A Conversation with Camysha Wright| S03E13

Welcome to season three of the Leadership Is Feminine podcast. I'm Chris Plackey, and I'm so happy that you're here. In this season, we're doing something different. One of the things that I believe to be true is that there is so much unsourced, beautiful wisdom in the everyday person. I really like to talk about what I call obscure wisdom. That means these are things that people know that unless we meet them at a cocktail party or at a barbecue or sitting next to them, you know, on a train, we don't hear about it. And these aren't celebrities. These aren't people who've written, you know, best selling books yet. These aren't people that are on the circuit that everybody else is learning from. These are everyday women who are CEOs, building, dealing with, working through all the pieces and parts of running a company. And I want to bring my beautiful clients and their wisdom to your ears because I know that you'll find it to be validating and insightful and hopefully also some fun. So, without further ado, let's get started with this week's amazing personal client and guest on Leadership Is Feminine. Welcome. Welcome, everybody, to the podcast. This week. I'm so delighted to share this time with. Well, for me, because I get to share this time with Dr. Kamesha Wright, but so do you, which is good news because she's amazing. And I use the word delighted on purpose because I simply enjoy you and.

Feel very honored to get to work with you. To be honest.

For everyone who's listening, Dr. Wright, would you please tell us a little bit about you and what you do and who you are?

Absolutely. My name is Dr. Kamesha Wright, and I have a practice in Plantation, Florida. I do head and neck surgery. Otolaryngology, otherwise known as ear, nose, and throat. Ent.

Yes, we all know that one. Otolaryngology. Say it again.

So it's the long term. It's otorhinolaryngology.

Okay.

Otolaryngology.

Okay, Got it. Yeah, just rolls right off your tongue.

That's why we call you Ents. The rest of the world. Okay, so tell us a little bit about your practice. How long have you been in business and all the things you're in? Plantation, Florida. Yeah.

Yeah, it's funny. So I finished my residency actually in 2009, and I didn't start my own business right out of residency. I actually went into, like, another group. I didn't really feel, I guess, at the time, like, ready to just, you know, just go off and venture off on my own. I really wanted to make sure I had some support. So I started with a small, small practice of Port St. Lucie and was with them for about four years, and then just kind of decided I wanted to live in a slightly different part of the state, plantations a little bit further south. It's closer to Fort Lauderdale. And I had an opportunity arise where I could just start my own practice, which was a little daunting, you know, because I didn't really think I could do that on my own. But I, you know, initially. But I decided to kind of accept that challenge and then in 2013, started my own practice.

That's so crazy. You know, we've talked about this. I know you and I and I have several other clients who are physicians, and there's just really no training for you at all when it comes to starting a practice. Right. Did you get any training in that in school?

You don't. And that was. That was the daunting part. And that's why, like, initially I wanted to start with someone who had been doing it. Okay. They've been doing it for, like, so many years. I can learn from them, and I do, and we're still friends and so forth, so I can still bounce off ideas off of them as well. But you don't get that training. You're taught all about medicine. You're taught all about, you know, like, how not to hurt anybody, obviously, but the ins and outs of like, running your own practice, running your own business, it's just not something that's highlighted during your training.

It's interesting to, as I'm listening to you, because I actually really enjoy my doctor, dentist, veterinary clients because, you know, typically, I mean, this is really true for most businesses. But if I'm just looking at you all specifically, it's typically very consistent, very similar problems. Right. Office manager maybe isn't doing. And I'm not saying that was your problem, but just in general sort of, there's the administrative part of the business, and then there's the tech part of the business. Right. If you have support technicians or MAs, or all these different roles. And it's funny as I'm listening to you, because I think that's probably true. Most young physicians go work in a practice and they. Since most physicians don't have any business training or business management training, it's like everybody keeps repeating the same mistakes over and over again. Right. It's like you learn from someone else who learned from someone else who didn't really learn. Right? Yeah. And so that's why. Because there are some just really consistent challenges I think, that we see in medical practices in general. And that makes me wonder, like, oh, that's interesting. If it's not just kind of, you know, insidiously being repeated without anybody ever really noticing. Which, of course, will change for you.

Because getting the training and knowing all the things, you know, all the things.

Now you are a CEO, so what? Okay, so when you said it was daunting, I'm kind of curious, like, what was the most specific thing about. When you thought about hanging out a proverbial shingle, right, with your name on the door, what was the most daunting part?

I think it's just you want to. You know, we come from a point in our life where we want to succeed. You always want to do well. And I just didn't feel like I knew, like, the ins and outs about business. You know, you have to have, you know, someone who collects your bills, you know, someone who's kind of like, you know, doing all the charges and so forth. You have to pay people, you know, you have to get, you know, get your team together and then manage them well. And, you know, and while I've managed other residents, I was chief resident and so forth, I know how to, like, deal with people and lead people. It's different when you're their boss, you know, and I didn't have that type of exposure. So it's just you kind of like, you know, muddle through it a little bit where you're trying to, like. Cause you don't know all the right things to do and like, the HR issues, like, you just. You're not taught that, you know, so it's just I tend to try. I'm a planner, so when I was trying to think all these things that I needed to have, you know, checkboxes, I just. I was concerned that I wouldn't know all the things or I would mess up and make a mistake, which now I recognize that, you know, you can make a mistake and it's okay. You just have to kind of recover from that and come up with a.

Plan, try something different next time. That's good. And, you know, I have to say that one of the things that I find so impressive about you is, first of all, just in the work that we've done together, right, because you have a very busy practice, and over the past year that we've known each other, you've had to make a lot of decisions about your business and your team, and you've really stepped in to moments and decisions that sort of were challenging in the moment, but really helped you grow as the woman who's leading this business. But I want to couple that with, I guess I want to brag about you a little bit. You're so incredibly accomplished in what you do, and I don't even know, I think all of your highlights. Right. But you're the current president elect for your Florida State.

Otolaryngology.

Association. Is it an association or. Yeah. And so that's like a three year commitment. Right. Because it's the elect year, the year that you serve and then the year after. Is that right?

Past, present.

You have a young family. Right. With a little boy. You're also involved in some sort of really cool scientific research study about allergies, if I remember correctly, which I don't know if we're supposed to talk about. Is that very top secret?

I don't know. Oh, it's okay. I mean, you said all the right things.

Well, I said it perfectly. And then you're also the sort of allergy expert for the entire.

Medical group that you're a part of, is that right?

So I'm in this medical practice, it's called ENT and Allergy Associates of Florida. And there's about. We have 65 doctors now. We're up to about 80 plus doctors. And so the way it works is that there are different pods of us where, you know, you. You practice your own individual practice, but we all operate under one tax id, so it helps, like when it comes to negotiating, like insurance contracts.

Yeah, absolutely. Yeah.

But we try and keep things uniform. So when we're doing certain things like say, allergy evaluations and testing and such, I'm in charge. I'm the allergy director for the group of the 80 different practices to make sure that things are kind of, you know, if they have a question, they can come to me and I can help them address that or then help to give additional training or with the team that works underneath me to kind of help out.

Yeah. And you have a practice where you treat patients every day. Yes, yes. And surgery. Yes.

I love surgeries.

Your favorite. Yes. And aspirations to do more. Yes.

Want to open another. Another brand sometime?

Yeah. So what I love, first of all, is all of it. I mean, you're brilliant and talented and. And driven, clearly. But one of the things that we often hear from women who run businesses, and I'm sure it's not just exclusive to women, is I don't have time. I don't have time to.

Invest in this leadership stuff, I don't have time to figure out my systems to help the team. I'm just curious what your brain does with those decisions in the moment because you are quite busy. You do have every. I mean, we just talked before the pre show, right, that you were. You have your guitar behind you because you're going to do your guitar lesson after this podcast interview. So you're making time for things that you love also. So what. What is your frame of mind around that? How. How do you make that work?

I think that's one of the reasons how I found you, because I was. I was doing so many things and I was trying to, like, you know, run my practice and it was going okay, but they were just. There were a lot of problems that, like, from day to day, I'm like, well, you know, it's just. It would be daunting trying to figure out how to fix, you know, how to find a solution. So it was funny. I actually, I started listening to your podcast and I'm like, oh, my gosh. You know, it's like you were saying, I'm like, this is what I need. Oh, I could do this. Oh, I can do that. It helped to really kind of open up my eyes for just different things about managing people, about how to just. Even the verbiage, how you say things like just how to be able to just have conversations with my people where it's in an appropriate fashion. Opened up my eyes. And then I feel like you have to make the time for things that are important to you. It can be super annoying to have to go through and think about protocols and coming up with all these standard operating procedures at first, but once you get it done, then you don't have to worry about it. It's like, it's done.

Yes.

So that's. I think the biggest thing for me is just understanding I had to just do the work on the back end, and I still have to do work even now. Like, I'm constantly having to, like, you know, change my practice and things like that, but I don't find it so daunting where, oh, I can't handle this. I think I talked to you about on one of our calls. Like, I was like, losing, like, half my. My, my team, you know, almost at the same time. But I didn't, you know, freak out about it because I have a plan and we're going through. We're constantly are looking to hire people always. So, you know, we just. It'll always work out.

And I truly believe that no It's, I mean, I can see the. I'll always remember you because when you first started in how to CEO, you would come with your scope on your head. Yes. Right. It was like you were just frantically going from patient room to the call and then you just. Right. You had to go back. And I can see the change in you just energetically. Right. It's been really, really powerful to watch and it's just such a gift to yourself. Right. I, you know, I say this to my kids a lot too, and I try and remember it to me also, like, you know, like, I have some bills to pay because I've been traveling, so I know that my future self will be so grateful if I could just sit down and get all that done, because then I don't have to think about it anymore. And oftentimes we forget we don't take care of our future self. We just, we're in this scurry of a moment and we can't, we can't get our hands around something that really, if you just take two hours, you could probably get it all finished or all banged out parts of it. So I just think that's impressive because you, a lot of people use that I don't have time. And of course my reply is always, you don't have, you don't not have time because it'll catch up to you no matter what, right? Absolutely.

Yeah.

You have the advantage of seeing some other physicians, I'm sure, who probably even have bigger practices than you who haven't invested in the leadership and management part of their business.

It's true. I was talking with a colleague of mine who works for another physician, and.

They were having conversations between the two of them. And then some of the things that that person was telling me that the individual was, was speaking to them about, I wouldn't have managed that way. You know, like, you know, what that person told me is that their boss don't like confrontation. They don't want to deal with this. And the boss basically told them that. So when she had an issue, she's like, well, how do I deal with it? You know, they don't. They don't do the one on ones. They don't kind of go and have like clear expectations that are communicated. So when they're. These miscommunications occur, you know, there's nowhere for them to go. And it's like, I wish that I could speak to the boss, you know, sometimes just kind of coach them on how to run their team a little bit better. But I, I would have done the same thing had not a year ago I found your program and figured out like how to do it, you know, better.

Yeah, well, I mean, I think that's really common is a lot of physicians are like, no, no, I'll just hire a, a practice manager or office manager and they'll deal with all of that. Right. And listen, I think that can work if you have a really amazing office or practice manager. But that's, you know, that's just getting lucky. That's not actually cultivating something on purpose. So what would you say as you've kind of paved this road for yourself, is your kind of vision going forward? What do you think is possible for you?

Well, it's funny. So like the vision for my practice is like to practice, you know, healthcare with a balance of grace, empathy and innovation. So like whenever I go through like my one on ones when I could do my interviews, like we always say those things when I do my record. I've been doing these little videos to try like market my practice and so forth until we always say that. So I mean that's my long term vision for how I want to like run my practice. Yeah, I honestly would like to see myself grow. I want to open up a secondary location a little bit north of here. It was funny before we started this podcast, I was doing this little one on one, one of my team members and I told them how like, you know, they were like, how'd you get into ent? And I was like, oh, it's just because I loved, you know, everything about it. You know, you can see like adults and kids and you could do medicine and surgery. I said, but you know, I did my fellowship in allergy, which is great, but I thought about doing it in facial plastics because I like all the aesthetics and the pretty stuff. Yeah, I did not do it, but I did a lot of work in that in my residency. So I'm thinking about opening like another branch that's more like, you know, the spas and the like the pretty things.

So like a great idea.

Yeah, that's my visual expand.

Well and because you've said, right, like you can, you can integrate elements of the facial plasti work into also the spa sort of space. Right.

Yeah, I think done it. You get the training in it.

Yeah.

You know, I just didn't do like say the additional fellowship, but I've done so much of it just in my general practice that you could do some of the elements of it.

Yes, I think it's a great idea. I wish there was more of that. Like, this is really, really dumb, but I'm going to say it because this is the kind of, like, if I. I don't know, I have fantasies and I'm going to open this, but I would only open it for me. So I get my lashes done. I'm very vain about my lashes. It's fine. I'm over it. And I also get my nails done right? And I get a pedicure. These are my things. I don't do any of the Botox or any of that, but I gotta get my lashes and my nails done. And so I have just been trying to get. This is a dumb example, but whatever y' all are getting, you all are gonna agree with me if you get your lashes done. I've just been begging my lash lady. I'm like, could you please hire someone who could do my nails while I'm lying here getting my lashes done? Because I would. Seriously, I would pay for it because it's an hour to lie there. And it's so frustrating because there's so much I think about that I could do if I could just be getting my nails done. So my whole point is, I think the creativity of putting things together, that, yes, I want to get facials and I want to do all the things. And yes, if we could do a little this here and a little that there all the time. And you're like, my place that I go. I think it's brilliant.

I love it. I mean, that's what. And I'm listening to your ideas, jotting it down like, okay, so maybe we need to start thinking about that in the future. So jealous of you with your eyelashes, though, because I tried that and I can't get it myself because I have a latex allergy.

Okay, wait, so hear me out, because I did, too. I have a latex allergy, so I had to. I use skin sensitive tape.

Okay.

And there's sensitive skin glue.

I need to get that.

You should try. You should just call some studios and ask. Because I was not giving up. But I did. The first time I did it, I had all this rash from the. From the tape. And I knew because I've had allergies, even from band aids, right?

I knew I had that issue. So I went and bought the blue sensitive tape that you get at cvs and I take it. And then she keeps it now for me. So don't give up.

Okay, I'm going to try it.

My eyes are swollen shut. It was funny. I was talking to my Office manager. I'm like, oh, I want to get my eyes done for this video recording that. She's like, don't you remember what happened last time? Don't do it. But now I'm going to know. Chris Blackie told me he'll be fine.

I know. I'm like, I'll take allergy meds just so I can give my life. Me, too.

I'm like, I can put drops of something in my eye. It'll be fine.

That's hysterical. Oh, my gosh. So funny. Okay, so what would you say? This is sort of the shameless plug request of the CEO of the how to CEO program, but what would you say kind of has been the biggest get for you through this experience?

I think the biggest gift for me has just been the change in mindset, you know, Like, I had this scarcity mindset, like, where I just, like, was always, like, worried about, like, you know, what happens. The sky drops and so forth. And then the pandemic hit, and then it all happened.

It did drop.

It did. You know, and we're still here. We're still strong. So it's like just learning how to deal with my own mind, you know, Because I find that the biggest thing that you taught me is that, you know, managing your team is definitely very important, but you also have to manage yourself. Like, when I'm, you know, like, kind of off or what have you, you know, I see that reflected in my team. So when I can kind of figure out, like, if there's something like one employee is doing one thing and another employee is doing the exact same thing, but I'm annoyed with the one employee. Well, what is it within me that's getting annoyed with that employee? So just changing the way that I see things, how I analyze, like a problem. Having a huge gift I get from this program.

Oh, I love that. And I think that's so fabulous because it aligns with your. Your. Who you are.

Right.

You're a scientist. Right? I mean, you are. You're an empathic scientist. Right. And so, yeah, so when we can see ourselves and we can separate the way that we think about or the way that we're reacting to a circumstance, instead of just looking into evidence, like, okay, let's just look at what's actually happening, not your story about it. I also agree. I think it's a game changer. It's hard, but it's a practice just like anything else. And you've come to Hawaii a couple times, too.

Yes, I have. Going back in September.

I've extended my trip.

Did you?

I was gonna do just the one and now I'm doing both.

So excited.

I'm going to be there from September through October. Whatever.

I love it. I'm thrilled. Because it's such a gift to yourself. Right. So let's just talk about that because this is, you know, because you're a perfect example. Right. You came to the first Hawaii retreat. For those of you who are new listeners, I have been doing retreats in Hawaii for 10 years and every year it was always like all I. This is what I would hear. Oh my God, that sounds amazing. But I can't go. Oh, I could never do that. Oh, I wish I could do that. No, but I can't do. I can't go to Hawaii without my husband. Just sit there like I do. Is that make me an evil person? Anyway, so. But you came to the first one last year, September.

Yeah.

And you brought your family?

I brought everyone. I brought the two year old and my mother. Like the whole family.

You brought your family. I try to encourage people to come alone, but, you know, I'm not in charge. You're a grown up, you can do whatever you want. So you brought your family and then the next time you came, you didn't.

Yes.

And so I'm just curious, what kind of brain change did you have to have? Because the first time you thought it was a good idea and the second time, and now it sounds like maybe the third time. Right. Like what happened for you?

I think it's kind of like what you said. I had to start thinking about myself and I giving myself time. Like I would feel extraordinarily guilty about trying to just, you know, do things for myself. You know, as an empathic person, you feel what others feel and it's like, you know, if someone's feeling uncomfortable or if I'm leaving and my husband's alone with our toddler, you know, oh, how is he going to deal with that? I have to be there to solve all the problems. And then there's been, I guess, a change within me where I was like, well, hey, you know, life will commence on if I'm not like physically there at all times. And I think just kind of doing the work where I just figured out how to make sure that my team was okay. That was the first time that I left my PA alone and she was a little nervous, I was a little nervous. But it went great. She did wonderful. And I recognized that my team could survive without me. You know, my husband, he survived without me. Yeah, we Just, we just kind of figured out how to. For me, I had to think through how I could do it. So I got a support system at home to help him out. Yeah. So he had some downtime too, and I felt less guilty about my time.

I love it. I hope other people listening will really hear this. I, you know, it's. The reason I started doing the Hawaii retreats years ago is because I saw this in myself, that.

We could become so depleted unknowingly. Because love doesn't feel depleting. When you're loving people, when you're loving your son, when you're loving your husband, when you're loving your staff, when you're loving your patients, that doesn't feel depleting. Right. But the, the long term effect of a lot of loving everyone else and not loving you is depleting. Yes. And the one person, this whole ecosystem that you're a part of, you're the center of it.

Right?

The business, the family. Right. The, the, the organization that you're now, the association. You are in the heart of this. And so if you're not healthy, emotionally, mentally, physically, energetically, it doesn't go without you. And so I think the more women that come, I just want to keep teaching women, like, it's okay. Take a week, stay in a beautiful resort by yourself, sleep in a king size bed alone, listening to the ocean. Be your own best company.

First. Because you're so much better if you really care about everybody else. Right. I'm not suggesting people don't, but if we really want to support and feed and love others, we have to feed ourselves first. So I get, I know I have goosebumps. I get really, really passionate about it because I just watch so many women so depleted.

Because it's just. You feel bad about it. You know, you're doing something for yourself and it just, you feel extraordinarily guilty about just trying to like, deplete you. Put more into your own tank. Yeah, but it's just, I don't know.

Yeah, we're sort of a little hardwired and a little, you know, a little, you know, like, I get a lot, I get a lot of, like, not from my clients. My clients are now like, when's Hawaii?

Yes.

But my, like, people in my life are like, oh, gone to Hawaii again. You know, a little snarky. Yeah, I am. Is your husband going, Nope, he's not.

And that's okay. We do other things. Yeah, right. And sometimes he goes, but not this time. So. Okay, so what? I guess, you know, I know I could talk for you with you forever. So you've built this beautiful business. You have big, big dreams still, which I have to say, one of the things that's been fun about watching your business get sort of grounded is how that's allowed you to expand your vision. Right. That's so fun.

Yes.

But for women who are listening, right. Who are running small businesses or, you know, running big ones, what is kind of your big nugget of advice or wisdom that you would want them to hear?

I think I said this, like in our Hawaii trip. As far as, like, you know, it's kind of like taking everything like a day at a time. Like it only takes a day.

Remember my life with that. Say it out loud. You changed my life. I swear to God. That was so powerful.

I was like, you know, you're born in a day, you die in a day. You can change in a day. It only takes one day. So just take it one day at a time. You know, like if we, even if during that day you make a mistake, just start over right then.

Yes.

I feel like, you know, for us, it's just. That was eye opening for me to recognize that, you know what, just keep going one step forward and like every day is a brand new start, a brand new fresh start, and, you know, life can just continue to go on. Your business will succeed. If you try something and you fail at it, well, then just try something else. You know, you haven't tried like the thousandth and one thing that maybe will be the aha moment that'll turn every, you know, the light bulb on.

It could be the thing we always talk about. It's. It could be the artery. It's like the one thing that just like blows it all up. It's the one higher. It's the one decision. It's the one program, it's the one building. Like we don't know. Right. It's always the one thing. I agree. But yeah, you said that. You said that to us in Hawaii. And I had never sort of thought about the simplicity of that. And so thank you. This is where I feel terribly selfish and guilty because I feel like I learn more from all of you than I could possibly give back. But I'll take it. That's how I feel. Well, you are lovely and I'm so grateful for your time today. And if anyone is in need of ENT support, assessment, where do they go to find you in general?

Well, they can find me on Instagramichewritemd. My website is www.cwmdpa.com Kamisha Wright, MDP.

Okay, we'll put that in the show notes also. So we'll make sure it's in there and then. And your Instagram. And It's Kamisha Bright, MD.

Yes.

That's your Instagram.

Yeah. Okay. Yeah.

You do some cute posts there. So you guys want to go follow her? So you would be the one I would trust if I had to get in there and, I don't know, fix the sinus.

I love the sinuses.

I know you do. They're your favorite, which I've never heard anybody say ever in my life before. Before I met you. I love sinuses. I'm like, I love the nose.

Just give me anything. Nose, anything.

It's so awesome. I love it. Well, you have a wonderful nose, so that's probably part of it. I've never really thought about my nose.

You have a good nose.

It's all right.

Anyway, okay, everybody, thanks for tuning in and. And I appreciate your time, and we'll talk to you next time.