Recently, a friend asked me why I would take the “risk” of starting my own business after 30 years in the healthcare industry. Finding new and better ways is not a risk. It’s a challenge that keeps things interesting. When I came to key moments throughout my career, I found that some healthy risk — stepping up to a new challenge and feeling a little discomfort — was always a good sign. Moving towards that feeling has always kept me current and committed.

We’ve all heard “curiosity killed the cat.” Maybe that is one of the reasons that curiosity is not typically the first virtue embraced by leaders today. But it should be—or at least it should be in the top three (along with two other leadership pillars I see as key—vulnerability and authenticity.)

Many (not all) physician-/scientist-CEOs have a tendency to revert to their area of comfort by using highly scientific terminology and concepts in ways that derail from the purpose of the presentation: articulating the business case in a finite amount of meeting time.

Knowing how to get disparate points of view working in alignment towards a common goal is a much-needed skill in today’s increasingly global environment. But what does culture building look like post-pandemic? How do you unite your teams under shared goals when live meetings are no longer ubiquitous?