Dr. Richard Freeman’s journey into medicine began in childhood, inspired by the medical boom in Houston during the late 1960s and the prominence of cardiac surgeons like Michael DeBakey, MD. This ultimately led to a distinguished career in thoracic surgery and then healthcare leadership, to his current role as EVP and Chief Physician Executive of Wellstar Health System. He was encouraged by colleagues to take on administrative roles, which led him to pursue an MBA and embrace broader responsibilities. “I spent a career taking care of one patient at a time… [but] we can help many people all at once" as leaders, he explains. He emphasizes the importance of collaboration and adaptability, and servant leadership, which he calls an "old-fashioned mindset." "We are here to serve the organization," Dr. Freeman says. Leadership in the operating room, where there's "a captain of the ship," is much different than outside the OR where there are more gray areas than black and white. "I had to learn to be more collaborative," he says. "I had to slow down a little bit sometimes. Not every decision needs to be made under pressure in five minutes." Once a decision is made, "that's only the beginning. You've got to go out and sell that." This Impactful Leaders Podcast with WittKieffer's Holly Nandan, who formerly worked under Dr. Freeman at Loyola University Medicine. They discuss the importance of maintaining a clinical practice even while serving as an administrator. And Dr. Freeman reflects upon his experience being trained as a Navy physician and how it taught resourcefulness: "You'd be surprised with what you can do with what you have." Ultimately, Dr. Freeman's leadership philosophy is rooted in servant leadership and respect: “People may forget exactly what you did," he says, "but they always remember how you treat them.”

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