Building a People‑First Practice: Adaptability, Conflict Resolution, and Better Onboarding with Amy Lafko
Download MP3Well, hi, everyone. I'm Daniel Williams, senior editor at MGMA and host of the MGMA Podcast Network. We are checking in with a repeat guest, someone we love having on the show, and that is Amy Lavko. And Amy Lavko is just a treat to get to meet and talk with and share her with the MGMA audience. She speaks at a lot of our events, and she's an MGMA consultant and the creator of the People First Method.
Daniel Wiliams:I've got a lot I could say about you, Amy, but I'm going to turn it over to you. Just welcome to the show, first of all.
Amy Lafko:Thank you so much, and thank you, Daniel. I love every opportunity to get it to have a conversation with you, so I really appreciate it.
Daniel Wiliams:Wonderful. So I know you've been on the show before and been in front of that MGMA audience before, but what's the elevator pitch? Who is Amy Lavko? What do you like to share with that MGMA audience?
Amy Lafko:You know, I think the elevator pitch I like to start with the fact that I was a physical therapist. And I've served in healthcare leadership positions, both in rehab, in hospitals, in urgent cares, which was part of our medical group practice. So I've had the opportunity to come grow up in healthcare and I understand those unique challenges to it. And the other thing that I think is part of the pitch that people need to understand is I failed as a leader and I never want that to happen to anyone else. And so that is truly my mission is to help other leaders succeed, to help organizations succeed.
Amy Lafko:And, honestly, it's for everyone to win at work.
Daniel Wiliams:That is so cool. We're full disclosure, everyone. We're recording this in late twenty twenty five as we're getting towards the holidays. Y'all are listening to this in 2026. So as Amy and I project our future selves into the new year, Amy, what are some leadership needs or themes?
Daniel Wiliams:What are you thinking about in 2026 that you're hearing from leaders that they need the most right now?
Amy Lafko:You know, there's a few core elements that really don't change. And then there's because of the environment that we're in, all of the regulatory changes. I mean, Daniel, honestly, we're we're looking at tea leaves right now at the 2025 going, what's gonna happen with subsidies? What's gonna happen with insurance? You know, what is who's gonna be on the rolls next year?
Amy Lafko:So honestly, there is so much up in the air that the number one skill that leaders really need to have is adaptability. Our world is changing faster than ever. I mean, remember years ago thinking how quickly healthcare was starting to change. And now that seems like a snail's pace. So the reality is our leaders need to develop their capacity to adapt.
Amy Lafko:And you know what? That's not something that's fixed. You can become more adaptable. So when we talk about leadership skills that they need, the skills of resilience, the skills of creating an environment where team support is so strong that even when there's a whiplash change happening, your staff can thrive through that change because you've created the environment that supports them through it. That there's emotional health in the organization, that they have autonomy.
Amy Lafko:And then one of the other ones that is an old but true every single year when Indeed and LinkedIn come out with their list of like top soft skills, conflict resolution. Oh my goodness. And we may not have great role models at conflict resolution right now, but that doesn't mean we can't develop those skills. And it's interesting because I think a lot of organizations focus on leadership development, which is fantastic. But conflict resolution is actually one that should be all the way at the front line.
Amy Lafko:Why wouldn't we want our staff to know how to engage in productive conflict no matter what level they're at? I just did a workshop with a practice where we had all 20 staff members. They closed the practice for a day and we worked on that team's ability to solve conflict. You know what the manager said after I was done? Like I checked in a week later, he goes, nobody's come with an issue.
Amy Lafko:Should I be worried? And I said, I don't think so because maybe they're just actually resolving some of their issues themselves. And he goes, and things that they used to say this is an issue, they've realized the difference between a request and a conflict that needs to be resolved. So we trained that frontline to self manage so that leaders aren't having to manage every single thing. And I think adaptability, productive conflict, emotional intelligence, like how aware are you of your emotions?
Amy Lafko:Because with all this change, our emotions are spiking. How do we regulate that? And Daniel, that's something that you do so beautifully and share with your teams that I think that's something that should be foundational regardless of level of leadership.
Daniel Wiliams:Yeah. I wanna stay with conflict resolution for a minute because that is such an interesting topic. I want to ask you about this because I don't have any science behind it right now. This is anecdotal. I see a lot of conflict out there.
Daniel Wiliams:And I'm asking about this in a way, do you know? I mean, if you've been with practices, you've heard from them, what is going on right now? Are we just more self aware and we're more transparent so we're not holding the conflict in, but we're addressing it? Or is there more conflict? Are all the factors that are going on, all the change going on, causing people to hit a panic button or a stress button faster.
Daniel Wiliams:Now what's going on in your assessment?
Amy Lafko:What I've actually seen is it's not necessarily that there's more true conflict. But what is happening is that everyone's set point of frustration is higher. When we're in times of uncertainty, when things are unsettled, our emotional health, our emotional regulation becomes even more vital. And you know I'll often talk about how clear is your view. And there's so much mud being thrown around that our view starts out less clear than normal.
Amy Lafko:And so I'm wearing glasses. People can't see. I'm on a podcast, but I wear glasses. So if my glasses are clear, I can see clearly, and I can recognize this isn't a conflict. This is just a disagreement on how we view things, or it's a conversation that needs to be had.
Amy Lafko:But it doesn't have to be this massive thing. But when there is so much being thrown around and thrown at us, when I have less clarity, when my internal frustration level is starting at a higher point, the flash point for conflict comes more quickly.
Daniel Wiliams:Okay.
Amy Lafko:And I also think that people don't know how to resolve conflict in a productive way. And the way that people are developing those skills is by saying, I quit, I walk away, I give up, I shut down, or I lash out. And it's really about helping people learn how to shift their initial approach. To really shift and understand what's actually happening for me inside before I even try to have this conversation. That purposeful pause.
Daniel Wiliams:Yeah. And as you said that, you paused. So that was well done. I mentioned something earlier, and some of our listeners may have heard about it before, but it's that people first method that you founded. That's one way to get at it.
Daniel Wiliams:That's one way to really put those people first and address cultural issues, friction, other things. Define it for us. Tell us what it looks like in a medical practice.
Amy Lafko:You bet. So as a physical therapist, I was trained that it's all about our patients. Patient first, patient first. So many health systems or so many practices that I work with, that's been their mantra. It might even be in their core values, patient first.
Amy Lafko:That's true for the practitioner that is with that patient. But the reality is that as a leader, if I'm focused only on the patient or on that patient first, but I'm interacting with a staff member, then I'm actually running over the staff member to get to the patient. And this was the learning I had as a leader. I wanted us doing more in the intensive care units and I literally ran over the therapist to go in and treat myself because I'm like, it's all about the patients. We've got to see that as leaders, the people we impact are our teams.
Amy Lafko:Our teams impact the patient. But if we try to skip that positive engagement with our teams, then what ends up happening is the patient may be satisfied, but the staff is so disgruntled that that patient's still not going to be satisfied in the long term. So it's shifting the mindset for leaders to say that, if I'm not treating a patient, my job is actually to treat and support and coach the team, because that's the only way that the patient's actually going to get the best care. I can't be in that visit with them. So sure, as an organization, we may say our patients are a priority.
Amy Lafko:But as a leader and an organization, the way we actually have success for our patients is by taking care of our teams.
Daniel Wiliams:Let's stay with people first, but let's look at it through the lens of onboarding. The new year is often a time, I've started a lot of new jobs over the years, right January 1. Well, January 1, usually got off. January 2, I was in that new office. And so a lot of our listeners in January, when they're hearing this, will be starting new jobs or they'll be bringing team members on and onboarding them.
Daniel Wiliams:How do we do that through the lens, through the processes of people first?
Amy Lafko:So in in my book, the way that I redefine onboarding and orientation is actually by saying this is the time for alignment and inspiration. Because traditional onboarding is sitting someone in front of a computer on their first day, and I've actually experienced this myself and seen practices do it. Welcome aboard. Go sit in this cubicle and watch the videos on our EMR. That is not going to align anybody to your organization.
Amy Lafko:That certainly isn't going to inspire them to come back tomorrow. So instead, the people first approach is we're going to align you with our team. We're gonna have a get to know you welcome party instead of a goodbye party for the last person who quit. We're gonna have an opportunity for you to really understand how your role fits into our core values, our mission and our vision. That's what we're talking about with aligning and inspiring someone.
Amy Lafko:It's saying to them, we wanna know what you already feel comfortable with, where you need support so that you can do your best work. The patient first mindset is, oh my gosh, we're short staffed. I've got to get this person trained in the next week so that they can be doing a full patient load. That's patient first, because then your patients are getting treated. The sad thing is that patient first model means that that new team member is never gonna really feel fully committed to the group, to the practice, to their role.
Amy Lafko:And so inspiring them to why they wanna work here, what makes you unique, giving them the support they need to actually have a full training program. And that doesn't always start with from scratch. One of the other things I I get frustrated with is when I see an organization that just uses a set checklist. Like this is what you get trained on. Well, if someone's already experienced in that, maybe we focus less there and we spend more time in other areas.
Amy Lafko:But the only way we truly know that is by having one of the core touch points on a weekly basis saying, what did you learn? Who do we recognize for doing great work to help you onboard? What did you struggle with? What are your goals for next week? And what do you need from me?
Amy Lafko:Those five questions can change it from, oh my gosh, we've gotta get you done so that I can have you treat patients to how do we make you feel connected to this team? That's people first.
Daniel Wiliams:I love it. Okay. Well, when we were going back and forth with questions here, I sent you a lot of questions. And then we realized when you and I start talking, we can go for a while. We both saw that we had a hard stop here, unfortunately.
Daniel Wiliams:And you said to me, If you only ask me one question, ask this next one. And so this may be our closing question. I want to make sure I get this. So when you're working with medical groups, what are those characteristics that stand out in those organizations that truly do embrace a people first culture? What does that look like?
Amy Lafko:You bet. And I'm so excited by this question because the answer's gonna seem deceptively simple. It starts with willingness. I've had practices who say we want to redesign our performance management system. We want to redesign this or do something with our our interviews.
Amy Lafko:We wanna change them. And yet then when it really comes to putting the work in, they say, oh no, but we don't wanna change that part. Or, well, Amy, this is great, but you're asking us to take time on the front end. And so it's a willingness to make the investment in the time. You know, it is gonna take more time to do a really solid onboarding, but it's like compounding interest.
Amy Lafko:You know, it's like when you start contributing to your four zero three b Mhmm. When you're 22 years old and then at 60, suddenly it's grown. It's the same idea. So when I have organizations, I just had a call with someone the other day, and we were talking about resources needed. And she said, we will make the time for our leaders to all participate in this training program because we know how important it is.
Amy Lafko:That willingness alone is step one. And that's why I think it's important for leaders to be willing to say, are we willing to make a short term sacrifice to make this work? The other thing that's really important is that everyone is on the same page about it. You know, I'll have organizations where they'll say, well we want you to work with these three leaders, or we're gonna do the leadership program for this group. But then you have a mismatch.
Amy Lafko:You have some people who are using one methodology, and then you have one other group who hasn't gotten the opportunity to learn that. Let's level set the playing field. And the other thing that's vital is a willingness to say, we're trying to figure this out. We may not be perfect at it, but we wanna work on it. So it's that commitment to action.
Daniel Wiliams:Amy, before we go then, where would our listeners find you? How do they connect with you? Is it social media, a website? Where do you want them to reach out to you and learn more about your tools, processes, everything else?
Amy Lafko:Absolutely. Thank you. So first of all, you can always find me on LinkedIn. I'm Amy Lavko. And call me, honestly.
Amy Lafko:If you're listening to this podcast and like, oh, now what? (570) 617-7836. Call me. Email me. I know we'll put that into the into the show notes, but email me.
Amy Lafko:If you've got a question, at the very least, let's talk about what's going on for you. It may not be that we even work together, but if we can solve for something, let's figure that out.
Daniel Wiliams:That's so cool. Well, Amy, I am so glad you came back on the show. And I'm so excited that you're gonna be in the Colorado area enjoying some snow later this year in 2026. And hopefully, you'll swing by Denver, and we'll get to see each other in person again. But until then, thank you so much for being here.
Amy Lafko:Well, and thank you so much for your interest. And I just realized I forgot to mention, my book is available in Audible now as well as in paperback format. So please, that's another good place to go and learn.
Daniel Wiliams:Okay. Thank you for sharing that. All of those resources will be listed in the episode show notes. Everyone, you'll just click on that link. Go right to it.
Daniel Wiliams:Until then, happy New Year to all of you in 2026, and thank you for being MGMA podcast listeners.
