Eye Care Leadership Live

Mike Lyons, SPHR
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I speak with eye care and healthcare clinical leaders and the experts who help their clinics succeed. 

  1. Sep 12

    Microcast: Get Your Mindset Right

    Send us Fan Mail Your mindset is not just “how you feel.” It’s the filter that decides what you notice, how you react under pressure, and whether a rough morning turns into a rough week. We recorded a short, content-rich microcast to share the simple mindset habits we rely on when we want more good days, fewer spirals, and a steadier kind of leadership.  We start with the fastest reset we know: physical movement. A short walk, fresh air, and paying attention to what’s around you can quickly change your outlook and your energy. We also talk about perspective, the kind that reminds you the world doesn’t revolve around you and that today’s problems may be smaller than they feel in your head. That shift matters in healthcare leadership, business leadership, and home life because you can’t lead well when you’re stuck in stress.  Then we get practical about sleep hygiene and recovery: screens away from the bed, lights down as bedtime approaches, and not working until the last minute when you can avoid it. We share what we’ve tried for sleep support, including researching L-theanine and magnesium glycinate and discussing options with a medical practitioner. From there, we move to mindset tools you can actually see: note cards by your desk, simple mantras like “I can do this,” and reminders that you are not your productivity.  If you want a quick boost in self-leadership, press play, try one habit today, and tell us what works for you. Subscribe, share this with a friend who needs a reset, and leave a review so more leaders can find the show. === This episode is brought to you by Seasoned Advice HR, where I help eye care clinics to hire, retain, and manage better — helping you get Better Results Through People. Learn more at seasoned-advice.com.  Contact me directly at mike@seasoned-advice.com  Get my free HR and leadership downloads here: https://www.seasoned-advice.com/signup-for-free-downloads

  2. Sep 10

    Microcast: Employee Compensation

    Send us Fan Mail Underpaying is not a savings plan, it is a turnover strategy.  In this microcast, I get real about staff compensation and why it’s often the number one issue behind poor retention, constant rehiring, and teams that never feel fully settled. If you run a healthcare clinic or ophthalmology practice, pay decisions set the tone for motivation, growth, and whether your best people stick around when the market heats up.  We walk through what “do your research” actually means, and why common sources like job postings and big salary sites can mislead you fast. Instead of guessing,  focus on compensation research that fits your market and your roles, plus what to consider as pay transparency laws push more employers to post salary ranges during recruiting.  You’ll also hear how to build pay ranges that work in the real world: setting a clear minimum and maximum, leaving room for experience, and keeping positions properly spaced so promotions feel worth it. That alignment across roles is internal equity, and when it’s off, people notice immediately.  If you want a tighter compensation plan that helps you hire, retain, and lead with confidence, listen now. Subscribe for more microcasts, share this with a practice owner or manager, and leave a review with the pay question you want us to tackle next. === This episode is brought to you by Seasoned Advice HR, where I help eye care clinics to hire, retain, and manage better — helping you get Better Results Through People. Learn more at seasoned-advice.com.  Contact me directly at mike@seasoned-advice.com  Get my free HR and leadership downloads here: https://www.seasoned-advice.com/signup-for-free-downloads

  3. Sep 8

    How Clinics Use Voice AI with Jakub Grajcar

    Send us Fan Mail Your phones can be “busy” and still be leaving money on the table. When calls spike on Monday mornings or right after holidays, even great teams miss opportunities, patients get stuck on hold, and front desk burnout creeps in. We sit down with Jakob Grajcar from Talkie AI to get specific about what an AI medical receptionist can actually handle today and what clinic leaders should ignore in the hype.  We break down the real use cases that matter in a healthcare call center: answering repetitive questions, routing requests without painful phone trees, and increasingly handling complex patient scheduling conversations using natural language like “next week after work” or “after Thanksgiving but not Monday.” We also talk about why EHR integration is a make-or-break detail. If calls get captured but staff still must re-enter everything manually, you are moving work, not removing it.  Just as important, we get practical about change management. We cover how to introduce voice AI without threatening your team, how to set expectations for patients who want a human, and why adoption often improves over 60 to 90 days as people get used to a new workflow. We also touch on SMS and web chat options, hybrid intake forms, reminders that reduce no-shows, and where AI agents may head next.  Learn more about Jakub here https://www.linkedin.com/in/jakub-grajcar/ and Talkie can be found at talkie.ai.   === This episode is brought to you by Seasoned Advice HR, where I help eye care clinics to hire, retain, and manage better — helping you get Better Results Through People. Learn more at seasoned-advice.com.  Contact me directly at mike@seasoned-advice.com  Get my free HR and leadership downloads here: https://www.seasoned-advice.com/signup-for-free-downloads

  4. Sep 5

    Microcast: Coach Better

    Send us Fan Mail This episode is about coaching better. It’s about asking better questions so we can get better solutions. Hope you enjoy. === This episode is brought to you by Seasoned Advice HR, where I help eye care clinics to hire, retain, and manage better — helping you get Better Results Through People. Learn more at seasoned-advice.com.  Contact me directly at mike@seasoned-advice.com  Get my free HR and leadership downloads here: https://www.seasoned-advice.com/signup-for-free-downloads

  5. Sep 1

    Physician Burnout with Dr. Brett Cordes

    Send us Fan Mail Burnout isn’t always a collapse. Sometimes it’s a quiet, confusing boredom that shows up after you’ve “made it” and you can’t figure out why the work feels empty. On Eye Care Leadership Live, we sit down with Dr. Brett Cordes, an ENT surgeon turned physician coach, to trace what burnout really looks like over time and why so many doctors stay stuck in denial until the consequences get loud. We talk through Dr. Cordes’ own story: a thriving private practice career, the moment fulfillment started slipping, and how burnout contributed to substance dependence, job loss, and a long road through rehabilitation and licensing disruption. From there, we get practical about what he now hears daily from physicians across specialties: the crushing administrative burden, endless EHR charting, prior authorization battles, private equity pressure, and the gut-level distress of moral injury when non-clinicians influence care. We also unpack the human side of physician burnout: irritability, strained relationships, a shrinking frustration threshold, and the fear of being seen as weak. Dr. Cordes explains why self-awareness radically improves the outlook, why there’s no “easy button,” and how building an identity outside medicine can protect your career and your life. If you’re a physician, practice leader, or healthcare administrator trying to reduce burnout and retain great clinicians, this conversation offers clear language and real-world insight. Subscribe for more candid healthcare leadership conversations, share this with a colleague who needs it, and leave a review with your biggest takeaway. What’s the earliest sign of burnout you wish you had taken seriously? === This episode is brought to you by Seasoned Advice HR, where I help eye care clinics to hire, retain, and manage better — helping you get Better Results Through People. Learn more at seasoned-advice.com.  Contact me directly at mike@seasoned-advice.com  Get my free HR and leadership downloads here: https://www.seasoned-advice.com/signup-for-free-downloads

  6. Aug 25

    Develop Ophthalmology Leaders (with Brittany Williams and Sarah Duval)

    Send us Fan Mail We talk with Sarah Duval and Brittany Williams about turning entry-level ophthalmology roles into real careers and building a frontline team that makes your clinic stronger. We share what actually drives staff growth, retention, and confidence when mentorship is limited and the day-to-day feels nonstop. • career paths from front office and technician roles to leadership positions • finding mentors and skill-building through ASOA, AAOE, and smaller peer networks • why certifications like COA and COE raise competence and patient trust • how to advocate for conference funding and prove ROI back at the practice • building in-house training when you cannot send everyone to meetings • reducing turnover by investing in A players and developing B players • spotting high potential through teamwork, curiosity, and follow-through • mentoring through presence, opportunity, and five-year plan conversations • managing across generations by setting clear expectations Brittney Williams can be reached at bwilliams@vitalinteraction.com Sarah Duval can be reached at sduval@ascrs.org  If you enjoyed this episode please subscribe to the show on your podcast app and share it with someone who would value the content I also invite you to subscribe to my HR newsletter for eye care leaders. You can find information about that at seasoned-advice.com. === This episode is brought to you by Seasoned Advice HR, where I help eye care clinics to hire, retain, and manage better — helping you get Better Results Through People. Learn more at seasoned-advice.com.  Contact me directly at mike@seasoned-advice.com  Get my free HR and leadership downloads here: https://www.seasoned-advice.com/signup-for-free-downloads

  7. Aug 18

    AI In HR Without The Hype

    Send us Fan Mail AI can make HR feel effortless ... right up until it makes a confident suggestion that’s quietly wrong.  I this episode, I walk through how I use AI tools every day for HR documents and research, why that speed is real, and why it can also create real risk when the user doesn’t know what questions to ask. Think of it like a great surgical tool: powerful in the right hands, dangerous in the wrong ones. We dig into the messy middle where HR lives: employee conflict, terminations, sensitive conversations, and anything with legal exposure. I explain how “90% correct” output can still steer you in the wrong direction, why prompts often leave out the details that matter most, and how to pressure-test AI recommendations before you act. You’ll also hear practical ways to use AI safely, like polishing job descriptions, upgrading interview questions, and drafting what not to say during delicate moments. Then I share a hands-on tool I’ve been using for hiring: Plaud, a standalone AI note-taker that summarizes interviews so you can stay present with the candidate. We talk cost, how I cross-check notes, why it can’t read tone or character, and the consent and recording expectations you need to think about. Finally, we cover why AI resume screening can miss the best people and where automation shines instead, like faster applicant follow-up, onboarding check-ins, and gathering honest feedback through AI call agents, especially in healthcare and ophthalmology clinics. If you want a realistic, practical guide to AI in HR, listen now, then subscribe, share this with a hiring manager, and leave a review with your biggest question about using AI at work. === This episode is brought to you by Seasoned Advice HR, where I help eye care clinics to hire, retain, and manage better — helping you get Better Results Through People. Learn more at seasoned-advice.com.  Contact me directly at mike@seasoned-advice.com  Get my free HR and leadership downloads here: https://www.seasoned-advice.com/signup-for-free-downloads

  8. Aug 11

    How This Administrator Builds Culture - One Espresso at a Time

    Send us Fan Mail Culture shows up in the smallest moments: the way the front desk greets a nervous patient, how a technician handles a delay, whether a physician trusts the team or escalates every hiccup. When those moments add up, you get either a clinic that feels calm and capable or one that feels tense and brittle. That’s why I sat down with Joey Hamel, Executive Director at Eye Physicians and Surgeons in Delaware, to talk about how real culture change actually happens inside an ophthalmology practice.  Joey shares what surprised him about ophthalmology compared with heart and vascular care, then gets specific about the leadership moves that rebuild trust fast. We dig into hiring for personality over pure experience, training motivated medical assistants into strong ophthalmic techs, and partnering with the University of Delaware to bring in student interns. We also talk about a practical way to create a marketing footprint when you don’t have a marketing department, from restarting LinkedIn and Instagram to planning a grand opening event that strengthens community awareness.  We go deep on leadership habits that keep teams engaged: meeting every staff member one on one, listening and making ideas actionable, reshaping staff meetings so people actually speak up, and giving frontline leaders the space to lead. Joey also explains how he handles resistance to change and what to do when a physician unintentionally becomes part of the culture problem by bypassing the team.  If you want better staff retention, stronger patient experience, and smoother operations in your eye care clinic, hit play, subscribe, share this with a fellow Eye Care leader, and leave a review so more practices can find these conversations. Connect with Joey here - https://www.linkedin.com/in/joey-hamel-91696165/  === This episode is brought to you by Seasoned Advice HR, where I help eye care clinics to hire, retain, and manage better — helping you get Better Results Through People. Learn more at seasoned-advice.com.  Contact me directly at mike@seasoned-advice.com  Get my free HR and leadership downloads here: https://www.seasoned-advice.com/signup-for-free-downloads

    How This Administrator Builds Culture - One Espresso at a Time
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About

I speak with eye care and healthcare clinical leaders and the experts who help their clinics succeed. 

Information

  • Creator
    Mike Lyons, SPHR
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    78
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Eye Care Leadership Live
  • Show Website
    Eye Care Leadership Live