Winjie Tang Miao was named chief operating officer of nonprofit health system Texas Health Resources in May 2019, and she now oversees operations for the system’s 29 hospitals and 26,000 employees across 26 counties in North Texas. The system is growing quickly, with a new hospital in Forney in progress and a recently remodeled maternal center at the system’s flagship hospital in Dallas.
Below, the self-proclaimed “recovering engineer” and basketball nut shares her favorite local eateries, why she loves traveling to Africa, and the time she met North Carolina basketball coach Roy Williams the day after his team won a national championship. If you want to know more about how Miao operates as a “nose in, hands out” leader, read on.
Education: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (MHA), Johns Hopkins University (BS)
Birthplace: Decatur, IL
First Job: “Lab assistant supporting retina development research at the Wilmer Eye Institute at Johns Hopkins University. As a kid who always asked ‘why,’ I enjoyed the research and discovery process immensely. But I also learned that I like to collaborate with others and solitary hours in the lab were not a fit for me. This led me to healthcare administration where I still get to learn and solve problems, but collaboratively.”
Best Advice: “I attended a STEM high school that brought students together from across Illinois. One of the school administrators had a favorite quote from Henry David Thoreau he repeated often that hangs in my office today. ‘Be not simply good, be good for something.’ That sentiment permeated the school and remains a mantra of mine.”
Dinner Party: “If I could share a meal with any two Dallas business leaders, I’d choose Cynt Marshall, CEO of the Dallas Mavericks because she has a career that has combined many of my personal passions—servant leadership, empowering girls in STEM education, basketball, and service to our community. And my other guest would be Sean Donohue, CEO of DFW Airport, because the airport is vital infrastructure that underpins the economic success of our region. He must have an understanding of the future needs of all stakeholder groups in order to facilitate growth. Plus, I love to travel and as a recovering engineer, I’d love to see the complex logistical operations that allow us to fly safely on a daily basis.”
Destinations of Choice: “A perfect weekend for me is hiking in the mountains – usually the Rockies, but I’m equal opportunity and enjoy Shenandoah or the Blue Ridge ranges as well. If I have a little longer, Hawaii is a perfect blend of oceans, mountains, welcoming people and great food. Internationally, it’s all about new experiences, so we rarely return to a place we’ve visited. One exception is Tanzania where my husband and I have been supporting medical missions for over a decade. The friendships we’ve developed with the Maasai are incredibly enriching and fulfilling. And yes, the wildlife safaris are simply magnificent!”
I Collect: “While I may not collect anything tangible, I do consider myself a collector of ideas! I love to learn from and collaborate with our many teams at Texas Health. Our team members on the front lines are our best asset as we innovate in the healthcare industry!”
Hobbies/Passions: “One of the most restorative things I do is take a long walk or hike every weekend. Hiking in the mountains (see above) is good for my soul. My creative outlet is cooking – my family’s favorites are cioppino, braised short ribs, an Asian porchetta and a Chinese dim sum dish known as lo bak go or radish cake. But one of my favorite things to do is to open the fridge, see what’s available and create something from scratch without a recipe.”
Industry Change: “Navigating the healthcare industry – specifically understanding options and articulating care decisions and preferences – can be daunting. My grandmother immigrated to this country when she was in her thirties and worked in a garment factory until her seventies. When our care processes — clinical, social and administrative – are easily accessible and understood by my grandma (and yours as well!), then I know we will have made progress.”
Local Fare: “This is too hard for someone who lives to eat! 1. Hatsuyuki Hand Roll Bar in FW – the hand roll sets are a great value and their specials are always amazing – especially the salmon belly sushi. 2. Jake’s Burgers – old school and delicious. 3. Any Indian restaurant that serves rava dosa with homemade coconut chutney – yum!”
Guilty Pleasure: “Holiday movies on the Hallmark Channel.”
Fun Fact: “I attended every home men’s basketball game while a graduate student at UNC and bleed Carolina blue!”
Key Adviser: “I have been lucky to spend my entire career at Texas Health Resources – an organization who has an award-winning culture – we’ve been on Fortune’s 100 Best Companies to Work For nine years in a row. We live Our Texas Health Promise of “Individuals caring for individuals, together.” For 23 years, I’ve had mentors at every turn – from hospital leadership to ICU nurses to patient advocates to our current CEO.”
Toughest Challenge: “Opening a brand-new hospital – Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Alliance in 2012.”
First Ride: “I got my first car in graduate school – a 1989 Volvo sedan.”
Proud Moment: “Two things: 1. Four-time recipient of the Texas Hospital Association Bill Aston Award for Quality – a first in our industry. It took the entire care team (physicians, nursing, IT, etc.) to come together to reduce stroke mortality, and our hospitals perform in the top decile, delivering the best results for our patients. 2. Our most recent employee survey showed that our people rank us in the top quartile for engagement and satisfaction. This isn’t just compared to other healthcare organizations, it’s a benchmark of Fortune 500 companies across industries. For us to have asked so much of our people throughout the pandemic and to have them as engaged and delivering care at such a high level shows the resilience of each of our care team members and the enduring strength of the Texas Health culture.”
A Better DFW: “DFW has grown so quickly that each industry has enough critical mass to have its own associations, meetings, networking events, etc. And while there are opportunities for industry cross-pollination through the various Chambers of Commerce and the North Texas Commission, I’d like to see more forums for diverse industries to come together. It is important we learn from differing perspectives, translate and apply successful solutions from one industry to another, and collaborate in new ways to benefit not only our organizations, but our community and region as a whole.”
Pivotal Moment: “In May 2019, Jeff Canose, M.D. and I were named the chief operating officer and chief experience officer dyad for Texas Health. It was a special opportunity to work with Jeff again – he had been my boss a decade prior at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas, and over the years, became a trusted mentor. We planned how our teams would work together and we were both excited about the collaboration, opportunity and future. Unfortunately, we lost Jeff to cancer in January 2020. And less than a month later, while our organization and I were still grieving, we were thrust into the pandemic.
Like all organizations, we had to pivot quickly, learning and building in a new and unknown reality. However, we were also all filling a big hole in leadership – and in our hearts. We worked through it together and I am incredibly proud of how our organization responded, caring for our patients and one another. I am especially proud of how quickly we stood up an infrastructure to deliver over 300,000 doses of life-saving vaccines to our community. For me, someone whose work had been focused on long-term solutions and taking time to make data-driven decisions, I too had to pivot. By utilizing the strengths of each individual and business unit, we were able to collectively make good decisions with limited information and under time constraints. Jeff had always been quick and decisive – I thought of him often and embraced that mindset in those early whirlwind months.”
Walk-up Song: “‘Defying Gravity’ from the musical Wicked.”
Must-read: “This is How They Tell Me the World Ends by Nicole Perlroth. Cybersecurity is one of the highest risk areas for all organizations today. Learning the origin story, market and capabilities of cyber weapons is not only fascinating, but exposes vulnerabilities and future scenarios we should all be planning for.”
Spirit Animal: “I’d be an owl. They are keen observers, form close social bonds and take action in a systematic and conscientious way. Plus, owls are nocturnal and I’m most productive between 6 and 10 pm!”
Alternate Reality: “A journalist. I’m inherently curious and love putting puzzle pieces together to bring an untold story to light.”
Embarrassing Moment: “An avid UNC basketball fan, I was absolutely thrilled to see my Tar Heels pull out a win against Gonzaga at the 2017 Final Four. The next morning, I was waiting to checkout at CVS (maybe buying something to soothe a sore throat?) when I realized Coach Roy Williams was in line in front of me. I had a total fan girl moment. My husband encouraged me to say something to him and against my better judgement, I did. I was blubbering and star struck and totally incoherent as I tried to wish him congratulations and good luck at the same time. As a kid, I was more interested in reading books than following boy bands but that day I might as well have been a 13-year-old tween seeing her idol.”
Bucket List: “While I don’t have a fully-formed list, I recently saw the Great Migration in the Serengeti and it was truly a once in a lifetime experience that I will never forget.”
Key Strategies: “1. Thoughtfully outline ‘commander’s intent,”’ a military concept – be clear on the priorities and problem we are trying to solve. 2. Nose in, hands out – be curious and know what’s going on but utilize the High Reliability Organization principle of Deference to Expertise and let those closest to the work determine the best solution. 3. Team members need to be “clean” with their boss before they can be “clean” with other team members. As a leader, it is your job to take the mystery out of you because in the absence of information, people will create their own narrative. This requires authenticity, vulnerability and communicating clearly. And, until team members have that trust and respect with their leader, they will not be at their best with peers and the teams they lead.”
Future Forecast: “The rate of discovery and innovation across the industry. From clinical treatment breakthroughs like curing sickle cell and reversing Type II diabetes to delivering care in novel and more equitable ways like virtually and at-home, these vast new solutions are going to provide a better care experience for consumers, less burdensome work for our care team members and improve the health and well-being of our community. Texas Health is actively embracing these advances and seeing success in many aspects of how we serve our community.”
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