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Most of the time, our environment, the challenges we face, and the risks we take define our leadership and contribute to molding it. My attitude toward leadership has been changed by some of the lessons I have endured. Those lessons gained tremendous relevance and significance in my life as I entered the healthcare industry with Reset Medical and Wellness Center. And here, I'd love to share four of the most significant leadership lessons I've learned along the way.
1. Take calculated risks
In leadership, playing safe will get you nowhere — it naturally involves taking risks to grow and drive innovation. I've seen how taking calculated risks has positively changed my life and business throughout my career. For instance, when I was navigating my previous company's challenges, including COVID-19, I then ventured into a completely new industry with the launch of Reset Medical and Wellness Center.
When I decided to open Reset, I was driven by a passion for helping individuals struggling with mental health, PTSD, menopause, Long COVID and other similar conditions. However, given I was not a doctor, passion was not enough to make it through. This challenge required me to find a doctor who had the same vision of providing healing and hope to as many people as possible.
Leadership requires strategically managing risks while staying true to your vision and values. Sometimes, it forces you to step outside your safe place, discover the unfamiliar, and be willing to fail forward. As my friend and mentor, John Maxwell, says, "Fail Forward."
Related: 10 Leadership Lessons From Successful CEOs
2. Challenges are inevitable — but they can be overcome
Challenges are impossible to avoid in leadership; they come at you from everywhere and frequently at the worst times. Most workplace leaders confront this reality. However, over time, I've realized that obstacles are sometimes disguised as opportunities.
During the pandemic, I witnessed firsthand the value of critical thinking and adaptation mechanisms. For example, when we faced a potential sale to a private equity group, it forced us to pivot and seize the opportunity simultaneously, all because we deeply value our client's shifting needs. It was a sink-or-swim situation, and there was no playbook to follow, as most businesses (and families) were in the same situation. It was our mission that kept the company afloat against all odds.
Although different, the challenges were equally daunting when Reset was just starting off. Breaking into the healthcare industry without a medical background was the main obstacle I had to overcome — I knew I couldn't do it alone. So, finding the right doctor to be my partner was key.
These experiences hammered home three of my principles to date: stay focused on your mission, be ready to adapt, and build a strong team to remain flexible. Collaboration has been everything, and the collective strengths of the people around me make even the most intimidating obstacles insurmountable.
Related: 3 Key Challenges and Opportunities for New Leaders
3. Cultural values drive sustainable success
If my career has taught me one thing thus far, culture is the backbone of every corner of my business. Everything works like magic when your team is aligned with your values and vision. It starts with attracting the right crowd and building genuine client relationships.
Take my previous company, for instance. My team and I put a ton of effort into building a strong, values-driven culture, and it paid off big time. That shared sense of purpose helped us roll with punches, especially during the pandemic. What's more, it made us an attractive acquisition for a private equity firm.
I am now putting all I learned into practice. Since day one, I've worked hard to build a skilled and fully committed team to our goals. This approach is already yielding outstanding results, and I am confident that it will continue to drive our success in the near future. I occasionally take a step back and marvel at the wonderful team we've created, and their commitment to providing hope and healing in a patient-centered manner will undoubtedly set us apart from the competition.
Most companies underappreciate cultural fit, but leaders must remember that it's one of the foundations of success. Hire slowly, fire fast, and don't let people who don't buy into the culture and mission stick around. They will eventually be the impetus of a declining culture. Cultural fit helps create an environment where both the people and the business flourish, and in our case, the patients feel it.
4. Purpose over profit
At Reset, we demonstrate that leadership is more than just the bottom line. Every time a patient walks in, we make sure to give them something significant, something that will truly make a difference in their lives. From the time we received our first client in April of 2024, I knew that starting a purpose-driven business would position us for success.
From the beginning, I ensured that everyone on the team knew our vision and objective. It's simple yet powerful: we're here to bring hope and healing. These are not simply empty words on a page. When we crafted our mission statement, we asked ourselves, "If you heard someone in a restaurant talking about Reset in the booth behind you, what would you want them to say?" This collaborative approach has helped us build a mission that truly resonates with our patients and providers every single day.
Related: How Your Leadership Style Impacts Your Business Goals
Purpose-driven leadership
Effective leadership involves helping others through uncertainty, making educated decisions, and creating an environment where everyone feels valued and motivated. These ideas are more than simply theoretical at Reset; they actively shape our approach, particularly as we navigate the complicated terrain of global health concerns and the larger healthcare landscape.
As we grow, I am deeply committed to continuing to learn and adapt while employing what I've learned to promote our goal of delivering healing and hope to people in need. Leadership, to me, is more than merely managing an organization; it is about having a significant influence. It's about inspiring those around you, working with a strong sense of purpose, and leaving a legacy that extends beyond the confines of any clinic or institution.
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