This past week, Kindbridge Behavioral Health’s own Daniel Umfleet appeared on Raymond Hall’s The Standard. The Standard is a leadership and personal development podcast that focuses on executives, athletes, veterans, students, and emerging leaders who want practical guidance that can be applied to optimize their effectiveness and wellbeing. The show’s host, Raymond Hall is a decorated military veteran and global Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) who brings with him a pedigree in blending real-world leadership experience with conversations about wellness, resilience, and high performance. For years he has helped, and continues to help, individuals step into and excel within leadership roles, navigate career transitions, and work to grow without sacrificing their health.
In the recent “Sports Gambling: Proactive Leadership, Data Signals & Kindbridge Solutions”, Hall and Umfleet discuss the rapid growth of sports gambling and the lack of supporting human and healthcare infrastructure. Kindbridge’s CEO makes it clear that the biggest disconnect is unclear responsibility and notes that the existing health system has been and remains unable to manage how gambling-related financial distress impacts social determinants such as shelter (rent or homeownership) and food security.
They discuss proactive Left of Bang leadership (a concept borrowed from the U.S. Marine Corps) as a means to addressing the issue of the health system not being ready for sports betting. For the uninitiated, Left of Bang is a proactive leadership philosophy focused on recognizing warning signs, assessing situations, and taking action before a crisis or failure (the “bang”) occurs. It shifts the focus from merely reacting to problems to anticipating and preventing them. Hall and Umfleet note how the philosophy may advantageously manifest via the provision of responsible gambling tools and better data along with ethical use of behavioral signals such as deposit/withdrawal patterns, late-night activity, absenteeism, and workplace and family warning signs. Umfleet emphasizes the need for shared ownership of responsibilities among gambling operators, regulators, employers, and healthcare providers, and recommends training frontline customer service staff and managers to de-escalate harm and route people to help.
Umfleet goes on to outline Kindbridge’s introduction and ongoing management of nationwide (plus Canada) digital-first clinical services, employer programs, customer service support, clinician training, and continued development of an educational AI resource hub for broader use.
“We see financial distress starting to really impact things like food security and things like rent and mortgage payments and keeping a roof over your head and things like this, right? And those are usually pretty strong indicators that there’s an imbalance for a person. And when you go to the community and you have conversations with healthcare leaders, this is something that is beginning to be on their radar, but they’re struggling with what to do with it and how to address it. And I think that that’s a key component that has to be in place in order for the stability of each of the verticals to really hum symbiotically.” (Daniel Umfleet)
Watch the full episode below, and share with anyone who you think will benefit from developing a deeper understanding of the evolving issue.