Kristi Annes

I think I have a really strong work ethic. I come to work, and I do my job, and I want to show up every day as my best self, being genuine and authentic to who I am. Showing up in that way helps others show up in the same way and gives them permission to be their authentic selves. I think that we get the best work out of people when we allow them to express themselves, their creativity, their ideas and suggestions in a place that is supportive of that kind of culture. That's the kind of team that I've built. I try to have empathy with my team for the fact that, like, at the end of the day, they're all people, and they have feelings and needs and problems out of work just like I do. Humanizing that with them allows them to come to work and know that it's a place for them to be themselves, and to work through the challenges that they have in any aspect of their life, and then know that they have the support to do their work and show up as their best selves so they can do the best work that they possibly can.

I think that it's everything is negotiable. One of the things that I think women fail to recognize is their ability to ask for what they want, because the worst thing that can happen is that somebody will say no. That comes in terms of asking for time off, or asking for a promotion, or a raise, or negotiating your salary when you're doing a new job. People look at these things as fixed items in an Excel sheet or in other people's minds, and it's really important to remember that most of the time, anything can be negotiated, to where compromise can be found, and both parties walk away mutually happy with the result. It takes time in your career to kind of learn that, and I think that was good advice that I got early on that helped me navigate some really tricky situations throughout my career.

Be bold. Show up, be bold, share your ideas, don't be the person sitting in the corner of the room, not suggesting an idea that you have, or questioning something that doesn't make sense. Raise your hand and ask the question. Share the idea, because you never know what kind of trajectory it'll take you on.

I think there's a lot of opportunity in healthcare right now. It is, of course, extremely critical to us as people. We use healthcare every day, our family members use healthcare, and I think we could all agree, probably unanimously, that there's a lot that is out there to improve in the healthcare system in the U.S. right now. It's gonna take the ideas of people like us working in companies that are created to drive meaningful change to help make the system better so that we can care for our loved ones and our communities, to a greater degree. In healthcare, there's so much room for improvement, the sky's the limit.

I think honesty is really important to me. I'm a very direct person, and I think that being clear about what you want, or what your expectations are, or whatever it may be, being forthcoming about those things helps you get to execution and results a lot faster than dancing around a subject that may be awkward or uncomfortable to discuss, or that you think might make others uncomfortable to discuss. I think it's helpful to just get those things, to address those things head-on, so that we can just make the best next decision to move forward.