Empowering Healthcare Leaders: Delores McNair on Mentorship, Authenticity & the Power of “We”
Download MP3Well, everyone. I'm Daniel Williams, Senior Editor at MGMA, and we are here in Orlando for the MGMA twenty twenty five Leaders Conference. It's the last day, but we've saved the best for last. We've got Dolores McNair here with us. She is an attendee.
Daniel Williams:She's also a speaker. She's gonna speak twice today. Well, it's now three times because she's gonna talk with us too. Dolores, it is so good to see you.
Delores McNair:Well, Daniel, you know, each time I'm in the space of MGMA, each time I'm in your space, there's so much positivity. And that's one of the reasons I attend MGMA conferences every year, every chance I get. And next is now. And my now needs to be next in my chapter. And my now needs to be what I need now to go to the next level.
Delores McNair:And the conference has not failed. It has not failed. I am feeling rejuvenated, but educated, girded up, networked, and I don't just have a name. I have the personal cell number. Now that's what you want to have happen at a conference.
Daniel Williams:I love that. You and I have connected in so many different ways because you do so much for MGMA. I first met you because you're a mentor Oh, with look at the
Delores McNair:platform MGMA I could not turn it down. I mentored and I continue to mentor outside of it, but it is great to have the structure. And you know, the structure's evolving. That's the nice thing. MGMA keeps us at our top healthcare by keeping themselves at the top.
Delores McNair:So I've watched the platform continue to grow and innovate and look for best practices and then be the standard in some ways in setting new best practices. So happy to be a part.
Daniel Williams:Oh, that's wonderful. So I'm gonna make a plug for somewhere else that we meet once a month, the MGMA Book Club. What can you tell me about this? Because you and I have had so much fun and learned so much from other people in the book club.
Delores McNair:You know, I want everyone to know, don't think of it as the traditional book club. You're not told which book to read, and you're not even told you have to read it. You can listen to it. You can discuss it one on one with the group, but the books are decided upon as a group, suggested as a group. But there's so much more than democracy in how we do it.
Delores McNair:Yeah. Because when we realize as a book club team that things are evolving
Daniel Williams:Yeah.
Delores McNair:We can come back. And, Daniel, you do a phenomenal job of helping us with not just the technology, but you're engaged. You know, a lot of people wouldn't know that you read these books. And so you keep us digging a little deeper. So we're not just reading a book to chitchat.
Delores McNair:We're reading a book to chitchat about what was in the book and a chat about what we got out the book.
Daniel Williams:I love it. Love I love We've got to trademark that, the chit and the chat. I think that's so cool. I can't have this interview without bringing up last night. So, MGMA put on their signature event.
Daniel Williams:It was a 1920s style event. It's like the Great Gatsby meets I don't know what, but it was Bumped into you there. Explain the outfit because it was straight out of the twenties. It was so cool. And you look like you're having the time of your life there.
Daniel Williams:Tell me about that.
Delores McNair:I'm biased. I was having the time of my life. One, because MGMA, I was having the time of my life to watch the people who give us all of these tools. You know, data dive is one of my favorite. A lot of people didn't know about it.
Delores McNair:They told me before, you know, four or five years ago, some people in my circle and they were going, where'd you get that data? And I went data dive. Well, I went bourbon twenties, jazz dive, and I didn't even have to have a bourbon. And so last night, I did get to dress up, have a little tassels, have a little feather in my hair, but I watched all of my peers.
Daniel Williams:Yeah.
Delores McNair:And even though we were all dressed up, and as you know, some of us really went out there, we really went out there, what I saw still happening again, it was a new way for us to connect, not network. So people weren't running around giving out business cards. And that's what's kind of sweet about our conferences. People were talking, offering to take pictures with each other and doing the new technology thing, connect on LinkedIn just by scanning a QR code. So it was great.
Delores McNair:By the way, there was no way I could have imagined when you all said we could go from venue to venue.
Daniel Williams:Yeah.
Delores McNair:It did remind me of a twenties thing.
Daniel Williams:It
Delores McNair:did. It did. I mean, you could just walk right
Daniel Williams:Like a speakeasy or doing a pub crawl, whatever And it
Delores McNair:people providing for those who might have said, you know, I couldn't find my full costume. We had our headpieces and our hats. It was awesome. Just totally awesome.
Daniel Williams:Yeah. And every time I talk to you, whether it's on a podcast, whether it's in the book club, whether it's hanging out here, it reminds me that we hear the headlines often scream the complexities of healthcare, the staffing shortages, all the challenges. But at the end of the day, what we're talking about is human beings. We're talking And about when we're here live face to face at an event like the Leaders Conference, we get to hang with other people and we get to hear their stories. And so I just wanna thank you for being such a great ambassador of MGMA and just bringing your spirit and your energy to whatever you do here.
Delores McNair:Well, you know, authenticity, as you've heard me say, whether it's in mentorship and leadership is so important. And we learned that as Gwen Dooley was talking to us about that and your leadership brand. So MGMA sticks with something, you know, I said when we first met on a podcast and you said, what? And I said, I tell people, it's not about you and it's not about me. It's all about the we.
Delores McNair:And we are stronger together. MGMA, I thought it was my own original little saying. MGMA was already living it.
Daniel Williams:Yeah.
Delores McNair:They were thinking of me, and they were thinking of you, and they were thinking of them, and they were thinking of we, and how can we make health care, how can we make our leaders stronger together? So next is now, and now I'm already walking into my next. So I'm hoping this last session as women come together, but I even told a few men, hey, I complain. Peek your ear in there.
Daniel Williams:Yeah.
Delores McNair:Because MGMA embraces diversity, they embrace it, voices, and we all need to be heard.
Daniel Williams:All right. Well, Dolores McNair, thank for being here.
Delores McNair:Oh, thank you, Daniel. And you know, I'm looking forward to the next book club, but every chance we can connect, I know I'm going
Daniel Williams:to get a boost. You got it. All right. Well, everyone, we've been talking with Dolores McNair live from the Orlando twenty twenty five MGMA Leaders Conference. We miss you.
Daniel Williams:Y'all come on here next year. We're gonna be in San Antonio for our one hundredth Anniversary Leaders Conference. Thank you so much. Signing off here.
