Lead with Purpose - Kelsie Ophus

Age: 34. Company and title: Billings Clinic, Executive Director of Performance Improvement. Hometown: Chinook, MT. Education and/or background: PharmD

If you couldn't do this, what would you do instead? I would own a greenhouse or floral shop. I love being able to grow something from the dirt and a seed. We recently started a large garden and it has been a source of solitude and a new way to bond with my kids.

What other passions/callings are part of your life? My children provide me so much joy. They each have different personalities and quirks that allow me to celebrate life each day and they remind me to slow down and enjoy small moments.

What is the worst advice you've received and why? "There is only so much you can do." Working in healthcare, especially in change management, is very difficult, but with innovative thinking, teamwork and collaboration, and a little bit of grit, I believe that you can solve even the most difficult of problems. It only fuels my fire when people tell me something can't be done. What advice would you give a teenager about success? Learn to be uncomfortable. As humans, it can be challenging to be in a state of difficulty or hard, but these are the areas where you will grow the most.

What is one professional accomplishment you still want to achieve? Within the healthcare field, I have always admired organizations that have reached zero preventable harm. When I think about what it takes for healthcare to get to that, it drives me everyday to focus on leadership development, building safety culture, and creating strong foundational operations.

What failure have you learned the most from? Something is only a failure if you don't take the time to self assess and understand what you might do differently the next time. In my younger years, I didn't take enough time to assess my actions or the people I surrounded myself with to truly understand the impact that it was having on my life. I was grateful for people who helped to focus me on these things early on in my career.

What is the hardest part of your job? One of the hardest parts of my work is navigating resistance to change by attempting to shift mindsets, embrace new ways of thinking, and modeling optimism. Being able to balance the technical aspects with the human element - building trust, fostering communication, and influencing behaviors - is also very demanding.

What is the most rewarding/ important aspect of your occupation? The ability to create meaningful, reliable change for our patients and organization is one of the most rewarding pieces of my role. Doing this while building up leaders and creating capability is the cherry on top!

Do you have a motto that you live by? "Lead with purpose, excel with grace, spread kindness, and leave every path brighter than you found it."

What advice would you give to anyone wanting to start a new business or excel in a business or field? It's going to be hard, but you can and will do it. Having been a small business owner with my husband for the past 11 years while growing in my own professional career in healthcare, I would suggest starting with a vision and a commitment to excellence, embrace learning and challenge, find mentors, build meaningful connections, and focus on creating value in the field that you enter.

What's the greatest gift you ever received? Why? My husband. He is very much the opposite of me and I don't know what I would do without his balance in my life. He has taught me about taking risks, how to take care of myself (physically and mentally), and encourages me to take time to rest and recover. He truly is my biggest cheerleader in life. In addition to all the above, he is a great dad and I am grateful for his partnership in raising our children.