We often think of leadership as a title, but really, it’s an action. While some challenges just need a solid plan, solving the Kansas Health Gap requires a specific kind of leadership that goes beyond authority.

In Episode 6 of Leading Health, Ed O’Malley and Susan Kang unpack the three reasons why this gap is so hard to close—from the lack of urgency to the inevitable clash of values. Joined by Johnathan Sublet, Executive Director of SENT, they dive further to highlight what it really looks like to lead from a calling, punch deeper at daunting problems and build systems that free you to pursue the work that keeps you up at night.

Highlights

• Leadership is an activity, not a noun.
• Separating leadership from authority invites far more people into the work.
• The 30,000 Kansans have a specific and essential leadership role to play in improving capital-H Health, but having authority doesn't always mean you're exercising leadership.
• Johnathan Sublet's journey from chemical engineer to nonprofit leader illustrates what it looks like to lead from a calling rather than just manage a role.
• Burnout isn't caused by a heavy schedule; it's caused by an unsettled relationship. between daily tasks and the original passion that drove you to the work.
• The "punch deeper" metaphor: too many nonprofits throw shallow punches at problems; real leadership means aiming past the face and committing to closing gaps entirely.
• Competing values are not problems to solve, they're tensions to manage; if you're not getting pushback from all sides, you're probably not doing anything significant.
• "Leading is disappointing people at a rate they can tolerate," and remembering what got you into the work is what keeps the calling alive.

Chapters

0:48 — Chapter 6 Introduction

1:56 — Why Health Is a Leadership Challenge

2:32 — Three Factors of Leadership Explained

6:09 — Authority Versus Leadership

8:02 — Having Authority Does Not Mean Exercising Leadership

9:57 — Meet Johnathan Sublet of SENT

10:38 — Leading Versus Managing

12:08 — Calling and Community Work

15:29 — Burnout and Big Swings

17:43 — Systems Free Your Focus

18:48 — Leadership Challenge Mindset

19:44 — Share the Model Widely

20:17 — Greek Not Roman Legacy

21:57 — Housing Change Snowball

23:34 — ALICE and the Missing Middle

26:52 — Competing Values in Practice

30:37 — Keep the Calling Alive

33:08 — Key Takeaways

Resources

• SENT — A Topeka-based nonprofit that focuses on Community Health and Wellness, Education and Workforce Development and Housing and Revitalization.
• Kansas Leadership Center - Learn how to exercise leadership and mobilize others for greater change.
• ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) — a United Way framework describing the working poor, referenced in the housing discussion

Leading Health is an invitation to move the needle on Health in Kansas, and we invite you to join us in leading the way.

Don’t have a copy of Leading Health? Claim your copy and learn more about the movement at kansashealth.org/leadinghealth

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