Like many healthcare leaders, Wyatt Brieser is intent on turning challenging situations into victories.
For Mr. Brieser, who has served in multiple roles at Hammond-Henry Hospital in Geneseo, Ill., over 17 years, including as CEO since July 2025, the process starts with a mantra he shares unabashedly.
“My admin team and my managers are probably sick of hearing me say it, but it’s ‘control what you can control,'” he said on the “Becker’s Healthcare Podcast.” “What I can control is my reaction. I can control the next step. I can control what I’m going to do with my next action. I can control the people who are around me. I’m going to make sure my admin team, my managers and our employees are held to a standard. As long as we have the right people in the room and we’re making the decisions that are most appropriate … at some point in time you’re going to get some wins.”
Several projects begun during Mr. Brieser’s tenure would fall into that category, including a staff housing building for traveling physicians and medical students, and a tuition assistance program that offers a four-year employment commitment with Hammond-Henry upon graduation.
Another key element of his leadership model centers around humility and self-awareness. His experience running unsuccessfully for student treasurer at Augustana College in Rock Island, Ill., illustrates his mindset.
“It wasn’t that I felt I needed to come in and make crazy changes. It was more that I was saying, ‘I’m not as involved as I would like to be, and I’m not as aware as I would like to be.’ So I was open to joining that team and being a part of that process,” he said.
Despite the fact he and his running mates lost the election, what he learned endured long after the sting of defeat.
“We were able to see over the interview process and the campaign process that the team that had come together had more experience and was more intensively engaged in some of the processes,” Mr. Brieser said. “I understand why we didn’t win. I think our culture needs to be willing to step outside of those comfort bounds and allow ourselves to have those experiences that shape us and correct us sometimes. And then the big thing is how we react to that correction.
“One thing I’ve tried to really incorporate into my leadership and into my life is to not be so prideful that if I’m wrong and I’m corrected, I don’t accept that feedback. I learned a lot in that process, and I was respectful of that process: ‘Hey, I wasn’t the winner, and this team is viewed as — and probably is — more capable of leading us in a good direction at Augustana.’ So I never took it as, ‘Gosh, I got robbed.’ It was, ‘Hey, I learned something, and I’m going to be better off for it.'”
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