Melissa Bazzo

I have to say it's both a mix of my mom and dad. I was an only child, and even though they were there for me, I had to be as independent on my own as possible. I pride myself on being an independent person, and I've accomplished so much by age 48, but a lot of what I was able to accomplish even earlier than many, I'd have to say it's just because my parents had trust in me that I could be an independent person. My father was always on top, and I have to say, from both work and personal, I have a lot of his traits for accomplishments, but also just a big heart with things. And then my mom as well, she's an independent woman, and she's great at work things too, but she can sometimes be a little stern, which is okay. So I got a little bit mixed from both of my parents - the independence and determination from both of them, my father's drive for accomplishments and big heart, and my mom's independence and strength.

The best career advice I've received is to be true to yourself, and to take any feedback that you don't feel is positive and turn it into a positive and a growth step. I take pride in what I do each day, and sometimes maybe it's not 100% of what is needed, but you have to ensure that when someone gives you feedback, you listen to it and take it as them taking the time to share it with you. They just want you to be as successful as you want to be. It's not to put you down, it's to make you grow and go to that next level. So even when feedback feels negative, I've learned to see it as an opportunity for growth rather than criticism.

Don't doubt yourself. Look at what you want to do and don't second-guess yourself - I've done that before, and still sometimes do it now. Find what your passion is, and don't follow in other people's footsteps. If you feel that you have an idea, execute on it, because it could really take you to that next level. I know it sounds silly going back to that bingo thing, but if I didn't do that, I wouldn't have had the success of the outreach award across the entire state of Pennsylvania. Even a silly, small idea can really make you go to that next level and be bigger than what you think. I never thought I would be where I'm at right now, but I'm very blessed with every single journey. Put yourself in other people's shoes, because one day you may be there, and that's what I've done and walked through. I have to be transparent with you too - this industry is very male-dominated, no joke, and still to this day, I'll walk into a room and many people have always been older than me. I've always gotten the look because I was younger and had blonde hair, and they would judge the book by its cover, and it stinks, but it's real. But as soon as I was involved and asked to speak at meetings, as soon as I spoke, you could just tell the change, because they were learning from me, because I actually had the passion and the will to do something different and help. So my advice is to find out what that differentiator is that makes you stand out, figure it out, and execute on it.

I'd have to say, specifically in the Medicare space, your mission usually changes each year. You never know what CMS is going to bring down the pipeline, so you have to be adaptable to change, which is something I don't necessarily have an issue with, but it's a matter of sometimes timing - you don't really have a lot of time to execute on things. My biggest challenge is just not knowing certain things in advance so that we can ensure we are capturing and executing on what we can with our certain plans and options to offer to people who want to be a part of our plan. If you would have asked me previously when I was at UnitedHealthcare, I'd have to say the biggest challenge was growth within the organization. My role was stagnant, and I wanted to definitely stay, but then Aetna was able to bring me on in a growth role. And now with Peak, it's just ongoing growing, so I'd have to say it was being stagnant in my role, but now it's not.

Trust is the big part in everybody's circle, right? Trust and integrity. And just passion. I have to say that those are my first three words, and that would be for both personal and work. But then also, too, team. I think that following those four words each day for both personal and work just makes it a successful day each day. Trust, integrity, passion, and team - these values guide everything I do, whether I'm at work or in my personal life, and they're what I believe make the difference between just getting through the day and having a truly successful day.