Leadership in healthcare IT is evolving—and at the forefront is Tina Haskins Smith, VP of Epic Integrated Systems at Harris Health in Houston. From a high school computer class to transforming major hospital systems, Tina shares how a career shaped by purpose, grit, and community has led her to champion innovation in health tech. She opens up about the power of sabbaticals, why improving matters more than proving, and the importance of recognizing IT professionals as key members of the care team. If you’ve ever wondered how leadership, rest, and purpose intersect in the world of healthcare IT, Tina’s journey offers a powerful roadmap.
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Transforming Healthcare From The Inside Out With Tina Haskins Smith
A Healthcare IT Leader On Growth, Grit & Community
Welcome back to Boss Leap. I am Dr. Angela Walker. I am here with my lovely co-host, Dr. Sylvia E. Morris. We have a fantastic episode. We had the opportunity to interview Tina Haskins Smith. She is an IT specialist who started when she was very young. She is currently the Vice President of Epic Integrated Systems at Harris Health in Houston. She will tell us all about that, including what she has done along the way and her boss leaps that she has made. There have been many powerful leaps. She also talks about her most recent leap, which was a sabbatical. Sylvia, along those lines, tell me your thoughts around sabbatical, whether you’ve taken one, when you would like to take one, and what you think that might do for someone else.
I love the concept of a sabbatical. I was so happy to hear that Tina was able to take a nine-month sabbatical, recharge, reconnect, and leap to this next opportunity. Sabbaticals are underutilized. Certainly, we recognize that not everyone has an opportunity to take a sabbatical. We understand that, but if you can take a break and you financially are in a place where it makes sense to do so, then by all means, do. I had a sabbatical where I was between jobs and was still looking for a job. I remember Jessica saying to me, “You probably need a break. Take this time and enjoy this time that you are not working.”
Because I was so hyper-focused on finding a new job, I probably didn’t enjoy it as much as I could have. However, I am hopeful that at some point in the not-too-distant future, I will have an opportunity to take a sabbatical. I’m going to put that on my vision board, which is the mirror in my bathroom. I write in grease pencil all of my goals. We’re going to put that sabbatical that is financially secure with zero financial worries. We’re going to make my sabbatical international. How about that?
I love it. You are posting this on air, right?
I am. I understand that, but there are opportunities within my organization to take a sabbatical. I am always open to all good things. Tell us about a sabbatical period for you.
Two come to mind. One was a transition when we moved from Texas to Georgia. I had been in private practice up to that point, delivering babies a lot. At that point in life, I had been introduced to the concept of OB hospitalist. The ones that I worked with at our hospital were loving life. I thought, “I could do that.” It turns out that when you move to a new state, you have to go through the certification, get your license, and all of that stuff. I had two young girls and was trying to get them into school and acclimate. We were moving in the middle of the school year. We bought a short sale. I don’t know if you ever know what that is in a house, but it always turned out to be a very long process.
Short is not short.
Long story short, it was about seven months before I was working again. I don’t count that as a sabbatical because there were so many other things that were going on. What it did help me in the perspective of my career was that I was not delivering babies for seven months. I realized that I was so fulfilled with my memories of deliveries and my relationships with patients. I realized that I don’t know if I will always have to do that part of this stuff to feel fulfilled. I was sleeping at night, and I was like, “This is possible.” It gave me that perspective. I started delivering babies again. It was the whole grind all over again. I enjoyed that part. I wasn’t ready to give it up at that time. At least, I had that sabbatical from that perspective.
I won’t call this a sabbatical because I have not stopped working, but when I went to part-time and started working on Healthstyle more in my coaching program, I had the ability to devote time to growing. Tina talks in our interview about learning and growing. When you’re working hard in a job, it’s hard unless you are spending your evenings and your weekends learning about something new. If there’s something that you feel like you want to do differently and move into, it’s hard when you’re in the grind and you’re working not only 9:00 to 5:00, but 9:00 to 7:00.
You’re working at home. You’re working at work.
It has given me the freedom to dream and have that perspective. As Tina mentioned, I realized not everybody can do that. I do have a supportive spouse, and I do have savings.
Savings are key. I don’t have a spouse, but you need to have savings. You need to be financially prepared. You need to think beyond your sabbatical moment for what’s next, or what you hope to envision is next. You just don’t wake up and be like, “I’m not going to work today.”
Those are my experiences. I love your idea of the sabbatical, the one where we can go overseas or internationally. That would be on my list.
Tina brought up so many wonderful points in our conversation, as far as the rest being important. She talked about a career coach, as well as a season of improvement. We hope that you enjoy the conversation with Tina Haskins Smith. The next voice you will hear on Boss Leap is Tina Haskins Smith.
We are so excited now to be speaking with our friend and all-around wonderful human being for so many reasons. You will find out in this episode. Tina, we’re happy to have you here. Tina Haskins is the current VP at Harris Health. We’ll learn more about that. My all-around IT person helped me get into the episode. Tina, we’re happy to have you here in our presence as always. We’ll start off by learning a little bit about you, and if you want to tell us what it was like when you were growing up, what you wanted to be, anything you want to share about those beginning stages of life.
First, thank you to both of you for having me. You are my role models of how you can do so many things at the same time while also taking care of yourself. Thank you again. Dr. Walker and I go way back. I consider Dr. Morris a friend because, through Angela’s friends, you’re my friend. Thank you so much.
Tina’s Transformative Journey: From Early Life To Tech Leadership
I am so happy to have you. You’re welcome. Tell us what young Tina was like in terms of growing up, what inspired you, what you wanted, and what you thought you wanted to do. What were those younger years like?
It’s funny you said that because my brother-in-law claims I never was a young girl. I was born, and I was an adult.
I can see that. Knowing you as long as I have, you’ve always been the mature person in the room.
I don’t see that because there’s such a fun part of me. I was born in Virginia. I have a very good upbringing and roots there. We eventually moved to Texas. To your question, I got into IT by process of elimination. If I had to guess, when you were young, you wanted to be a doctor. Is that what you wanted?
Absolutely. It is the only thing.
There you go. I was not a five-year-old saying, “I want to go into tech.” It was in high school. I took a computer class and fell in love with it and how I could solve a problem through technology. The teacher, Ms. Evans, was exciting. I keep in touch with her still. I knew I didn’t want to be a lawyer, didn’t want to be a doctor, and didn’t want to be a teacher. You go down the list. That’s good to share with people. It’s sometimes a process of elimination versus knowing what I wanted to do.
Are you and Angela high school classmates from Skyline as well?
No.
We ran in the same circle. I knew Tina before college, but we got closer in college. The person that you see now is who she was back then.
It is the same with Angela.
Tina, I have a question for you. When I was in school, I had no computer classes. I considered myself lucky that when I graduated from college, I had graduated before it was a required course. Little did I know it was a disadvantage to me for the rest of my life. Was that a random class that you took in high school? We’re a little bit older than the new ones that are coming around. Now, IT is introduced and part of all of your classes. How was that introduced in high school?
I’m going to piggyback. Give us some color because I’m thinking floppy disk. I’m thinking DOS, writing that weird code with all the backslashes and colons, and the stuff that I didn’t like. Give us some color about where IT was. Was that even considered IT in comparison to where we are now?
You’re so knowledgeable about it. I am learning about the actual development of BASIC, exactly as you described. Think about the mid-’80s with Bill Gates and Steve Jobs going at the same time, where we’re learning BASIC. I have to give kudos to Duncanville High. They had a computer class that you could take as an elective. What’s so key is that sometimes, in addition to the core subjects, Reading, Math, etc., it’s so good to have those elective classes because they can spawn a career. That’s where it started. My father was in the military. He has a, I wouldn’t say, very humble career. He retired as a Senior Chief Petty Officer.
It’s a big deal.
From a salary standpoint, we didn’t have a lot. My mom was a teacher. I didn’t know that until we were older because they always provided. He saw how much I liked this class. He bought the same type of computer we were using in the class.
You had a computer at home.
I was so popular in my neighborhood. Everyone would come and do their homework there. Back then, that was at least $2,000. That’s a lot.
I didn’t have a computer in my home, honestly, until medical school because we always went to the computer lab in college. I had a typewriter when I went to college. That’s huge.
That was huge for him to see that in me. I don’t know how they paid for it. I’m so grateful for my high school, my teacher, and my parents who invested in me. I share that, so sometimes, you might see things that your children are doing. If you can invest in that, you never know. Here I am, many years later, in the field. I have bought my parents computers and said, “I’m paying you back.”
Do you remember, Tina, who said to you in high school, “You may want to take this elective,” or were you naturally inquisitive, you were reading the classes and thought, “This looks interesting?”
I was naturally inquisitive. I needed the elective point. That was yet again a process of elimination. I was like, “This is interesting here.” Dating myself again, I was very good at Atari. I was very good at anything that sparked analytical thinking. That was my thing.
You have your talents, and they’re different than mine. Along the lines of important people in your life, you mentioned your dad and your parents. Can you tell us about who you consider to be important people in your life and maybe lessons that they may have taught you?
There are so many. My parents were very encouraging. They did not force me to go down a certain path. They made sure that we respected two things, people and property, having a respect for that, and having faith. That was important that they instilled. Angela, you know Sonia Ellis. She was a big role model. She was over in the Rhodes, Dallas internship program that I was part of. I was able to intern with American Airlines in their IT Department at eighteen.
American Airlines Internship: Early Flights In IT
Let’s not move too quickly by that. Tell us what your experience was at American Airlines in IT at eighteen. I figure they were doing a lot of booking as far as ticket reservations and maybe moving around the aircraft. Tell us what that experience was, and who helped to move you along or inspired you there.
It was awesome because I started the first summer in the basement when the actual developers were printing their code off. I would put it in the slot, so they can get it. I like sharing that story because a lot of times, we want to move to the top quickly. I have a fundamental respect and understanding of starting at that level. They wouldn’t let me code until my fourth summer. I would rotate each summer in a different area. That was the first summer. The second summer was testing and then a little bit of coding. I was able to code something in my fourth summer.
What I am hearing is that you were able to build upon the relationship because you got invited back. Not every intern gets invited back.
I didn’t think about that. I stayed there four summers. I felt bad because I did not go with American Airlines. I went with IBM because it built up my experience. I was so marketable in addition to getting my degree at A&M. That’s a good point. I never thought about that.
Can you share with us your thought process on not going with American Airlines? Certainly, that was a place that you knew. They liked you. They kept asking you back. I would imagine they gave you a reasonable job offer versus going with IBM.
It was the perspective. We’re talking about the early ’90s. It was the name.
IBM was a big deal.
That was big tech. Also, there was a slight salary difference, but you got more airline perks. I can’t pay my bills with airline perks. It was a different thought process back then. Now, I’m more careful in my thought process about opportunities. At the forefront, it’s not the name and it’s not the salary. It shows how I’ve transitioned in my thought process of selecting opportunities.
That would have made complete sense to me. If you are the IT person, you’re going to go with an IT company, not just do IT in another company. That would help. They would probably resonate the same way with me. Here you are. You went from an American Airlines internship to IBM, and then eventually it led to healthcare IT. How did you make that transition, that leap?
It’s interesting because eventually, I left IBM and then came back into tech. It was in real estate tax. I stayed there for a few years. I was at a crossroads because we got acquired. I had an opportunity to go with the acquired company or stay with the one. I said, “I’m going to take a leap. I’m going to take the package and see what’s out there.” This opportunity at Parkland in Dallas came up.
That was the hardest interview I’ve ever had in my career because healthcare is like, “You don’t have any healthcare experience. Why should I hire you?” I had to prove that the skill sets I have acquired were okay to transition into healthcare. I still talk to the CIO who hired me. He is still my mentor. He said, “There was something special about you. That is why I wanted to hire you.” It’s hard to get into healthcare.
Mind you, to the audience and for Sylvia, I know because I grew up in Dallas, but at UT Southwestern, Parkland is a huge healthcare system. To be there at that stage, on the ground floor of all the things that transpired in health care, what a great place to start in the healthcare IT field.
I’ve enjoyed it. It has been over twenty years.
Decoding Healthcare IT: A Layperson’s Guide To Digital Health
When I think of healthcare IT, I’m always thinking about the electronic medical record and also the interface that patients use to talk to doctors, whether it’s sending an email or requesting a prescription. What is one thing that lay people need to know and understand about healthcare IT?
I can summarize that into three discrete steps. It’s the data and translating data into information, so you can make decisions. I know it can be cumbersome, but there is a valuable reason that we need data electronically. For example, I can’t search on a stack of papers.
You could. You just need a lot of interns to go through said stack to identify and pull it out of the file folder. It can be done.
It can be done, but can it be done in a very effective and productive way quickly? There you go. That’s a good one. That’s where the wealth of technology is. They wrap around it. That is how you access it through devices or your computers. The same applies to the patients. You have data and information to make decisions about your healthcare. That’s wrapped around the electronic medical record.
Can you talk about ownership of data? I started wearing a glucose monitoring device. I have all this information. It’s on my phone. I’m able to make decisions, as you so carefully pointed out about that. That information, that data, although my body, is not necessarily mine because I probably checked a bunch of boxes when signing up. Can you talk about what we should think about when we are giving away our data, whether it’s for glucose monitoring, that ring thing that people wear on their fingers, or even a Fitbit?
We check that box so we can go ahead and say approve.
I want my stuff.
You do. The policy and the written information should cover you. If you were to pull that and take the time, there are so many regulatory actions that we have to take in IT to ensure that the data is safe. You’ll hear that data can now reside on-premise or in the Cloud. The security around that is so important. There are going to be bad actors out there who are going to always try to penetrate the information, the data, and gain access. It happens on a daily basis. The thing is that, in IT, we are in partnership with risk and compliance. It’s bigger than IT. It is a risk and compliance thing now.
With that partnership and seeing our vulnerabilities, we do tabletop exercises to simulate. If something were to happen to your data, what would we do? We do that on a regular basis. You should be concerned, but not overly concerned, because we are doing the best we can. We can’t eliminate all bad actors, but we are doing the best to make sure it’s secure. That written information is going to make you more comfortable.
Empowering Physicians: The Role Of IT In Modern Medical Practice
Going in another direction from lay people or patients inputting data, using the data, and using healthcare IT and the things that go into it, what do you think physicians in 2025 need to know about healthcare IT?
When you walk into the room, who’s part of your team? Is it nurses? There are nurses there.
Nurses, techs, pharmacists.
She’s in the hospital. I’m in the office. Typically, it’s more of the nurse and medical assistant.
Both of you have given very good answers. It’s having the perspective that technology is part of your team when you walk into that room. I tell people I’m not physically in the room, but my technology is in there. I’m part of your team. Even with a real-life person, you’re going to have stronger technology than others. It’s going to work someday, and it’s not. That partnership is so key. I like having a partnership with informatics, with also at the elbow support with super users to make sure you have quick access if something isn’t going right with the technology in the room. Knowing that, and also what we discussed from a physician’s standpoint, we are trying not to make your life more difficult.
They asked me, “Did you shut it down and restart? Did you enter the right password?” Those are fighting words for me. I’m always respectful because I am on a recorded line at work. I understand this, but if that IT person or colleague asked me one more time, “Did you turn it off and turn it back on?”
We are doing a lot behind the scenes to not be a help desk and more of a service.
It is the no-help desk. I may have said that at some point. I do sometimes call it the no-help desk.
That’s why it’s important that we have a team around. That’s something I emphasize as a leader. Are we going to be there at that moment when that happens? Sometimes not. It can also be something that we pick up on, and we can be there in person. Sometimes, it doesn’t have to be IT. IT is not the only people that are powerful with technology. There are your peers. There are your nurses. You name it, on your floor or in your clinic, they are power users. They are super power users.
I’m going to ask a question based on what I sometimes get from the frustration of patients. I ask your opinion on the redundancy and what we have to do now with electronic medical records. You’ll have a patient who comes in and answers questions before she can even get back to see a provider. She’s got a set of questions that the nurse has to ask, and then a set of questions that the doctor has to ask. For them, it’s completely frustrating.
You may not be able to comment on this, but you might have an understanding of where I’m coming from. Depending on the programs, do you see a pathway in our future? It can be frustrating for providers as well because you’re having to do this thing over and over again, in making it more streamlined in terms of the information that we’re gathering from patients to try to make diagnoses and to help them in the most efficient manner.
You want as much data and information prior to the visit. Sometimes, it’s about the language once you’re in the room to say, “I see you filled this out.” You go into more of the conversation, not to fill it out again. That’s probably more workflow that needs to be defined because of the redundancy of asking for the same information, unless it’s a regulatory thing, and it’s separate. That’s the part. I’ll never go around the regulatory requirements.
There are a lot of committees that are being formed for interoperability, where we can streamline some of that and have all the regulations covered, yet in a single format. I see what you’re going, Angela, because we do ask a lot of the same questions. On a positive note, to get that information before you go into the office, and you can assess that, is powerful. I like doing the electronic forms prior to getting there and making sure it’s in the record when I arrive.
That part is helpful.
I’m going to rant from the perspective of a patient. There is a lot of redundancy, as Angela was mentioning. You receive an email saying, “Fill out this form before you come in.” Some offices call you and say, “Please fill out this form before you come in.” You may receive a text reminder of said appointment. They don’t say, “Fill out the form,” but it’s all of these encroachments on my personal time and all of these things. We get so many alerts and reminders. That, for me, is a little bit annoying.
By the time I get that phone call, I’m like, “I got it. Thank you very much. I look forward to coming in.” I may come off a little bit abrupt, but I’m annoyed. I get that I am probably not the target audience because when I see the email, I’m like, “I’m going to try and get to that.” I can’t check in once you get to the office unless you log in. I don’t know my password. Forgive me. It is not on my phone or my laptop. I’m going to stop my rant.
We operate the same. What I’m hearing from Tina is it’s a systems issue pertaining to practice, per se, not necessarily IT.
I can’t blame healthcare IT.
We both can play a role in this. What happens is we implement the technology. We upgrade. We have to remember. We have to circle back around and train again. Sometimes, we put technology in so much that we forget to go back to the workflow. What I like to do is start with the basic patient experience. They have a need. They need to schedule it. They come in for the actual visit. You get diagnosed. You’re treated. You go home. It is five steps.
You may not get diagnosed. I’m sorry. I’m an intern. We can tell you what you don’t have. I may not be able to tell you exactly what you have. I want to throw that out there.
Good point. Imagine me implementing technology and how I am affecting those five areas. We need to retrain. Now that I have implemented this, do I have two things in this particular phase of the patient experience? Sometimes, we’re layering technology on top of technology or offering so many options that we need to maybe narrow it down.
Work Wisdom: The Shift From Proving To Improving
There are too many options. It is decision overload. I’m going to switch gears for a moment. I’m going to stop haranguing healthcare IT because it certainly has changed in Angela and I’s careers. We’ve gone from paper charts, going down to medical records, to signing your charts or doing your dictations. I can log in from home on my work laptop and see the entire medical record. That’s life-changing. Let’s switch gears a little bit to the lessons that you’ve learned from work. You talked about being in high school, taking that first computer class, working at American Airlines and IBM, and transitioning into healthcare IT. Are there three or four lessons that you have learned over the course of your work career that you want to share with our audience?
Do the work that no one else wants to do. Don’t be fearful of that. I always took on the project. They’re like, “That’s career-limiting.” It never was. Be inquisitive. I am in a season, though, where I had an a-ha moment during my rest time. I’ve been on a sabbatical for nine months. I am transitioning back into the workforce. I said, “I am in a season of improving myself, but not so much focusing on proving myself.” When I am constantly trying to prove myself, that’s a stress level that I can’t even describe. It focuses on other people and pleasing other people.
Do the work no one else wants to do. Don't fear it, because in that work, you learn so much and become the go-to person. Share on XWhereas if I’m continuously improving myself, indirectly or directly, I’m going to prove myself. The focus is on me being better, getting better, and making people around me better. I had that a-ha moment, especially going back into the “I’m enough, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to continue to improve.” Surround yourself with people who will support you, be honest, and give you feedback. It is very important to have that sounding board. I’ve learned that from my career. Don’t be afraid. I love the title of your show.
What is the title of the show?
You’re Boss Leap. When you leap, the fear is why you’re suspended in the air, so take the leap. You’re going to feel anxiety taking a leap, whether it’s a sabbatical, a new job, or a new opportunity. You’ve got to leap and overcome the suspension when you’re in the air and leap.
I love this idea of spending the time improving yourself versus proving yourself. For me, it’s been growing in ways that I need to grow. I can improve myself and learn more about the healthiest lifestyle modifications I can make to be vibrant and joyful as I grow older. If I can spend the time doing that for myself, then I can help others along the way. I focus on helping others along the way. It doesn’t mean and land the same unless you’re doing that work and learning things for yourself first. That’s part of the process of growing and continuing to grow.
That is so powerful because when you look at a resume, it’s negative in some instances when they see a gap.
You always have to explain the gap. What are you doing? All those things.
I’m being a better person. I went back into the workforce. I’ve never felt 100% a new Tina, not even a reset back to a Tina. There were moments when there were issues and challenges. I felt at peace and centered. It is like a hurricane. You want to be in the eye because that’s where it’s calmest. Everything is going around you. I was walking in a sense of restoration while also being empathetic because I know people on my team or in the organization are tired. They might be burned out.
Coming off a nine-month break, I can’t come in there like, “Let’s go.” I’ll have that energy, but I’ll have it with compassion and empathy that not everyone can take a sabbatical, or they’re worried about the gap in their resume. If you are on your purpose, don’t worry about the gaps. I tried to run from my purpose during the sabbatical. I was interviewing for things outside of healthcare IT. I wasn’t getting them. It was very obvious that my calling, my purpose, is healthcare IT.
The Art Of Recharge: Embracing The Sabbatical For Growth
Tell us a little bit more about the sabbatical. What other things did you do, whether it was for a career or yourself, that you found to be helpful?
I want to know what led you to take the sabbatical. Was it natural that you had a break, you were between jobs, or you were like, “I’ve had enough.”? How did you make the leap to take the sabbatical?
I was commuting back and forth from Memphis to Dallas and then eventually from Memphis to Houston. That was tiring. It had nothing to do with the job. It was more of that back and forth.
You were a road warrior for real.
Now that I have clarity, I don’t think I ever recovered from implementing a huge EHR in the middle of the pandemic. I don’t think I ever got that second wind from the pandemic.
It was because we kept moving. Those of us in healthcare hadn’t stopped. We were in the pandemic, and we kept moving because that’s what healthcare requires.
In Seattle, we implemented Epic in October 2020, virtually. In December 2020, the vaccine came out. We had to get ready while already tired from my eighteen-month implementation.
When everyone is tired, no one cares that you’re tired. “We’re all tired. Let’s keep moving.”
It wasn’t a pinpoint of a moment. It was an accumulation. Unfortunately, probably my last organization has got a more tired Tina. This organization is getting 100% ready to go.
Tired Tina works at a very high level, and probably a higher level than ordinary people.
I couldn’t even know. I started unraveling around the edge, and I’m tired. That was the leap. It was time to settle in one place, not do a lot of commuting back and forth. I was loving what I was doing in Memphis. I love my teams. They have great support. I had to make that hard decision and focus on my family and myself. I didn’t use an alarm clock a lot. I woke up naturally throughout this time. I had a family member and a friend who were going through some challenges, and I was present. I was not only present physically, but I was present. I didn’t have the phone going off because the system is down. It was good to be there for them. I was productive. I didn’t have a boring day. I took care of my home, myself, my family, and my friends. It was nice.
Sometimes, the sabbatical, the time off, or the step away helps to give you perspective.
It does. I do want to emphasize that before everyone is like, “I’m calling in tomorrow, and I’m going to take it.” First, you want to talk about it with your family and your significant other. You need to be financially prepared. That’s real talk. I’ve been in IT for a long time. I’ve been a good steward of my resources. I was able to do that. Before everyone, “Like Tina said, take a nine-month sabbatical,” you still have bills. That’s what’s not taking a sabbatical, your bills.
You set yourself up for the ability to do so. That is a very good point. Thank you for sharing.
I have to emphasize that.
Can we go back to some other things that we were talking about, as far as proving yourself versus improving yourself? I would offer that early in our careers, there is a certain amount of proving. Maybe it is about gaining the skill sets and the confidence. In particular, as women, and then definitely as Black women or women of color, we have to prove ourselves. Hopefully, it’s mainly to ourselves that I am enough, I am quite capable, and I can hold space and do these types of jobs. Could you talk about early career versus where you are now, and then also how we as women can support each other better?
If I thought I was proven because I had four summers of an internship and a degree, that’s not confidence. That’s cockiness. You don’t want to be cocky. You want to have confidence, but you have to prove yourself. A lot of it’s not only through your technical or your craft. It’s also who you are. You are proving that you are a leader, whether you have a title or not. You are proving you’re a dependable team member. That is so important. You do have to prove yourself. I always worked as if I were going to get fired.
You know how many times I’ve gotten fired? None. That mindset works for good, but it also instills a sense of perfection, which isn’t always good either. You have to give yourself grace that you’re going to make mistakes. If you’re good at what you’re doing, you’re going to have grace on the times you do make mistakes, and I have. People know, “99.9%, she’s on top of. This year, she fell through the cracks.” You’re right. You have to prove yourself. You can get to this level at age 25, but you’ve had to pack a whole lot of experience and support to get to this level that quickly. I wouldn’t want to get to this level at age 25 or 30. It’s the proven that’s helped me be comfortable at being at an executive level. You can get there. For me, I wouldn’t have wanted this position earlier.
You have to give yourself grace for mistakes. If you're good at what you're doing, you'll have grace when you make them. Share on XGoing back to that younger self, in your 20s, do you have any advice that you would give Tina then?
Pace yourself. Lean on others. I wish I had kept more in touch with people in college, in the IT, business world, and A&M to keep that circle of expertise in my circle. Always have a mentor. Always have a coach, which I’ve done. Sometimes, I’ve gone through things where I should have reached out to someone and said, “I’m struggling,” or “I had this bad day.” That’s something I didn’t do a lot consistently early.
We talk about mentors a lot throughout our episodes. We believe strongly in finding those people. Granted, sometimes they find you because of their trust in you, and they see the light that you shine. You mentioned having a coach. I don’t think I grew up with the knowledge of having someone coach me to do anything other than track, swimming, or volleyball. In terms of coaching in your career and life, can you shed some light on what you mean by that?
I’m glad you mentioned that, because Angela, your examples are perfect. I played basketball and track. Why wouldn’t we have a coach in our careers? Coaches are there to pull out the best in you, to direct you, and to give you the plays, but you have to execute. Think about all of those concepts you still need in your profession. I have someone who said, “I’m at the point where I give you my experience, not my advice.” It’s more about you coming to the conclusion of what you need to do to be the best. There’s a compliment in sharing the experience of what I have, but it’s no different.
Coaches pull out the best in you, direct you, and give you the plays, but you have to execute. Share on XIt’s not any different than someone being coached. Even LeBron needs to be coached. If you were to throw five people out there on the court, what are they going to do? How are they going to react? You’re going to have a natural leader, probably out of the five, but what’s the play? How do you attack the challenges on the other side of the ball? It’s the same concept, Angela. Having that coach where it’s someone who asks you more questions than you ask them. It’s that. When I coach people, I’m asking them more questions than I am telling them what to do.
That’s the sign of a good coach. I would concur with everything you said for my program, Healthstyle. I’ve been coaching people all my life as a physician. In the office, you’re coaching. You are leading and giving people steps. As a health and wellness coach, you’re doing exactly what you mentioned, asking the questions so that the person can come up with their own solution.
Most of the time, they know what works for them or what could work for them, but it’s the coaching that can help bring that out. Listening and being empathetic, but not necessarily interjecting your thoughts, is the sign of a good coach. Good for you. I like the idea of throwing that out there for people in all stages of their career and whatever career path they have of mentors, but also the coach that can help to guide you to become the best.
You also hear the term sponsors. Some people will reach out to me. When you reach out to me, you automatically put yourself on my mind. When I’m in meetings or know people, I can refer back to, “I talked to someone who has an interest in that.” That’s what a sponsor is. You’ll hear that term.
Nourishing The Self: Tina’s Post-Sabbatical Wellness Rituals
Tina, we want to be respectful of your time. Before we get you out of here, can you talk about your self-care regime? I’m particularly interested, since you’re coming off a sabbatical, in how your self-care regime changes following your sabbatical.
It started in the mornings with my devotion and meditation time. When I was working, I would fit that in maybe at the end of the day, but now I start with that. Make sure I’m eating better. During my sabbatical, after I did my devotion, I would walk outside if the weather permitted. I would have things to do throughout the day, whether it’s with the home or personal matters. Because I had moved to Houston, that was key, making sure that I had all of my wellness team set up, like eye, OBGYN, PCP, dental, and all of that.
Having that as part of my self-care specialties now that I’m more mature was key to making sure that I level set to the health and wellness. I did a 21-day fast through my actual church in Dallas. I haven’t found a church home yet in Houston, but I will. We do a 21-day fast, a Daniel’s fast. It was wonderful. I was learning about the Blue Zones. I research how people across different nations live to be 90 to 100 and what they do.
They not only live to be 90 and 100, but are still vibrant, productive, and healthy citizens.
They are eating well. What’s key from there? They have a community. When we went into the pandemic, there was isolation for me, even though we’re on Zoom. I was reading about the Blue Zone. It’s very important to have that in-person collaboration. That was key.
A common theme throughout our episodes is talking about people’s perspectives on their self-care regimen. I like the fact that you added taking care of yourself in terms of your healthcare. Identifying and doing your checkups and identifying the providers when you move to a new city should be a part of all of our mindsets in terms of our self-care regimen. We think of all these good things that we can do. That’s at the core of making sure that you’re healthy.
You included dentistry as well. Seeing your dentist is really important for your overall health.
The health of your gums and all of that is very important. It would not have been valuable to have this time and go back into the workforce to only do the same thing. Reset, make sure I had everything in place as far as support, and go back a better leader and person. Also, be a better wife, sister, and daughter. That’s important to me.
We love that for you. We’re so grateful that you are here with us, sharing, and that you’re at this stage on the other side of your sabbatical, well-rested. We know you’ll continue to do great things in this IT space. We are very familiar with Epic. We know the value of having a leader at the top when you’re implementing, whether it’s changes or modifying all things that come with Epic, which is electronic health care, particularly in the hospital setting. It is low-key. We appreciate all that you do, Tina. Anything that you would like to share here at the end, particularly any social media handles, or anything like that?
You can reach me on LinkedIn, but I also want to give kudos to you for having a space that is well-needed. I love your title about Boss Leap because we are always looking for new opportunities to leap. Sometimes, it’s a job. Sometimes, it’s rest. Don’t be fearful of the suspension when you leap. You’re going to land eventually on the leap. This is genius. I look forward to seeing the great success that you’re going to bring.
Thank you for your time.
Thank you very much. Don’t be fearful of the suspension. With that, Tina Haskins Smith, we are going to say thank you. May you be well.
Thank you. You, too.
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Beyond The Interview: Key Takeaways And Reflections
Angela, we had such a fantastic conversation with Tina. She was dropping knowledge everywhere. There were so many things that truly resonated with me. Are there points that she brought home that you enjoyed?
As you said, many. I do have to add in here the value of sisterhood because we didn’t talk about it. I thought it would come up. She did mention supporting each other. As you noted in the interview, she and I go way back. We knew each other in high school. We went to college together at Texas A&M. She was my line-sister.
That’s why I had her at Skyline.
It was Delta Sigma Theta Incorporated. She’s always been the person that she is. She is very supportive and down-to-earth. She is that grounded person in your life. When it comes to sisterhood, she’s one of the people who resonate with me. The value of having sisterhood or people in your circle or your corner that you consider a sister, somebody who wants to see you succeed, brings positive energy into your life. She’s not there for the tea, but she’s there to hold you down when things are not necessarily going your way. She’s certainly been one of those people for me. That’s one thing that I wanted to bring out because that’s what resonated with me throughout the interview.
I liked her concept of improving versus proving myself. You brought up the fact that in the beginning, there is a lot of proving. No matter what fields you go into, you’ve got to prove that you’re worthy in your field and you know what you’re doing. There is also, even at that stage in life when you’re starting, always wanting to improve. It doesn’t always have to be improving on the job. It’s improving yourself. What do you want to do in your life that improves your quality of life, how you move through this life, and how you bring joy into your life? I love that.
I love the visualization of not being afraid of the suspension. Making that boss leap, career change, life change, relationship change, or whatever you’re doing, there’s going to be a time where you’re suspended. You’re not sure exactly how the landing is going to happen. When you have approached it with thoughtfulness and a conviction that this is what I want to do or need to do, don’t be afraid when you’re in that suspense state. There’s typically always beauty on the other end, whether it’s something joyful on the other end or it’s a realization that, “Maybe this is not going to work out for me.” It’s still the fact that you made the leap. I like that. She brought up the career coach. For me, it’s the coaching in the health and wellness space. I never grasped what that meant.
Tell us about Healthstyle.
Healthstyle came about from the idea of how I was helping myself in terms of what I consider to be important. They are things that I’ve always talked about from the beginning of my career of taking good care of yourself, but finding what works for you. I can’t tell you what exercise to do. It has to do with what you enjoy doing, so that is something that can be part of your everyday or weekly activities, the importance of mental health, and how there is an absolute mind-body connection in how we move through the world.
The pandemic helped to elevate the conversation around mental health, but part of the coaching has to do with how you are navigating your mental health space, your mindset, and your behaviors that can help you thrive in that area. It is also about spiritual and emotional health, how you’re navigating that, and ultimately, financial health. We all know if we’re not doing well, it can certainly affect how our mental health is, what we’re able to do in terms of physical health, and all of those things. That’s part of my program. What I have learned in the coaching arena is that it is a lot of helping someone reach their goals by asking the questions and creating the space for them to come to a lot of the conclusions themselves.
The answer is within.
I learned that personally first before I was able to get into this arena. I love it. Think about it. When we were in medical school, did you ever think you needed a coach or a sponsor to help you get to where you needed to be? No, you went to medical school.
We were grinding it out.
It’s valuable in all areas. How about you? I could go on and on, but what did you think?
Before we leave this, where can people find out about Healthstyle?
My website is DrAngelaWalker.com. Thank you, Sylvia. My IG is @IAmDrWalker, and LinkedIn is Dr. Angela C.B. Walker, MD.
We are going to have to have an entire show or mini episodes on Healthstyle because it’s really important to understand how Boss Leap dovetails in the Healthstyle. Our overall goal is to bring information to our audience that helps them take those leaps. That is a part of your overall wellness. Coming back to Tina Haskins Smith, who is a healthcare IT leader, she left me with so many pearls of information. It helped me think more about how we, too, are in seasons of improving as opposed to seasons of proving. I think about all those years of working where it was a lot of me trying to prove myself and me struggling with, “Am I the right person in the right place and doing all the correct things?” It’s nice to be in the season of improving.
She reminded me of the importance of having a circle or a community and how that community can be a sounding board, which you all have always been for me, my fellow coauthors and sisters from THE GAME PLAN: A Woman’s Guide to Becoming a Doctor and Living a Life in Medicine. Having that sounding board when things were going well or not so well in that season of proving really has been invaluable and has helped to improve the quality of my life. Finally, the process of elimination. Tina pointed out that we’ve known we wanted to be doctors from the beginning. Not everyone has that fire about one particular field. Sometimes, it can be, “I don’t want to be X, Y, or Z, but A looks good.” Do not be afraid of selecting something based on the process of elimination.
I like that idea. I hope that for younger people who are coming up, but also women who are not necessarily satisfied with what they’re doing right now. I think of my kids in terms of you might not have the idea of exactly what you want to do. Sometimes, what you’re doing currently helps to eliminate that. I don’t like the idea of entering into a profession because you’ve got great benefits and a good salary, and this is what’s going to get you your house, your car, and those things, yet you have no interest in that field. I know there are different thoughts on that, certainly. If you need a job, you need a job.
Sometimes, you have to learn from having that experience to know that “I did it for that reason.” You go in like, “This is going to be great. It’s going to work out well. This is the path that I’m choosing.” In hindsight, when you’re like, “I hate this job,” then you realize, “I did it for the money,” or “I did it for this.” There are lessons in that, too, but don’t do it for just the money. I get it.
Sometimes, yes.
We’re going to have to come back to that. That’s an ever-evolving thing.
I know people in my life who agree with that concept.
It’s a first-world problem, though. If you don’t have resources or a safety net, and the safety net could be people, friends, or family, then you can be motivated by money and having a certain amount of safety. What is it, Maslow’s triangle? We want to make sure that we have a home, clothing, and food. You can think at a higher level.
I do agree with that concept. Sometimes, it is those things that help you, give you the perspective, and help you to learn what your purpose is. I learned something, and I sometimes change my opinions based on our conversations.
That is allowed. That’s why we have these conversations here on Boss Leap. Nothing is fixed.
It’s always fun with you, Sylvia. We are again grateful to Tina Haskins Smith for sharing her pearls of wisdom with us. To you, our audience, we hope that you find something from this episode that you can take with you to maybe improve or inspire. We would love for you to share, like, subscribe, and enjoy other episodes along the way. You can find us on all streaming sources, as well as YouTube.
If you’d like to have us talk about a particular topic, please don’t hesitate to send us an email at BossLeapPodcast@Gmail.com.
Until we meet again, may you be well.
May you be well.
Important Links
- Tina Haskins Smith on LinkedIn
- Dr. Angela Walker’s Website
- Dr. Angela Walker on Instagram
- Dr. Angela Walker on LinkedIn
- THE GAME PLAN: A Woman’s Guide to Becoming a Doctor and Living a Life in Medicine