Intentional growth, service-centered leadership, and staying grounded in purpose.
These are the themes we explore in today’s podcast episode with Tyler Schmidtz. This episode is a part of our new “People You Should Know” series, where we spotlight industry professionals shaping the future of life sciences and healthcare.
Meet Tyler Schmidtz
…a lifelong resident of the Twin Cities, Minnesota, a husband, and a dad. He’s also a healthcare executive at Health Partners, specializing in care delivery and physicians’ practice management.
From humble beginnings—sorting mail and running charts at Hennepin County Medical Center—to leading large-scale care delivery systems, Tyler’s story is a masterclass in intentional growth, service-centered leadership, and staying grounded in purpose. In this episode, he shares insights on:
- The importance of embracing whatever role you are in
- Why leadership is a choice
- How anyone can become a leader
- The one question you need to ask before a career transition
- Making thoughtful choices and working with purpose
- How you can build a career in healthcare that’s deeply human—even without a stethoscope.
- The theme that has been consistent throughout his career and the locations he has been at.
- Plus so much more…
You can watch/listen to the video here
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Snippets from the podcast
Tyler’s background and what brought him to the healthcare and lifesciences industries.
“I’m a lifelong resident of Minnesota and the Twin Cities. I’ve been happily married for 27 years, and we have a 15-year-old daughter who will be a sophomore at Hill-Murray next year. We’re also pet parents to some energetic, four-legged kids who keep things interesting around the house. Professionally, I was a biology major at St. Olaf College, a liberal arts college just south of the Twin Cities. I’m an “Ollie.”
“My first job was an entry-level role at Hennepin County Medical Center in a clinic. I started by running charts and sorting mail. From there, I moved up to checking patients in and out, answering phones, and eventually realized I really enjoyed the environment. That led me to pursue a leadership position within that clinic, which kicked off my healthcare journey. I spent seven years at Hennepin and earned a master’s in medical group management from the University of St. Thomas along the way. After that, I held a management position at Park Dental for a few years. Most recently, as you mentioned, I was with HealthPartners for about 19 years, where I held a variety of roles—leading physician practices, overseeing hospital-based operations, and more.”
It’s been a very rewarding career. I often say that my role has been about caring for those who care for patients, and that’s been incredibly fulfilling.
Tyler Schmidtz
Some of the most important decisions Tyler made along the way. Not everyone takes this path and ends up as a high-level executive.
“I chose to start in a position where I was open to learning. I wasn’t sure if I’d enjoy a career in healthcare, but I knew I had to start somewhere. Being open to learning on the job helped me gain both technical skills and a better understanding of what brought me joy and purpose. Another key decision was choosing to pursue leadership. Leadership isn’t for everyone, and I wouldn’t describe myself as a natural-born leader. My leadership roles growing up were more situational. But stepping into a formal leadership role meant taking accountability, developing new skills, and growing beyond technical tasks. I also took advantage of employer-provided training opportunities and decided to pursue a master’s degree, which gave me both academic and practical tools to lead in large organizations. I took some risks along the way to challenge myself in new positions. All those led to growth.”
One question I asked myself along the way especially as it came to promotion opportunities was, ‘do I want to do the work that is associated with that new role? This allowed me to to be thoughtful about what the job description entailed and to really make an informed decision. I say the same to people I mentor or help along the way. Just make sure you ask that question because there’s nothing worse than getting into a role where you’re not happy.’
Tyler Schmidtz
When does Tyler put on the cape or step into the phone booth?
Growth rarely happens in comfort zones. What has brought me the most joy is the working relationships that I forge with people.
Tyler Schmidtz
“I bring my relationship-building and my ability to connect with individuals and teams. I like people. I am an extrovert, but I’m a shy extrovert. I enjoy getting to know people; what’s important to them, and what brings them joy. In a professional setting or with teams, it’s about what’s working well, what’s not, and asking questions. Which comes into probably my second superpower or skill—I enjoy being curious. That leads me to ask a lot of questions. A lot of “why” questions: Why do we do things? And often, that leads to either a conversation around “keep doing what you’re doing because it’s working well,” or “is there another way we could do this?” Is there an opportunity for improvement? Oftentimes, just by asking teams and individuals questions, you can find those opportunities for improvement. And that ends up being a lot of fun.”
About healthcare
“Healthcare is great because there are a lot of very dedicated, very caring, very intelligent people that work in healthcare. Beyond just life in general where you can always learn something, the people that I’ve been around, I’ve learned a ton from. That’s probably one of my other skills: I enjoy an environment where there’s continual learning and that opportunity. I would certainly say healthcare is that type of industry. Healthcare continues to go through some challenging evolution and times. While that maybe at moments can feel daunting. Or could be scary if you’re trying to think about entering it or staying in it, it is also one of the most rewarding places to put your skill and passion. At the end of the day, it’s about helping people either be well or get back to wellness. We all have a healthcare journey of our own—or certainly our friends and families do. Being able to make that better gives a lot of satisfaction.