In this episode of the Lead Up Podcast, host Mike Harbour sits down with Scott Becker, founder and publisher of Becker’s Healthcare, to explore what separates organizations that grow from those that stall—and why leadership evolution is at the center of it.

Drawing from decades of experience building businesses across healthcare, media, and professional services, Scott breaks down the stages leaders must move through as their organizations grow. He explains why many leaders become the limiting factor without realizing it, and how the shift from doing everything to delegating to building teams that outperform you is what ultimately determines whether an organization can scale.

They discuss where companies—and hospital leadership teams—most often get stuck, particularly in the transition from individual contribution to true team-based execution. Scott highlights the risks of staying too involved, the hidden cost of leadership bottlenecks, and why organizations slow down when decisions, priorities, and direction continue to run through a single point.

The conversation also explores the importance of focus, hiring, and role clarity. Scott emphasizes that growth doesn’t come from doing more—it comes from knowing where you can win, building the right team around that, and consistently reinforcing it. He also addresses a common tension in healthcare: balancing team engagement with patient-centered outcomes, and why both must be held as top priorities.

One of the key takeaways: the true measure of leadership is not how much depends on you—it’s how well the organization performs without you as the constraint.

If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to leave a 5-star review on your streaming platform. Mike encourages you to reach out to him at Mike@harbourresources.com to share your thoughts and suggest future topics.

In this episode of the Lead Up Podcast, host Mike Harbour sits down with Tom Dahlborg, healthcare executive and author of From Heart to Head and Back Again, to examine what happens when leadership becomes overly transactional in a system that depends on human connection. Drawing from his experience as both a leader and a patient, Tom challenges the assumption that better outcomes come from better metrics—and instead points to the standard of leadership underneath them.

They discuss why healthcare has seen limited progress in patient safety and experience despite decades of focus, and how an overreliance on measurement, incentives, and control has shifted leadership away from its core responsibility. Tom explains how well-intended systems can unintentionally strip away intrinsic motivation, turning meaningful work into transactional activity—and why that shift shows up as burnout, disengagement, and moral injury across teams.

The conversation also explores the difference between managing outcomes and leading people, and why many leaders default to fixing systems without first examining their own role within them. Tom emphasizes the need for courage, self-reflection, and a willingness to make decisions that prioritize what is right—not just what is rewarded.

One of the key takeaways: organizations don’t get better results from new strategies alone—they get them from leaders who are willing to operate at a higher standard, especially when it’s difficult.

If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to leave a 5-star review on your streaming platform. Mike encourages you to reach out to him at Mike@harbourresources.com to share your thoughts and suggest future topics.

You can learn more about Tom here and find his book on Amazon.

In this episode of the Lead Up Podcast, host Mike Harbour sits down with Emily Craig, Vice President of Palliative Care at Constellation Health, to explore what it actually takes to build leaders in fast-growing, high-pressure healthcare environments. Drawing from her experience scaling a multi-state palliative care program, Emily shares how leadership—not strategy—is what ultimately determines whether priorities hold or begin to drift.

They discuss the common mistake of promoting strong clinicians into leadership roles without preparing them for the decision-making demands that come with it. Emily explains why hiring for character and connection matters more than technical skill, and how leaders can identify the qualities that truly translate into effective leadership under pressure.

The conversation also highlights how to develop leaders without compromising productivity, maintain culture across geographic scale, and build trust when you can’t be physically present. Emily emphasizes the importance of strong onboarding, consistent communication rhythms, and treating people with humanity—while still holding high standards.

One of the key takeaways: while skills can be taught, who someone is cannot—and that distinction shows up quickly in leadership and decision-making.

If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to leave a 5-star review on your streaming platform. Mike encourages you to reach out to him at Mike@harbourresources.com to share your thoughts and suggest future topics.