In this thought-provoking episode, host Lee Scheinbart interviews Dr. Sheri Mancini, surgeon, physician advisor, U.S. Navy veteran, and author of Healthcare as Infrastructure: A Constitutional Approach to Reform. Drawing on more than two decades inside the healthcare system, Sheri challenges leaders to consider whether healthcare has drifted away from its fundamental mission—and what it would mean to treat healthcare as essential national infrastructure rather than ordinary commerce.

Lee and Sheri explore the tension between mission and margin, how financial incentives shape everyday operational decisions, and why CMOs are uniquely positioned to recognize institutional drift. Using examples from the operating room and beyond, they discuss resource allocation, physician incentives, stewardship, and the responsibility of physician executives to advocate for change. Dr. Mancini ultimately challenges CMOs to put on their “mission goggles” and examine where financial pressures may be pulling their organizations away from the communities they exist to serve.

In this forward-looking episode, host Lee Scheinbart interviews Dr. Matthew Mazurek, physician leader, medical educator, and co-editor of Systems Thinking for Physician Leaders. Drawing on his work in leadership, professionalism, and medical education, Matt challenges the traditional approach of expecting physicians to learn leadership informally through experience and mentorship alone.

Lee and Matt explore how leadership education could be intentionally incorporated into medical school and residency, from foundational concepts such as emotional intelligence and leadership styles to conflict management, difficult conversations, and understanding the healthcare system itself. The conversation examines the challenges of an already crowded medical curriculum, the need to prepare faculty to teach leadership, and the value of longitudinal, case-based, and experiential learning. Dr. Mazurek also looks ahead to simulation and AI as tools that could allow future physicians to practice leadership skills in realistic, psychologically safe environments.

In this thought-provoking episode, host Lee Scheinbart interviews Dr. Jess Bunin, retired U.S. Army colonel, physician leader, executive coach, and author of From the Inside Out: How Self-Aware Leaders Build Trust and Transform Healthcare. Drawing on her experiences in military medicine, medical education, and healthcare leadership, Jess explores why building trust with others must first begin with understanding ourselves.

Lee and Jess examine the relationship between self-awareness, trust, and accountability, including how leaders can address harm without creating more harm in the process. The conversation introduces restorative justice as a different way to approach conflict—looking beyond individual behavior to understand who has been affected, what systems may have contributed, and how relationships can be repaired. Dr. Bunin also challenges CMOs to balance accountability with support, resist organizational scapegoating, and recognize that meaningful culture change begins with the leader’s willingness to look inward before leading outward.