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Part 2: Health is a Leadership Challenge Because…

Hosts Ed O’Malley and Susan Kang take a moment to reflect in this episode and recap the foundational concepts in Part 1 of the book, Leading Health, and tease what’s to come in Part 2. 

In Part 1, we are led with the harsh reality that no state has fallen further in America’s Health Rankings than Kansas, and in this section, we highlight the ‘symptoms’ Kansas experiences when we slip so drastically. 

In this episode, we revisit the core arguments from our first five episodes — from capital “H” Health versus lowercase “h” health, to the 30,000 Kansans who hold civic authority, and introduce America’s Health rankings and why they matter — before revealing the central thesis of Part 2: Kansas’s health gap is not a health challenge. It’s a leadership challenge. And until we frame it that way, we’ll keep arriving at the same outcomes. 

Highlights

• Kansas fell from #8 to #31 in America’s Health Rankings. 
• The 30,000 Kansans in roles of civic authority are the key to change. 
• How America’s Health Rankings can serve as the North Star for measuring progress toward Kansas becoming the healthiest state in the nation. 
• Part 1 describes the symptoms, Part 2 delivers the diagnosis
• Passionate people working for change are often their own biggest enemy, and we tell you why. 
• Improving population health is an adaptive challenge, not a technical one — meaning there are no easy answers, and it involves risk, loss and ongoing exploration.
• Even if every healthcare expert, public health professional, nutritionist and researcher does their part, the health gap will remain, because it is first and foremost a leadership challenge. 

Chapters

• 1:28 – Recap of the First Five Episodes
• 2:13 – Capital “H” vs. Lowercase “h” Health
• 2:29 – Meet the 30,000 Civic Leaders
• 2:57 – America’s Health Rankings as Our North Star
• 3:13 – The Symptoms → Diagnosis → Prescription Framework
• 3:55 – Passionate People and Hidden Challenges
• 5:44 – It’s Not a Health Challenge — It’s a Leadership Challenge
• 6:38 – Adaptive Challenge and the Rarity of Real Leadership
• 8:59 – Why This Lens Changes Everything
• 9:31 – Experts Matter, But Leadership Must Lead
• 10:48 – Preview of Chapter 6: (It’s) Not a Health Challenge…

Resources 

Did you miss out on Part 1 of Leading Health? Get to know the symptoms Kansas faces as we’ve slipped in America’s Health Rankings. 

• Episode 1: health vs. Health 
• Episode 2: The 30,000 and Health 
• Episode 3: Health as a North Star
• Episode 4: Kansas at 29th 
• Episode 5: Kansas at #1 

Leading Health is an invitation to move the needle on Health in Kansas, and we invite you to join us in leading the way. Claim your copy of the book and learn more about the movement.

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