The Leadership Investment That Never Stops Paying Dividend

Published in Member Communities on October 29, 2026

Leadership, Learning, and Reconnecting With the People Behind the Process

By Stephanie Robinson, Director of Billing and Reimbursement, VGM

Over the past few months, I’ve been reading books that, at first glance, seem very different. Simon Sinek’s Start With Why focuses on purpose. Brené Brown’s Dare to Lead explores courage, vulnerability, and human connection. Rebecca Hinds’ The Best Meeting of Your Life challenges leaders to create meaningful conversations instead of simply filling calendars.

Yet all three books return to the same idea:

People perform differently when they understand why their work matters.

That message feels especially relevant in HME and healthcare beyond the hospital.

Most of us don’t spend our days standing beside patients and celebrating life-changing moments. Instead, our work as healthcare professionals often involves documentation reviews, claim submissions, phone calls, audits, reports, compliance requirements, denied claims, inventory management, contract discussions, process improvement projects, staff meetings, and endless email chains.

Over time, it becomes easy to focus on activity instead of impact.

We start measuring success by how much we get done rather than the difference our work makes.

But if we step back for a moment, every one of those activities exists because there is a person on the other end who needs help.

A denied claim is not just a denied claim. It may represent a patient waiting for oxygen.

A delayed authorization may mean a family is waiting for equipment before a loved one can come home from the hospital.

A process improvement project may eliminate delays that have frustrated patients and referral sources for years.

A training session may prevent mistakes that affect hundreds of future patients.

Purpose often hides beneath routine work. The challenge for leaders is helping people see that connection.

Simon Sinek writes, "Working hard for something we don't care about is called stress; working hard for something we love is called passion."

Healthcare will always be hard work. Regulations will continue to change. Documentation requirements will grow. Technology will evolve. The workload never truly disappears.

Purpose is what keeps those challenges from becoming meaningless.

That purpose also changes how we think about leadership development in healthcare.

When Purpose Meets Leadership

Leadership is not reserved for executives, managers, or people with certain titles on an organizational chart. Brené Brown describes leadership as taking responsibility for finding the potential in people and processes and having the courage to develop that potential.

Think about that for a moment.

Leadership is not simply directing work.

Leadership is helping people become better than they were yesterday.

That idea leads to something our industry doesn't talk about enough: learning.

One of the best investments any organization can make is creating time for people to learn.

Not because training is required.

Not because compliance demands it.

Because growth compounds.

Many of us know the old proverb:

"Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime."

The lesson is larger than food.

Answering a question solves today's problem. Teaching critical thinking solves tomorrow's problem.

Fixing one denial helps one claim. Teaching a team member how to identify root causes helps hundreds of future claims.

Giving someone the answer creates dependence. Helping someone understand the "why" builds confidence, capability, and future leaders.

Learning is Where Growth Happens

As reimbursement professionals, we often find ourselves answering questions. That work is important. But some of the greatest value we provide comes from helping others understand the reasoning behind the answer.

When people understand the why, they make better decisions when no one is looking over their shoulder.

That is where growth and leadership happen.

Rebecca Hinds challenges leaders to think differently about meetings and collaboration. Instead of asking, "What do we need to get through today?" she encourages leaders to think about what people will learn, how they will grow, and how they will leave better equipped than when they arrived.

Imagine if we applied that thinking beyond meetings.

What if we approached every interaction with a coworker, referral source, member, vendor partner, or patient as an opportunity to create understanding?

What if every phone call, training session, webinar, and team discussion focused a little less on checking a box and a little more on building capability?

What if we measured success not only by what we accomplished, but by the people we helped develop?

Connecting the Human Side of Healthcare to Purpose

In my experience, some of the most rewarding moments in this industry happen when we reconnect with the human side of healthcare.

That is one reason patient advocacy matters so much.

Patient stories remind us why every policy, every process, every appeal, every documentation requirement, and every coverage decision matters.

Behind every regulation is a real person trying to live independently.

Behind every reimbursement discussion is a family navigating challenges most of us will never fully understand.

When suppliers, caregivers, clinicians, and patients share their experiences, they help policymakers and stakeholders see what statistics alone cannot show.

Those stories give meaning to the work.

VGM's Patient Voices initiative provides an opportunity to share those experiences and advocate for continued access to home medical equipment.

As leaders, we should never underestimate the power of those stories.

They reconnect us to our purpose.

They remind our teams why their work matters.

They help transform tasks into impact.

So, here's a question I've been reflecting on after reading these books:

If someone looked at how you spend your time every day, would they be able to clearly see your why?

Not your job title.

Not your responsibilities.

Not your workload.

Your purpose.

Because at the end of the day, our legacy will not be the number of claims we touched, meetings we attended, emails we sent, or reports we completed.

It will be the people we helped, the leaders we developed, the knowledge we shared, and the patients whose lives were improved because we cared enough to do the work well.

I'd love to hear your thoughts.

What experience reminded you why you entered this industry? What patient story has stayed with you? How have suppliers, caregivers, clinicians, coworkers, or advocacy efforts directly affected patients and families?

Share your story through VGM's Patient Voices program or reach out to us at billingsupport@vgm.com.

Let's keep the conversation going about leadership, learning, advocacy, and how we can continue building a stronger industry together.

Because sometimes the most important question isn't, "What did we get done today?"

It's:

"Who is better off because we did it?"

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