Difficult patients, difficult colleagues, difficult bosses, difficult relationships, I’ve had them all. Avoiding challenging situations and conversations has not been an option. Working in and running one of the largest emergency departments in the country, I have cared for thousands of acute and chronically ill patients and seen first-hand the consequences of poor decision-making and poor health, both physical and emotional. People are sick, bleeding, suffering, and dying. And it hasn’t always been especially pleasant in business and professional environments where I’ve been an executive and leader for both multibillion dollar companies as well as start-ups. We’re dying there too – literally and figuratively; a slower, though not necessarily a less painful death – one not only of the mind, but of the soul and spirit.
In order to be and feel healthy and effective, I have had to research, learn and integrate skills and systems to not only optimize my own performance, but also to improve the status of those I have led, coached and cared for. Furthermore, and at a turning point in my own life, I have decided that in addition to managing acute patients as an emergency physician, I want to move “up-stream,” and help people before deep or irreconcilable disease (dis-ease) sets in. My aim is to share not only what I have learned as a physician, executive and leader, but also as the beneficiary of coaching. I have personally experienced the power of learning new skills and partnering in this way with someone who has my back, and helps to ask and answer the most critical questions: who do I want to be, how do I want to feel, what really matters most, and what path will I take?
How can we stay healthy (body, mind and soul) and serve others without feeling depleted? It requires the same degree of expertise and specificity that we bring to our work every day. Through decades of education, experience and careful cultivation I have been able to continuously serve others, “thrive” and “lean-in” with intentional and comprehensive practices cultivating empathy, clarity and calmness – key traits for an emergency physician, an executive and for all of us.
I don’t pretend to have all the answers, but I focus on staying curious and asking the important questions, including those that are personally difficult, with patience, courage and guidance. With me you will have a conversation with someone who listens, knows and is responsive to what you are talking about and knows from broad-based experiences what he is talking about.
Effective, efficient and no BS; just honest, thoroughly curated and cultivated evidenced-based expertise – working for and with you!
