Playing the Long Game
There’s a phrase (thanks, Kelly Baskerville!) I’ve been thinking about lately: playing the long game. It captures how many healthcare leaders are showing up right now—committed, steady, doing meaningful work in systems that are stretched, complex, and constantly changing.
But there’s a tension underneath it.
Too many are trying to do it alone.
In areas like continuing care and aging, the work is often underestimated. It’s seen as routine or less complex. In reality, it requires navigating clinical needs alongside a lifetime of experiences, relationships, and context. It’s about balancing safety with independence, quality of life with medical complexity. It is deeply human work—and it demands more leadership than it’s often given credit for.
At the same time, healthcare isn’t short on ideas. There’s no shortage of research, evidence, or pilot projects. But knowing what to do and actually making it happen are different things. We’ve all seen initiatives start strong and quietly fade. What’s missing isn’t insight—it’s the ability to turn knowledge into sustained action. That takes persistence, influence, and relationships. It takes playing the long game.
What often gets overlooked is what it takes to sustain yourself while doing that work. Leadership right now can feel isolating, heavy, and high-stakes. The expectation—spoken or not—is to just handle it. So people push through, often on their own.
And this is where it breaks down.
The leaders who sustain themselves aren’t the ones who carry everything alone. They’re the ones who stay connected. They’ve built relationships beyond their immediate environment—people who understand the work, offer perspective, and help them see clearly. Often, the most valuable support comes from someone outside your organization entirely.
We talk a lot about resilience, but resilience is relational. You don’t need a large network—you need your people. The ones you can think out loud with, sense-check decisions with, and be honest with when things feel off.
And if you don’t have that right now, it doesn’t mean you’re doing something wrong. It just means it hasn’t been built yet.
Connection is something you practice. It starts small—showing up, starting a conversation, being willing to feel a bit uncomfortable. Over time, those moments build into something meaningful.
If leadership feels heavy right now, you’re not alone. But more importantly, you’re not meant to be.
The leaders who last are the ones who stay connected.
That’s what it looks like to play the long game.
-Leah Wuitschik
