LOUIS CARTER SPEAKS WITH HUNTER PATCH ADAMS
LIVING YOUR LEADERSHIP VISION WITH AUTHENTICITY AND PURPOSE.
In this half-hour interview with the world’s pioneer of patient-centered care, Patch Adams speaks of love, care, truth, authenticity, and serving humanity to Louis Carter, founding director of the Best Practices Institute. Dr. Hunter “Patch” Adams, played by Robin Williams in the major motion picture, “Patch Adams,” is a living example of a warrior of change — who lives his ideals to the fullest. He does not give in to demands that run counter to sincere care and love — and he is emphatic about it. Leadership to Patch is more about serving humanity and less about serving yourself. Patch views exceptional leadership as serving society through making connections with others, accepting complexity in relationships and in healing, and using laughter and heart to stop violence and conflict. Patch wants to see a world where “compassion and generosity,” wins over greed and power. As Patch says, “There’s no place where loving, compassion, fun, creativity, understanding, and generosity are not needed in the world.”
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The problem to Patch, and to us all, is not only in our actions, rather, it is within the very structure in which we live. “Our presidents don’t lead. They do what multi-national corporations tell them to do. That’s not leadership. That’s puppetry.” He plays a loud bugle call to an otherwise apathetic world. Patch is a strong example of a leader with compassion, heart, and a willingness to stand up for and practice what truly lives within each and every one of us — the ability to serve humanity through sincere care and generosity with authenticity and purpose.
Lou Carter (LC) from BPI: Patch, What does it take to be an exceptional leader?
Patch Adams (PA): If you’re happy, love your work, and are doing something to serve humanity, how can it not help but make you exceptional?
LC: So you’re talking about being true to yourself and wanting to help others as being the most vital aspects of being a good leader.
PA: Well, wanting something is really important. I want peace and justice, and so I’ve given my — and will give my life to those two things: peace, justice, and care. And the thing is that–most people lead because they have money and power, that’s most people’s perception of leadership. And if you choose not to lead through money and power, then you must do it through seduction, by being something somebody wants to be with. And so those qualities and house calls make you, I think, a better instrument for that. People, who’ve been interested in our project or me, have all done it because I’m a happy, caring person — not a hierarchical person.
LC: And to mention some of the thoughts — you wrote about in your book, House Calls, such as peace and wisdom, you’re at peace with yourself and others. And what is it about what you can provide to the world and to others through service, it’s a different level of leadership, as I understand it, a different frame of reference.
PA: I don’t consider leadership for money and power a level. I consider it a sell-out. There you’re not leading; you’re a puppet to wealth. I mean, our presidents don’t lead. They do what multi-national corporations tell them to do. That’s not leadership. That’s puppetry.
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LC: How can presidents begin to change that frame of reference? Who do they need to begin listening to more?
PA: They can stop all of the money that they get from wealth. That’s one start. They can realize the huge mistakes made in pandering to wealth. And return the presidency to a servant of the people. Bush and Gore, or Bore and Gush, they’re as one can see, just watch them on TV, they’re fake people, they’re not real people. They’re liars. They’re lying so bad that it reeks from the television set. And because they say that they care about our people and they don’t. They only care about multi-national corporations. Their gestures, their behaviors, all show that. There’s nothing authentic about them being of the people, by the people, and for the people at all. Screw the people, is their truth.
LC: What types of leaders today actually do exhibit more authentic leadership types, and more in tune with what you just described–
PA: People who have a lifetime of service. I think Nelson Mandela is a global figure that has certainly shown a lot of courage and leadership. And a lot of it is the leadership through service, like Jane Goodall, or Julia Butterfly Hill or people like that, who lead by example.
LC: So, leading becomes something that you do as a service, rather than as something to gain more power.
PA: Right. Power over and money are the things that will make humans extinct. It is the bottom line of money and power that has caused every single problem in the world that we have. All of our environmental problems, all of the wars, all of the discrepancies between rich and poor, the place that media now has in the world. The two favorite TV shows last year were both horrors to humanity’s intelligence: “Who Wants To Be a Millionaire? and the “Survivor” show. They’re so shallow; tadpoles couldn’t grow in the water that they exist on. I mean, unless the leader is there to serve, then they are being served by power and money.
LC: Patch, you’ve traveled all around the world and seen many different horrors and difficult situations where people are disadvantaged, and you yourself have led by example. Can you name a situation or circumstance in a country you’ve been in where you can show that more light has come out of the tunnel [without the train coming and hitting us], where you’ve seen others come out of their disadvantaged situations and become more healed?
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PA: Well, whoever is universally friendly in life, sees it every day, all day long. They see it in what happens on an elevator when they go and say, “Hi everybody, how’s it going? That’s a nice tie.” Whoever’s sweet and kind, they see it in that moment. Instant gratification. Thirty years, whenever I’ve seen violence in public, changing into my clown character, stopping the violence 100% of the time. And I’ve probably stopped 20 or more thousand fights. I mean, that’s what’s so beautiful about compassion and those efforts, is that you instantly get a great experience.
LC: Has there been something recently that’s happened, or an experience you can share with me where that’s happened recently?
PA: I swear, every single day it happens. It happens with me all day long. I’m universally friendly. So in the grocery store, the interaction with the check-out person who–you see their name right on their chest. You can call them by their name and you can see how just calling them by their name they look at you in the eye and something happens. If you just do even rudimentary communication with them–How’s your day? If they’ve seen you in the store before, you already have a relationship with them, if you’ve been doing that over the years. So they call you by your name, even though you don’t have a label. And you start building community. Instead of strangers being a frightening thing that we lock our car doors, our house doors, look away from when we meet eye contact, the world becomes your world.
LC: Are these the types of things that we need more in hospitals today, and how can we bring that into hospitals today?…
