Nicole L. Holland

I attribute much of my drive and success to my parents, who were consistently supportive of both me and my older sister. My father always emphasized that it does not matter what we choose to do, as long as we try to be the best at it. That mindset has stayed with me throughout my career. When I face something new or experience fear or imposter syndrome, I remind myself of challenges I have successfully navigated in the past. I then tell myself to try, and trust in my past history that I can handle whatever comes next. One of my mentors once told me, "When you want something, you don't stop."

You need to find people that are at your same level or above that you can talk with, vent to and share experiences with because, you are all going to be going through the same things and need a safe space with someone who can relate.

My advice to younger women is to recognize that every experience has value, including difficult experiences and encounters with leaders you would not want to emulate. I did not receive much mentorship from women early in my own career, and some of those challenging experiences taught me the type of leader I did—and did not—want to become. I believe women should share information, collaborate, support one another, and help each other advance rather than viewing one another as competition. There is room for everyone to succeed. I also encourage women to learn from every experience, use difficult situations as opportunities to understand the kind of leader they want to become, and recognize their own potential. With the rise of AI, it's important to still become skilled at interpersonal communication. AI might be able to prep your opening bullet points, but you need to be able to handle it from there...and in a skillful way. Word choices and body language matter.

One of the opportunities I see is helping people develop stronger communication and leadership skills, particularly in situations where prepared talking points are not enough. AI can be extremely useful for efficiency and preparation, but it cannot replace the human side of communication. There is a significant opportunity to help healthcare professionals communicate effectively with their patients, set appropriate expectations, lead teams, navigate difficult or productive conversations, and respond thoughtfully when discussions do not go as planned. I am particularly interested in the potential to use my experience working with professionals, clinicians, and leadership teams to help people become more effective communicators. Public speaking and career coaching are also areas I see as meaningful opportunities and skills that I have polished over the years. As healthcare and technology continue to evolve, I believe maintaining the human connection, possessing foundational skills (not soft skills) of Emotional Intelligence, understanding other's preferred communication styles, and developing the ability to have productive conversations will remain essential.

I value mentorship, collaboration, communication, leadership development, continuous learning, and supporting others. I believe strongly in helping people recognize their potential and creating environments where individuals can learn, grow, and succeed together.

I also value resilience and perspective. Some of the most difficult experiences in my career ultimately led me toward new opportunities, greater leadership responsibilities, and increased influence. Those experiences reinforced for me that a setback does not necessarily mean the end of a path; sometimes a door closes and creates an opportunity to move toward something new.