Dr. Gaurava Agarwal (Intro): Too often, we reserve the label of leader for someone with a fancy title before their name.

Logan Pause (Intro): But great leaders are everywhere in our midst.

Dr. Gaurava Agarwal (Intro): I'm Gaurav Agarwal, but everyone calls me G.

Logan Pause (Intro): And I'm Logan pause.

Dr. Gaurava Agarwal (Intro): On Anatomy of an Everyday Leader, we believe that everyone has the potential to be a great leader on a healthcare team.

Logan Pause (Intro): To find out what it takes and what it means to lead in healthcare, we talk to people from around Northwestern Medicine who are doing just that.

Dr. Gaurava Agarwal (Intro): Whether you've just started your career in healthcare or are a seasoned professional,

Logan Pause (Host 2): have a leadership role, or hope to take one on someday,

Dr. Gaurava Agarwal (Intro): this podcast is for you.

Logan Pause (Intro): Join us as we peel back the layers of leadership to ultimately make healthcare better.

Dr. Gaurava Agarwal (Host 1): Today, we have a guest who's grown as a leader from doing the work firsthand, from physical therapy to operations leadership. He's known for his strong relationship-building and cross-functional collaboration. Matt is a Director of Operations for Allied Health, encompassing physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, clinical nutrition, patient relations, interpretation services, spiritual care at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. Welcome, Matt.

Logan Pause (Host 2): Matt, welcome to the Anatomy of an Everyday Leader podcast.

Matthew Bednarczyk: Thanks, Logan. Thanks, G, for having me. I'm really honored to be invited and looking forward to talking to both of you.

Logan Pause: Matt, can you just start off and introduce yourself? Tell us and our audience just a little bit about who you are and what you do here at Northwestern Medicine.

Matthew Bednarczyk: Sure. Happy to. My name is Matt Bednarzyk. I am a Director of Operations at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. I oversee several different allied health teams, many of which I'll outline here in a second. But I am a physical therapist by trade and by background, and have grown from that role here to the role that I'm in now.

I'm excited have had the wonderful opportunity to support and lead, again, several teams ranging from all of rehab services, so physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech therapy, to clinical nutrition, patient relations, spiritual care, interpretation services. So, a wide and very diverse team, all that support our patients and staff in many really cool ways.

Logan Pause: Matt, let's just jump right in. I'd love to hear a little bit about your background going from physical therapist to transitioning over time into administrative leader.

Matthew Bednarczyk: Sure. So as I mentioned, I started my career here as a physical therapist in 2016. So, I just hit my ten-year mark a couple of months ago. Over the course of the past ten years, I've seen a lot, I've done a lot, and I've most importantly got to work with so many different people that I've learned so much from.

Going back to when I first started here, I was excited. You know, my first professional career, I should say, coming out of seven years of schooling education to get here—choosing, I should say, not being thrown in, but choosing to work at a huge hospital, a nationally recognized place, was something that I had sought out from even before I started working here.

Once I got here, I quickly learned that the range of complexity of our patients, the range of experience of our staff, and not just the staff on my team at the time, but every single discipline that I've interacted with there's always something to learn, always somebody and something to learn from. And it's that philosophy and principle that I've really carried with me throughout my journey.

Going back to when I was a clinician on our floors here at NMH as a PT, I was fortunate enough to have a couple of opportunities, outside of my normal day-to-day job of seeing patients, I had the opportunity of being involved in a program, for example, called Improvement Leader Training that's offered here through Northwestern Medicine. And that was a really cool program for me to be involved in so early in my career because it really taught me that there are problems that we experience as clinicians and employees at vastly different levels and years of experience. But it gave me the opportunity to really help bring a team together to solve said problems. And it was really that experience that highlighted to me that I was interested in and serving as a formal leader, not only in the department, but across and at the organization too.

. So from being a staff therapist, I had the opportunity to become the resource coordinator of the physical therapy department, which is kind of coordinator/supervisor type role between being a manager and the staff, It challenged me in a lot of ways, exposed me to a lot of different projects, problems, opportunities, not just in our department, but really outside of our department as well.

And then, I eventually grew into the manager of that same department. as I reflect over the past ten years, it's how and what I've learned in each of those experiences that has led me to where I'm at today. And the most important thing, in my opinion, is the power of relationships, in order to truly solve problems, it involves more teams, more people than just your own. And that skill, I'll call it a skill because it's not inherent, it really does take practice and take work. Now, I'm fortunate enough to be able to lead so many people and help them recognize the power and importance of that as well.

Dr. Gaurava Agarwal: Well, Matt, . You said something that's pretty interesting, because my experience has been that a lot of clinicians go from clinician to maybe a director, a chief, or a chair. They sort of skip a lot of steps oftentimes, but it sounds like you did actually go from each of the sort of titled steps along your leadership journey. Can you talk a little bit about the pros and cons of that? You mentioned sort of each step you learn something different.

Matthew Bednarczyk: Certainly a lot of pros, certainly some cons. I'd say the pros are just like any linear type progression, you incrementally get more challenged. It's not just suddenly jumping into the deep end. To compare the metaphor that you used before there, it really increased the stakes of the level of problems, decisions, so on and so forth, as each level progressed.

And with that, you get more comfortable, more confident, more skillful in that. I want to kind of address a point that you brought up in relation to your question. Oftentimes, people can perceive that the best clinicians make the best leaders. And sometimes that can and is certainly true. But because someone's an excellent clinician doesn't make them always an excellent leader and vice versa.

I truly believe that developing into a leader is not automatic. Many people have natural leadership tendencies, but you can't just have a role or a title slapped on you and it automatically makes you a strong leader. You have to work at it. And to really think back about the incremental challenges and different complexities I faced, even looking back and what I thought of as the hardest, most stressful decision I've ever made at the time, now I look back and be like, "Oh my gosh, that was easy now. I'm doing this every single day." But that's the point of it, is that everything should feel challenging, and it's actually cool to reflect and look back because that exact thought that I just articulated really shows that your skill level and expertise and confidence has objectively grown. It's not just subjective, and it's not feelings or perceptions. Confidence is building, your experience is growing, and it's cool to have something to show for that.

Dr. Gaurava Agarwal: I love that. Had this interesting experience where I gave this role to a clinician that I was mentoring that it was a, not prestigious role of leading this side group.

And I could tell she was like, you know, not really what I had in mind when I said, I really wanted a high-level leadership role." But I really wanted her to understand that running a meeting, getting a crowd together, developing an agenda, all of these are skill sets that you will learn in this lower level" opportunity.

But if you take this opportunity to really hone in the skills that are the same, whether you're the department chair running a meeting or running a meeting for this small little group that I'm asking for, it's practice and you don't magically get good at it just because you get the right title. It's all these little other experiences. So, I love that you highlighted that each of these roles give you a chance to practice some of these leadership skills.

Matthew Bednarczyk: Absolutely. It's such a good point, and I do also think that authenticity is really important to me, and I know it's important to many other leaders as well. when you're being an authentic leader But to your point, they are promoted, they get a label, a role attached to them, and they think they're suddenly the expert,

that at times may certainly be true. But if you're an authentic and vulnerable leader, that's what people gravitate to.

Logan Pause: It's really good, Matt. I'd love to double-click on your frame or your mental model around authenticity. Matt, can you give just some specific examples of what authentic leadership looks like to you ,

Matthew Bednarczyk: Yes, certainly. I'll talk about my experience, and then I'll talk about my theoretical framework to a degree. I came up in the department that I ultimately ended up leading in a few different iterations and still am to this day. I say that because people knew me then, and they know me now.

So, what authenticity looks like in that context, it had pros and cons, right? And what I mean by that too is people knew me, and they knew that when I turned into a resource coordinator and then a manager, that if I showed up in the same way that I did when I was people's peer and friend, ultimately, that was an easier way for me to show them that I was being authentic.

That came with a lot of challenges, of course, as many can imagine or have experienced, that some of the things that as peers and as friends, I may have been agreeing with in terms of not agreeing with certain decisions and now I have to be the one leading and enforcing those things, that is challenging. However, I really believed and led with authenticity, because I would have conversations with my now employees that are and were my friends to a degree. And I would say, "Hey, let's just call a spade a spade here. I'm now your boss. I'm now your manager," And do these things, perform at this level, take this feedback that I'm giving you.

That may feel uncomfortable. It may be awkward. You may struggle with me telling you this. I'm struggling a little bit telling you this, but this is how we're going to do this and so that we can talk and work transparently together, but also grow through this transition together as well." I wouldn't say I made light of the situation, but I did call it out in a way that brought the tension down and brought the awkwardness down a little bit.



Matthew Bednarczyk: From a theoretical framework perspective, I also then compare my experience to not being in a team that I've grown up in versus kind of plopping myself with a couple of new teams like I am now

. I had known many of the teams that I now oversee that I wasn't directly grown up in. And it gave me a lot of validation that I could lead a team that I knew nothing about. it's the power of learning people.

And what I mean by learning people is

ultimately, you just talk to your new team members. You ask questions not out of judgment, but out of curiosity.

And it's really important that, to me, it's not just the words, but it's your actions.

So for example, that I had to oversee once I stepped into this role, patient relations It's a department and a team that does a lot of very complex things and works through really difficult situations with patients, families, and staff.

And I had my assumptions going into the role when I first decided to take it of what that team was and what it could be, and some ideas that I had to change. I knew I couldn't come in and just say, "Hey, here's what we got to change. Here's what we've got to do."

And I said, "I know this might be uncomfortable for you, somebody that's coming in that has no idea of how you function, but I want to see, I want to hear, I want to learn, and I want to do those things with you, not for you." And it wasn't just that conversation in the first meeting, but it's then following up with my actions.

So, what that looks like is I would go shadow an interaction with a patient that was upset, for example. I would sit and listen. I wouldn't speak. I'd introduce myself, and that's about it. And then, after that interaction, I would ask questions of the manager, not to nitpick, not to judge, but to truly understand what I was observing and seeing and really understand what they're feeling and seeing.

That way, I can start building that bridge and empathizing with them, but also knowing how they think, what makes them tick, what motivates them. That's how I learn people. So if I had to describe it in a theoretical framework, and I guess as I'm talking about it, that was an actual example that I did.

To me, that's my leadership style.

Logan Pause: Really good, Matt. Thank you.

Dr. Gaurava Agarwal: I want to really, for our audience, highlight a single word that you said because to me, it's a differentiator. You used the word, "I shadowed people." In healthcare, I hear a lot of people talking about "round" and "I round with people." I actually think we should be shadowing for the exact reasons you said more than rounding.

Rounding, oftentimes I see leaders round and they're sort of just saying hello. It's almost awkward. People don't know what to say to them. You're sort of in my way actually. And I don't really know what your life is like. I don't really appreciate what you're seeing through your eyes versus to your point, you were shadowing. You were in the room with a real interaction with people, and you got to see what they do and where their pain points are, where the friction is.

And so, for everyone listening, I cannot emphasize enough that there is a gigantic distinction between rounding, open door policies, all these other things that people talk about, versus if you go shadow and observe, you will, I think, get a chance to really understand where you can improve the system in a real way.

Logan Pause: Matt, you've talked about the power of relationships, and even hearing you talk, relationships matter to you, which is just great to hear. They also take time. Can you tell talk to us and our audience about how you lead a big team and the balance between investing and learning and the power of relationships, but then also flip side of that is how do you do that with a big team where you may not have the time to invest like you want to?

Matthew Bednarczyk: Yes, great question. So right now, I lead a team of eight managers, so eight people who lead huge teams. So, the portfolio's vast. That's a big team. But I'll also bring it back to my earlier days when I was a manager, where at one point in my career had 126 direct reports, and that was incredibly challenging. And time, was I a hundred percent successful? Absolutely not. Can anyone be "successful" in that? I don't think so. I think it's a huge portfolio. But there were ways that I tackled it and tried my absolute best to support everybody.

So, some ways that I did that, it's—and G, you brought up a really great point earlier about the word rounding. There is value in the word rounding and a purpose for rounding. But when I would "round," when I would be on the floors talking to staff, the conversations I would have with staff weren't exclusive to how busy are you today? Or what's the hardest, most difficult interaction that you've had with a colleague or a patient or family member this week? Or what's the best situation you've had with a patient or colleague? I would ask sometimes about, "Hey, I know you're interested in the White Sox," or, "I know you're a Bears fan.

Did you watch the game last night?

And those kind of things take time because, A, you first have to learn about those things first, which takes time.

B, you have to feel comfortable articulating them. And to me, how do you learn who they are as people. Because once you do that, then trust is inherently developed.

You have to be so strong in your time management and your organization. I can't emphasize that enough.

The power of blocking time on your calendar for a specific purpose, that to me, is the number one principle that I carry through with me in my career, is that people put blocks in their calendar. It'll just say block, right? To catch up on emails or to make a phone call. But as we all know, in the workplace and in life, things pop up, things take certain priority at unknown times. So, you have to be intentional about what your plan is that day, that week, that month, that quarter, so on and so forth.

And for example, I would say, "I'm going to meet with the team on cardiac today for a half hour at the end of their lunch." And I would go and I would be intentional. I wouldn't bring an agenda. I'll put the notepad away, because the moment someone shows up to your office for rounding with a notepad, it feels inauthentic.

Dr. Gaurava Agarwal: This blocking time tactic is really, really important. I have time blocked every week on my calendar that says strategic thinking, because otherwise my life can absolutely just be fire putting outing. And that is fine, and that's part of the job. But if you want to say, "Hey, how am I going to really do something innovative?" You have to have strategic thinking. What I've heard most junior folks say is, "I put block on my calendar, someone overrides it with a meeting," or I realize I'm behind on the things I have to do, and so that block is the first thing to go. Any tips on how you've been able to protect those block times to really use them for what you wanted to use them for?

Matthew Bednarczyk: It certainly happens. Like, there are some times where you have kind of a non-negotiable thing that needs to fall off your calendar to accommodate something or someone else. To me, without actual definitions that I've written down, it's really in my head of what I categorize things that in this situation that come up of what is urgent and like needs a response, needs action in this moment right now. Whatever comes my way I deem falls in that category, I will do it.

But what's important in this conversation is that oftentimes I think people fall into the habit that everything ends up falling into that category, when in fact it's not. And this, again, really, goes back to the principle of your relationships that you have with folks is if you can confidently ask them saying, "Hey, I want to do X, Y, and Z right now. How urgent is this?" And that can feel very uncomfortable to ask somebody because some people may interpret that as they don't care, they're not listening. But I'd actually disagree that if people feel comfortable asking, "Do you need my time, attention, decision-making capability now, or can this wait until tomorrow morning when I do have time blocked aside for these kind of conversations?"

And oftentimes people will take a beat and say, "You know what? It's really just because I'm available now that I'm reaching out. Happy to connect tomorrow." Or if it truly is urgent, they will say, "No, no, no, I totally get it, Like, I know you have your blocked time, but like we need to figure this out right now."

And if you pose that question back to people, oftentimes you both can come to a resolution fairly quickly.

Dr. Gaurava Agarwal: Matt, obviously, the large part of why we have different guests is folks that have been nominated by folks that have demonstrated these skills. But another purpose I have is to raise awareness of some of the unsung heroes at our institution that are team members that are critical parts of us being able to provide great care.

Would you mind sharing a little bit about this term allied health and who falls under that and the importance of all those folks in terms of making sure that our patients are comprehensively cared for?

Matthew Bednarczyk: Yes. Thank you for that question. Very appreciative of it. I mentioned earlier on that in order to effectively solve problems and improve whatever line of work that you're in, and in our case, it's patient care, ensuring our patients get their best care and best experience possible, the only way to effectively do that that's sustainable, is doing it across different teams.

I'll give you an example of one of the teams that I work with, our spiritual care department and our chaplains, for example. Over the past several years, they've done so many projects, not in isolation in their silo, but in collaboration with our nursing colleagues to actually help support our nurses to make them feel a little lighter when they've had a really heavy day or a heavy patient situation or, you know, a surgery that didn't go well or a negative outcome. How do our chaplains actually spend time programmatically developing a proper environment to help our nursing colleagues feel lighter, feel supported, and feel empowered to be the ones that sometimes have to be the ones that are doing the hands-on and taking on that mental load of a patient situation.

And, G, you certainly know this well too. And you and your teams, all of the work that you do is under that umbrella and leading through that lens. And I am such a huge champion of that because that's an example of how sometimes directly, in this example, nurses may be the only ones that can physically intervene or physically give or physically do things with patients.

So, I am really proud to be able to serve as a leader for many of these teams that, again, there's just not a lot of knowledge about what we all do, but the more and more we expose ourselves and interact as a large team with everybody, that's how the learning and that's how the appreciation really comes.

Dr. Gaurava Agarwal: Thanks for sharing that, Matt. My hope is that this podcast is one small step in helping people understand what all of these team members are doing. I know that, from a wellbeing standpoint, our sort of framework is that technology, teams, and leadership are sort of the three pillars of what's going to help us create the superior work environment here.

And a huge part of high-functioning teams is making sure everyone knows what other team members' skillsets are. So, thank you very much for being here with us, Matt. Thank you for all that you do at Northwestern in your leadership. We really greatly appreciate it.

Logan Pause: Thanks, Matt.

Matthew Bednarczyk: Thank you guys for having me. I really appreciate the invitation and the opportunity to speak with you both.

Dr. Gaurava Agarwal (Outro): Thank you for listening to Anatomy of an Everyday Leader.

Logan Pause (Outro): Subscribe to the show wherever you get your podcasts so you don't miss an episode.