In this first issue of Med-Surg Leadership Hub, we spoke to Allison Therwhanger about her leadership style, her time as chair of PWH, mentorship, and the future of the industry. In addition to being a chair for PWH, Therwhanger is currently the Vice President of Corporate Sales for Innovia Medical.
MSL: What is your leadership style?
Allison Therwhanger: I would like to think I have the leadership style of a coach. I try to be inclusive of everybody’s opinions, goals, and objectives and help them achieve them through coaching, support, and encouragement. I want people to succeed on their own; my job is to make sure they have the right tools at their disposal and to realize that we’re all in this together. When we work together, we achieve greater results.
MSL: What have you learned about leadership over the years?
Therwhanger: I’ve been doing this for over 30 years, and I learned that leadership is a process. Anybody who’s been in healthcare for a long time knows that you must be flexible, but you must remain yourself. Being a disingenuous leader is simply disrespectful, in my opinion. You must bring your genuine and best self to the table as a leader. My journey began with running my family business and managing a twenty-person organization and now involves me being part of a large company with approximately 15 times the revenue and number of employees. Along the way, I realized that you need to be flexible and willing to learn new things to advance your career as a leader.
MSL: What have you learned from your time as chair of PWH? What are some of the biggest challenges you’ve had to navigate? Biggest successes?
Therwhanger: My journey with PWH started 20 years ago. I was one of the original members, and what I learned is that the growth of this type of organization resembles that of a for-profit business. The difference is that the PWH journey is one you take while you juggle your “day job.” I have learned a lot about managing both my time and a nearly 100% volunteer organization. I have had the chance to watch the various Chairs of PWH over the years navigate this time management, and they have been great mentors to me.
The biggest challenge of being a PWH leader is that we devote the majority of our time to our day jobs! It is personally rewarding to figure out how to balance our time so we can be effective PWH members and simultaneously continue to advance our regular careers. In that regard, the beauty of PWH is that many of our programs are webinars that help cultivate leadership skills, time management skills, and generally create more well-rounded leaders. PWH provides a unique opportunity in that members can both contribute to the organization itself and to learn to be more effective leaders in their “day jobs.”
The biggest success of PWH has been to see it grow to over 800 members in the last 20 years and to see so many women learn to lead and succeed in the healthcare industry. Another success has been the opportunity to work with so many volunteers who are passionate about PWH. It is amazing what we as a group can accomplish when we all believe in our mission, vision, and values. I am proud to work with so many people that make PWH so special. This year is particularly special, as it is our 20th anniversary. I am proud to be the PWH Chair in our 20th year! Be on the lookout for a year of celebration.
MSL: What are your thoughts on mentorship?
Therwhanger: Having a Board of Advisors or Mentors is key to one’s success.
One of the key components that came out of PWH in the past 20 years is our mentoring program, where we can link mentors with mentees. In terms of our programming, we’ve even implemented individual mentor-mentee sessions and situational mentor-mentee sessions.
In terms of mentorship, I think that it is key to anybody’s growth as a leader. Without my mentors, I would not be where I am today. I had so much support throughout my career that I can’t imagine having gotten here without mentors. I feel like my mentors are my own personal board of advisors. Many have become lifelong friends, and I have also been mentors to them sometimes as well. I hope to continue to give back as a mentor in our industry.
Just as a company has a board of advisors to guide strategy and business, individuals need that same board to help navigate career and personal life journeys. You might have people that you can go to when you’re struggling with a work-life balance, when you don’t quite know how to move to the next level in your career, or when you need help with networking.
MSL: How are you feeling about 2024? How do you see an election year affecting the landscape of business and healthcare?
Therwhanger: I’m always positive about the prospects in a new year! But each year we have some type of uncertainty to deal with. This year, on top of it being an election year, we have challenges with the supply chain given the unrest in other parts of the world, and we see regulatory challenges in terms of EU MDR and other requirements to sell internationally. Given these uncertainties we need to be prepared to pivot and make short-term decisions to stay ahead of the game. We want to make sure that our ultimate customers—the patients—are not affected. We all know we are in an amazingly strong and resilient industry, so our jobs will be to weather the unexpected in the short term and plan mid to long-term to ensure a strong future.