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

And be sure to subscribe, and drop a comment to let us know what you think.

In this bridge episode between Parts 1 and 2 of the Leading Health book, we pause to recap where we've been and preview what's coming. We revisit the core arguments from our first five episodes — from capital H Health versus lower h health, to the 30,000 Kansans who hold civic authority and why they matter — before revealing the central thesis of Part 2: Kansas's health gap is not a health challenge. It's a leadership challenge. And until we frame it that way, we'll keep arriving at the same dead ends.

Highlights

• Kansas fell from #8 to #31 in America's Health Rankings — and treating this as a health problem is exactly why progress has stalled
• The 30,000 Kansans in roles of civic authority — elected officials, pastors, school principals, nonprofit executives, and community-minded CEOs — are the key to change
• America's Health Rankings serves as the "North Star" for measuring progress toward Kansas becoming the #1 healthiest state in the nation
• Part 1 describes the symptoms, Part 2 delivers the diagnosis, and Part 3 will outline the prescription
• Passionate people working for change are often their own biggest enemy — the real challenge is frequently different than it first appears
• Improving population health is an adaptive challenge, not a technical one — meaning there are no easy answers, and it involves risk, loss, and ongoing exploration
• Leadership is rare, and it's an activity, not a position — we prefer to talk about people exercising leadership rather than simply holding the title
• Even if every healthcare expert, public health professional, nutritionist, and researcher does their part, the health gap will remain — because it is first and foremost a leadership challenge

Chapters

1:28 – Recap of the First Five Episodes

2:13 – Capital H vs. Lower h Health

2:29 – Meet the 30,000 Civic Leaders

2:57 – America's Health Rankings as Our North Star

3:13 – The Symptoms → Diagnosis → Prescription Framework

3:55 – Passionate People and Hidden Challenges

5:44 – It's Not a Health Problem — It's a Leadership Problem

6:38 – Adaptive Challenge and the Rarity of Real Leadership

8:59 – Why This Lens Changes Everything

9:31 – Experts Matter, But Leadership Must Lead

10:48 – Wrap-Up and Next Episode Preview

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

And be sure to subscribe, and drop a comment to let us know what you think.

What would it look like if Kansas became the healthiest state in the nation — and what would it take to get there?

In Chapter 5 of Leading Health, we cast a bold vision of what Kansas at #1 in America’s Health Rankings could mean for real people. It would look like fewer Kansans going hungry, more kids reading at grade level, and hundreds of thousands fewer people struggling with substance use, just to name a few. We're joined by Kenny Wilk, former Kansas legislator and member of the Kansas Board of Regents, and now Vice President of Governmental and Community Affairs at the University of Kansas Health System. Alongside Ed and Susan, he shares what it means to cast a vision bold enough to be risky, and why that's exactly what leadership requires.

Highlights

• In 1991, Kansas was ranked #8 in America’s Health Rankings. Over the next 30 years, we’ve drastically slipped to our lowest at #31 and today, #27. Our goal is #1.
• If Kansas matched New Hampshire (currently #1), 105,000 fewer Kansans would face food insecurity, 32,000 more kids would read at grade level by 4th grade, 173,000 more Kansans would exercise regularly, and 183,000 fewer Kansans would engage in non-medical drug use.
• The distinction between capital H Health (everything that helps people thrive) and lowercase h health (healthcare) is central to understanding why this challenge requires more than hospitals and clinics.
• Kenny Wilk draws on his experience leading the Kansas Economic Growth Act and the Bioscience Authority to show how bold, long-term visions can outlast the individuals who cast them.
• Understanding that a vision is "imagining what you cannot see" — and being comfortable that casting a bold vision invites scrutiny.
• How the Kansas Health Foundation’s research on the Economic Case for Health shows that Health is not only an outcome of a great economy, it’s a driver.
• Progress should be celebrated — incremental wins keep people engaged and moving toward a long-term goal.

Chapters

1:25 – Kansas at Number One Vision

2:52 – Pragmatism Meets Idealism

3:31 – The Coins and the Climb

4:51 – What Kansans Told Us

8:04 – If Kansas Matched New Hampshire

11:21 – Up to the 30,000

11:53 – Meet Kenny Wilk

12:55 – Capital H vs. Small h Health

16:42 – Hospitals' Role in Thriving

18:41 – Casting a Risky Vision

21:31 – Players Change, Vision Stays

22:47 – Imagining the Unseen

23:50 – From Concern to Aspiration

24:32 – Listening Then Challenging

26:56 – Authority to Set Direction

28:51 – Scrutiny and Staying Steady

29:58 – Quiet Confidence and Decisions

32:01 – Kansas Number One Impact

34:51 – Health Drives the Economy

39:14 – Takeaways and Celebrate Wins

43:04 – Next Episode Leadership Challenge

Resources

• America's Health Rankings
• The Economic Case for Health Report
• University of Kansas Health System

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

And be sure to subscribe, and drop a comment to let us know what you think.