What brings 22 physicians to spend 7 hours on a Saturday away from home and family? The “LMS Leadership Workshop, Accelerate Your Authentic Leadership,” is what brought them to devote their day off to develop their leadership abilities on September 20th. LMS, for the second time, hosted the Referent Group for its highly regarded leadership workshop at the Origin Hotel at the Summit here in Lexington.
The Referent Group’s focus is physician leader development, and they delivered a highly engaging, thought provoking, workshop that caused physicians to reflect on their own leadership style. Tom Hustead, MD is the CEO and founder of the Referent Group and was joined by his leadership instructor Doug Crandell. Both are West Point graduates. Dr. Hustead is a retired Army Colonel and had combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. Doug Crandell led multiple units in the Army and went on to teach leadership at West Point for five years where he won the Excellence in Teaching Award. The Referent Group wasn’t here to tell our physicians how to better leaders, it challenged the physician participants to decide how they, based on their personality, values, and experiences, want to be a leader. Doug Crandell made a point that if you are in a position of leadership, you are a leader. This does not mean you are a good leader though.
The Referent Group discussed the concept of transformational leadership which focuses on enhancing the development of followers. Followers of transformational leaders are likely to have higher well-being, creativity, job satisfaction, and commitment, and less burn out. They explained a framework of a leader that is either building or diminishing on how they relate to those they lead. A builder influences someone to feel more confident, more capable, or more valued. A diminisher influences someone to feel less confident, less capable, or less valued.
Throughout the day the workshop consisted of engaging discussions and fun, challenging games that cause participants to work as teams but also get to know someone from another healthcare setting. The physicians attending the workshop were from UK, Baptist, Lexington Clinic, the VA, and private practices. All brought their own life experiences which enhanced the collective learning of the group. We would like to thank Dr. David Bensema, former LMS and KMA president and AMA Delegate, who attended in a leadership mentorship role and offered many insights and perspectives. We thank the Republic Bank for sponsoring the workshop.
LMS Leadership Workshop participants:
Baptist Health Lexington
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- John Frandina, MD
- Wycliffe Opii, MD
- Paige Quintero, MD
Lexington Clinic
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- Theresa Wolfe, MD
- Elaine Alexander, MD
UK Healthcare
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- Dale Tony, MD
- Anna Dauer, MD
VA Medical Center: David Wells, MD
Private Practice
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- Frank Rutigliano, MD, CSGA
- Daniel Hackett, MD, KY Bone and Joint Surgeons
- Ahmed Al Bayati, MD, Kirn Plastic Surgery
- Timothy Houchin, MD, Psychiatry
- Amanda Foxx, MD, Family practice Associates
- Danesh Mazloomdoost, MD, Wellward Regenerative Medicine
KMA: Cory Meadows, JD
LMS Leadership
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- Angela Dearinger, MD: LMS Executive Board Chair
- Hope Cottrill, MD: LMS President
- Christine Ko, MD: LMS President-Elect
- Tina Fawns, MD: LMS Vice President
- Marissa Belcastro, MD: LMS Vice President-Elect
- Haider Abbas, MD: LMS Secretary Treasurer
- David Bensema, MD: LMS senior mentor
Leadership Development is one of the lines of effort of the LMS strategic plan. We will bring back the Referent Group for another leadership workshop in the future. LMS is funding three Kentucky Physician Leadership Institute (KPLI) slots in the Summer of 2026. KPLI is an award-winning KMA program that LMS has sent 22 of its members to since its first class in 2017. KPLI consists of four Friday-Saturday sessions that focus on the personal side of leadership, business of leadership, leadership to advocacy, and communication in leadership. We will communicate more about the 2026 KPLI program as it becomes available. Let us know if you are interested.
