Lisa Latts
VP, Programs in Clinical Excellence,
WellPoint
Lisa's Strategies
Don't ever doubt yourself.
“Never let anyone convince you that you can't do whatever it is you want to achieve. I know it's weird but I just never for a moment considered that I couldn't do exactly what I wanted to do. I'm sure people told me I couldn't do certain things, but I did them anyway. I didn't go to a top-tier Ivy League college, but I never felt like that was stopping me. I remained focused, kept my end goal in sight, and ignored everything else.”
More is sometimes less.
“When I travel I like to go very far away so I need to take at least two weeks vacation. There are people who say, how can you be out of touch for two weeks? But I say, the reality is when you're gone for a week, you come back and everything is stacked up waiting for you and you have to unbury yourself. When you're gone for two weeks or more, you come back and people have figured out how to deal in your absence. I've found you actually have less work to do than when you are gone for just a week. That's the secret!”
Focus on what's important.
“A former mentor once told me that in medicine, the most important thing is figuring out if someone is sick or not sick. If they're sick, no matter what it is, there's one whole path you have to go down; and if they're not sick, there's another whole path that you have much more time to think about. So that first analysis is the really critical decision. I think that idea translates just as well to the business world--you have to figure out how to prioritize and determine the 911 emergencies from the unimportant stuff you can let slide while you fix the urgent matter.”
Rely on your instincts.
“Revisiting that idea of travel-awareness, you really learn to trust your instincts when exploring unknown places. Having the confidence to believe in myself has helped me in other areas of my life. There are a lot of folks who will give you input on every decision in your personal and professional life, but ultimately you have to go with what feels right for you. Whether it's job opportunities, what company to work for, or where to live, have the confidence to know that whatever decision you make for yourself will be the right one. ”
Rely on your instincts
May 2010
While learning to paraglide one summer, Lisa Latts crashed into a mountain and landed herself in a Boulder, Colorado community hospital for several days. Thankfully her injuries weren’t serious. But Lisa didn’t mind the stay. This triple degree holder (she has an MD, MBA, and a Master of Science in Public Health) has been drawn to hospitals from the time she was small. “I had family members who were in and out for various reasons when I was a kid and I always loved going to visit. I loved the smell, the energy, the environment. I was very comfortable there and from then on I just knew that I wanted to go into medicine,” she recalls.
During and after her internal medicine residency, Lisa’s adventurous streak brought her to Micronesia, where she worked for the local government hospital. During her time there she encountered a Leprosy clinic and a variety of tropical diseases, as well as a surprising amount of Western diseases like diabetes and hypertension which have made their way to the island. Her experience sparked a love of exotic travel, which can be risky. But the physician credits her confidence to ‘travel awareness’. “Normally we walk around fairly clueless to our surroundings. I have a very different awareness on the road of what’s going on, what everyone is doing, watching for signs, anything I can do to be totally alert at all times. It’s very exhilarating.”
And that keen sense of observation serves her well at her job at WellPoint, a major health benefits company. By creating programs to help patients make better, more informed choices, Lisa is ultimately responsible for helping 35 million people live healthier lives. “The US health care system has such potential, yet from a system perspective, it fails so often. It breaks my heart both personally and professionally when you encounter the healthcare system and there are just misses every step of the way. We are better than that and I’m working to figure out how we can get there.”
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