Beyond the Bedside: A Look at Spartans in Nursing | Page 17

Shirley A. Weis
MSU HONORARY DOCTOR OF
SCIENCE ‘14
MASTER OF MANAGEMENT
CON BSN ‘75
Retired in 2013, as Chief
Administrative Officer
Mayo Clinic
Rochester, Minnesota
Special Advisor to the President
and Professor of Practice
Arizona State University
President, Weis Associates, LLC, an
international management consulting firm
Author, Playing to Win in Business,
Just Respect

TURNING LESSONS INTO
A STRATEGY FOR SUCCESS
“Lessons.” It’s how Shirley Weis frames
the trajectory of her life, education, and
career. From MSU mentors and her first
emergency room nursing job, she learned
the importance of collaborative leadership,
which formed the basis of her strategic
approach to a winning career. Her business
acumen emboldened her to pursue
executive roles impacting healthcare
delivery and organizational innovation
while investing in the career success of
those to follow.

AWARDS
Modern Healthcare, Top 25 Women in
Healthcare, 2013 and 2007
Women’s Health Leadership Trust, Trusted
Senior Leader Award, 2012
National Association of Professional
Women of the Year Award, 2011
MSU Distinguished Alumni Award, 1999

A Person of “Firsts”
Shirley Weis always wants to be where the
action is—starting out in the ER’s life-or-death
atmosphere and moving on to help thousands
of patients through strategic leadership from
the executive suite. She was the first in her
family to go to college. She became the first
female Chief Administrative Officer in 150 years
at Mayo Clinic, where she oversaw 87 separate
corporations in the system, a $10 billion
budget, and 60,000 employees. And these
firsts were recognized when she became the
first College of Nursing graduate to be honored
with an Honorary Doctorate from MSU.
The career potential of combining nursing and
management became clear as she pursued
a business degree at Aquinas College while
in charge of the emergency department.
All the lessons of nursing—problem solving,
interpersonal skills, and priority setting—
served her well as Chief Operating Officer for
Blue Care Health Central and CEO of Mayo
Management Services, running and starting
new health plans in several states.

Understanding the
Power of the Team
Quoting Wayne Gretsky, she says, “Skate to
where the puck is going to be, not where it
is.” Weis’ ability to think strategically, see the
future, and apply operational competence
produced innovations at the Mayo Clinic. But
she will tell you that good ideas, even brilliant
ideas, only succeed through collaboration.
“I speak fluent nursing, fluent clinician, fluent
health plan, and fluent medical. It’s vital to
relate to the many roles people play and what
they bring to the equation,” she says.

As one of the chief architects of the Mayo Care
Clinic Network, Weis worked interprofessionally
to innovate while involving stakeholders to be
part of the solution. The network of 35 clinics
in the U.S. and abroad provides access to Mayo
Clinic expertise by the local healthcare team.

Preparing Others to Win
Weis does not call this life chapter retirement.
It’s her “Preferment,” a time to do what she
prefers. She shares her expertise as author,
speaker, consultant, corporate board member,
advisor, educator, and mentor.
Her book, Playing to Win in Business, gathers her
many life lessons into a guide to achieving career
success. She sees it as a game of strategy. Learn
the rules (both written and unwritten) and detach
emotionally to assess the game from “up in the
stands.” If one decides to play, then play well.
A Professor of Practice in the Colleges
of Nursing and Business at Arizona State
University, she is also Special Advisor to the
President. She describes her role on campus as
a “disrupter,” someone who looks for ways to
break down silos and pollinate ideas.
Weis credits her nursing foundation for making
these achievements possible and