ivan Matviak is the Executive Vice President of Clearwater Analytics, a Cloud-based SaaS provider solving investment accounting operational challenges. We provide investment accounting and reporting analytics for investment management, corporations and treasuries, institutions, and insurance companies.

Dr. Gardner and Mr. Matviak are authors of Smarter Collaboration: A New Approach to Breaking Down Barriers and Transforming Work published by Harvard Business Review Press

https://www.amazon.com/Smarter-Collaboration-Approach-Breaking-Transforming/dp/1647822742 https://www.smartercollaboration.com

Into this new world, Sheri L. Orlowitz’s 30-plus-year experience as an entrepreneur, venture capitalist, turn-around expert, board director, corporate leader, attorney and former federal prosecutor make her uniquely qualified not only to lead companies in the cannabis industry but to advise regulators and identify best in class cannabis companies. Few can match her track record of success.
Sheri has owned and led a dozen very different companies, some acquired from Kodak, Tyco International, and Applied Magnetics, employing over a thousand people and raising $100 million in the process. She has invested in seed and venture capital companies for over 25 years including a payments company acquired by PayPal.
Her foray into cannabis was marked by years of monitoring the industry and after careful analysis, she made her first investment in MJ Freeway a track and trace software company. Sheri subsequently raised the capital needed to fill out its Series C round to prepare it to be the first U.S. based SaaS marijuana company to be listed on the NASDAQ under the name Akerna.
From real estate development to computer component manufacturing, her successful ventures required precision, negotiating expertise, commitment to quality, coordination with federal regulators and an insistence on the highest ethical standards of corporate behavior. With an eye towards using her decades of board experience and turn around expertise, she guides growth in companies, as a member of boards such as Connected Living and AgTools or in the C-suite most recently as Chief Strategy Officer of Witi a cannabis and medical device tech company.
Sheri’s commitment to social justice led her 25 years ago to found a non-profit to address human trafficking as well as sit on the Harvard University Women’s Leadership Board and others. It also led to her involvement with the Marijuana Policy Project, the leading public policy advocacy group whose work is largely responsible for the “cannabis industry”. Sheri’s experience, integrity, and vision are used to help promote the safety of users and increase prosperity for people disproportionately affected by the War on Drugs.
To accelerate efforts to increase safety and mainstream the industry Sheri founded and is Chairman of the Board of the Council for Federal Cannabis Regulation. The Council is made up of best in class professionals in the cannabis industry, FDA scientists, government relations, law, and social equity.

Michael  Okaty is a partner and business lawyer who focuses on a wide variety of corporate transactions, governance, and counseling. He serves as an advisor and trustee to high-net-worth individuals and families. Mike is founder and former chair of the firm’s Senior Living Industry Team, former vice chair of the firm’s Industry Teams Department and formerly the managing partner for the Orlando office. Mike is presently co-chair of the firm’s Transactions Practice and a member of the firm’s Management Committee.

Mike has experience in a wide variety of corporate law matters, including corporate formation, corporate operations and governance, contract drafting, review and negotiation, mergers and acquisitions, and capital raising and finance transactions for both public and private companies and lenders.