Husband. Father. Son.
I am most vulnerable when I think and talk about parenting. A challenge for any leader. I’m met with the most forvgiving, understanding and honest wife on the planet. Michelle keeps us all in check and well supported. My kids are adventurous, courageous, and exciting(able) people who share their talent of being loud with their Dad - Kate (14), Megan (12), Thomas (9) and Peter (6). Mozie (our dog) not pictured but ever so loved.
My family fills my heart with love. When you come to work armed with this, you can meet everything with a new outlook. Even post-pandemic when everyone - patient, colleague, friends, children - are suffering burnout, love will drive us forward.
Son.
My mom is a retired nurse. Her influences are strong in my everyday work in the hospital and leadership. This story speaks to the nurse that my mother was proud to be. I am a product of the value-based care my parents provided me and will be grateful for the same lessons and care they teach my children. She always put the patient at the centre with work ethic and attention to be admired by generations.
Ben Zander has taught me so many lessons they are hard to list. Many of them in his online teaching, many more from the book written by Rosamand Stone Zander and Ben, and even more in person. They have taught me about love, friendship, believing in others, possibility, being a contribution as the sole aim in life, and about leadership perhaps most of all. I am deeply influenced by their teaching and Ben’s mentorship. Such a surprise. Ben is a tremendously generous leader. The Art of Possibility is a bible for leaders of today.
Many balls in the air, many loves, hopeful for clarity of choices and direction that grows with time.
The pandemic has challenged me and every healthcare professional. My journey in my career, short as it has been, has been a gift. In every opportunity, I have encountered mentors, leaders, people who have taken time to teach me and guide me. I am eternally grateful to my many mentors and the many fantastic leaders I have encountered.
One thing that is crystal clear for me in this journey of post-pandemic care is that this will be a system leadership challenge demanding the perspective of a meta-leader with a laser focus on the patient. I am grateful for what I have learned through this crisis but I will not be sad to say goodbye to it.
Meta-Leadership
“The overarching prefix meta- encouarges you to seek a bigger picture. You perceive beyond the obvious toward an understanding for how multiple connected factors act and interact with one another. WIth that, you begin to grasp the complexity of what is going on and you take action.” (Marcus, You’re It) Coin from the Completion of The National Preparedness Leadership Institute at Harvard University.