Dear Leader,

The time to take the reigns of leadership is now. Leading is not synonymous with title, but rather, a commitment to action. The sooner you make the conscious decision to play an active role in your professional development, while positively impacting the people and organizations around you, the quicker you will experience the change and progression desired. YOU ARE IN CONTROL OF YOUR DESTINY.

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While the field of mobile medicine has made substantial gains in advancing our scope of practice, the professionalization of our industry, and others, we remain a segment of healthcare that struggles with quality in leadership, top to bottom. When we allocate resources for formalized leadership education, we will see the results of our investment. However, limitations to your budget should not prevent you from achieving your potential - it should cause you to seek these opportunities elsewhere.

If you have limited funding opportunities, there are countless no-cost options to pursue your leadership development. I would also encourage that you do not limit yourself to EMS-specific leadership training and topics. The concepts employed in other industries may very well solve a problem within your own organization. Leadership is cross-functional, and as you further develop and expand your network, you may find unique synergies and partnership opportunities to benefit your own team, and your own journey. Many of these are found beyond the borders of our agencies.

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Challenges that impact one organization, in many cases, are the same issues experienced by providers and agencies across the nation. I encourage you to network, taking advantage of social media platforms, online connection opportunities, and in-person events. We grow at the scale of our engagement. As you venture beyond your personal comfort zone, into the land of opportunity, you will find that your leadership journey will become strengthened, and your resilience renewed. The stronger your team of mentors and colleagues, the greater you will be as a leader. It’s not “lonely at the top” when you are consistently surrounding yourself with strong and positive leaders.

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Never stop learning.

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I am not saying you need a degree, or the next degree (I’m not discouraging that either), but do not limit your learning potential to a classroom. Education comes in many forms, and you should not shortchange yourself by limiting your view of learning. Trade journals, podcasts, conferences, books, articles, etc. – these are all ways that you can refine your craft and emerge a better leader, not only for yourself, but within the workplace and at home.

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Leadership is not permission to do less, but an opportunity and responsibility to do more! Leaders make an impact in the lives of others, and we define success by our rate of impact and influence - not on the size of our social media following. Leadership requires exceptionalism, and being exceptional is a choice. Do not fall into the trap of mediocrity, where “good enough” is the standard. If exceptionalism is a choice, make that choice daily. The successes of yesterday will not carry you through today. The challenges of today are unlike those of the past, and we must not rest on prior accomplishments when there is much more to be done.

Never stop dreaming. During the first ten years that I served as our organization’s CEO, I heard every negative remark out there: “It can’t be done”, “that’s impossible”, “you’re going to fail”. Turn all negatives tossed in your direction into meaningful fuel to pursue your purpose more fervently. It isn’t about proving others wrong; it’s about delivering meaningful results.

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Be prepared to fail, and to fail often. Do not become discouraged or derailed by your failures, but lean into them, using them as the most brutal learning tool available to you. If you are repeatedly making the same mistake, you have a problem. If you are making improvements from mistake to mistake, you’re making progress. Progress is not achieved without failure, and victory is not enjoyed without first knowing the bitter taste of defeat.

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Every time you fail, pause to assess the reason for the failure. Did you bite off more than you could chew, fail to consider the economics of your effort, or did market conditions render your plan impractical? Maybe you were ahead of the time, maybe behind, but whatever factor(s) you determine led to your failure, only focus on the items within your control.

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It is possible that you did everything right, everything in your control, and still end up failing. While these are the most difficult of failures to endure, it is persevering beyond loss, and focusing on what lies ahead, that will illustrate your true leadership strength.

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If you can remove the emotion, focus on facts, and be real with yourself, you will learn from your shortcomings, and you will not make the same mistake twice. If you fail to conduct a true and realistic assessment of yourself, and the factors within your control, you are bound to endure repeated failure.

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We are often our own worst critic, but when self-critiqued effectively, we can also serve as our greatest change-agent and advocate. Too often, I see people who fail and refuse to try again. The pain of failure has prevented them from pursuing their purpose. Remain resilient, stay focused, and never let a naysayer prevent you from achieving greatness.

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If nothing else, there is one area of focus that I feel most leadership texts and teachings fail to properly address. You can’t experience sustainable success at work if you are not successful at home. I am fortunate to have an incredible marriage and an amazing family. The more I invest in growing and maintaining my home life, the more success and opportunity I tend to have at work. Since getting married in 2022, my company has grown by more than 65%. I attribute much of our growth to the level of support, encouragement, and love I receive at home.

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Furthermore, when I don’t make my family the priority, my work suffers – even when I’m putting in more hours and trying my hardest to find success. A concrete home life is a key ingredient to being a consistent, strong leader, and an evolving success story.

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Lastly, I want to encourage you to rest. The work you do is relentless. We work in an environment that never sleeps, where the demand for our services never subsides. We must be intentional in scheduling time for ourselves, just as we do our regular meeting schedules. Not only do you need this time to rest and recharge from intense periods of activity and work, but also to evaluate the results of your efforts. Often, when we spend too much time on a project, or in a situation, we begin to lose perspective. When we take the time to step back, take a breath, and evaluate, we often re-enter our work with a clearer sense of purpose, easily identifying and removing obstacles and bad ideas.

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The journey is not one of ease, nor is it a quick climb. We must consistently remain in a posture of learning, remain resilient, and unafraid to lean into others. And no matter what, keep your integrity intact. No one can take that away from you – it is something that you would only be taking from yourself. If you are all-in on integrity, the other pieces will find themselves into place.

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I wish you the best as you continue your leadership journey. The leadership quota will never be fulfilled, so lead yourself well, then seek to lead others. We owe it to ourselves and the future of our industry.

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Sincerely,

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Ryan D. Thorne, NRP

Chief Executive Officer

Thorne Ambulance Service