In this episode, I welcome Shandy Welch back to the Healthcare Leadership Excellence Podcast for a conversation about work ethic and what leaders can do to help people develop it.

Shandy shares the story of spending her summers at Elk Creek Ranch in Wyoming and the influence of Hap Ridgeway, who challenged her as a teenager to help build a mile-long fence. What stayed with her was not the fence itself, but having someone believe she was capable of doing something difficult before she necessarily believed it herself.

We discuss how that same principle applies in the workplace. Leaders can set high expectations, but expectations alone are not enough. People need to feel valued, heard, acknowledged, and connected to something greater than themselves.

Shandy also shares why leaders need to slow down and invest time in relationships. When she began developing a total joint program at a hospital, she spent her first two months getting to know the people, teams, and surgeons before seeing a single patient. That investment created the trust and understanding needed to build something successful.

The conversation is a reminder that developing work ethic is not simply about asking people to work harder. It is about knowing your people, believing in their potential, giving them meaningful challenges, and creating the kind of relationship that makes them willing to take those challenges on.

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