AARP CEO says it’s important to ‘trust your gut’ | Lessons for Leaders

A few weeks ago, Myechia Minter-Jordan, MD, took on a high-profile role when she was named AARP’s chief executive officer.

Myechia Minter-Jordan, MD, is the new CEO of AARP. She took the post last month.

With her background as a physician and an executive, Minter-Jordan says she’s going to bring her healthcare experience to her new role at AARP, which boasts a membership of 39 million. She says she aims to protect Medicare and Medicaid and help the millions of Americans who are caregivers for loved ones.

In a recent conversation with Chief Healthcare Executive®, Minter-Jordan didn’t hesitate when asked about a lesson in leadership that has served her well. She stressed the value of leaders following their instincts.

“Trust your gut,” Minter-Jordan said. “I think that's one of the things that's most important to me. Often, there's so much information around us, and we often have to really just focus on trusting our gut and following the mission.”

When asked about how she intends to use her own instincts when facing decisions, she thinks about the purpose of the organization.

“I think I always look back and always rely on understanding, how am I serving the mission? How am I thinking about the mission for all of the members around this country will be something that I'll be hyper focused on. And so as I think about the work that I've done in the past, it is really thinking about the end user, the consumer, the patient, and how am I serving the mission in the way that delivers the best to those people.”

Minter-Jordan, 52, has utilized her leadership skills in different healthcare roles. She previously served as CEO of The Dimock Center in Massachusetts, one of the nation’s largest community health centers. The Federally Qualified Community Health Center that has served the community for more than 160 years.

She also served as president and CEO of CareQuest Institute for Oral Health, a nonprofit group focusing on improving dental health.

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Now at AARP, she’ll be running an advocacy group that represents more than 110 million Americans 50 years old or older. She wants AARP to help older Americans enjoy the highest quality of life.

“I've always advocated for healthcare transformation and healthcare being holistic in terms of its approach, making sure that we're thinking, again, of that broader way of thinking about healthcare, to ensure that we are caring for every aspect of a patient's body, but also their wellness and the wellness around them, and that includes financial health as well,” Minter-Jordan said.

“So I completely anticipate that there'll be a continued focus on that as we redefine healthcare and as we leverage tools and resources that are available today to make healthcare more efficient and more effective and to really get the outcomes that Americans deserve,” she added.

Although she’s been in the job for a short time, Minter-Jordan has some ideas on how to evaluate her success as CEO.

She wants AARP to empower Americans as they age “in terms of health, wealth and self.”

“Success is maintaining the incredible position that AARP has had in our country, of being that that wise friend and fierce defender for Americans across the country, those 50-plus, and really beginning to ensure that as people age, as people become 50, that they're aware of the incredible resources and tools that AARP offers,” she said.

(If you’d like to share your lessons in leadership in healthcare, submit an idea for our “Lessons for Leaders” series. Contact Ron Southwick, senior editor of Chief Healthcare Executive: [email protected])

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