The Conversation That Changed Her Mind

A mentor once challenged me to stop asking, "How can I fix this?" and instead ask, "Why does this keep happening?" That shift changed how I lead. I became more focused on root causes, accountability, and building solutions that prevent problems rather than constantly reacting to them.

Several years ago, I was presented with a job opportunity and discovered that I would be working with someone I had worked with in the past. Our previous experience had not exactly left me eager for a reunion! My first instinct was to turn down the opportunity, but after giving it some thought, I decided not to let one past experience determine what could happen next. Also, I reminded myself that while we had not always connected well personally, we had been able to work together effectively as members of a clinical team and, in fact, that team had experienced great success. I accepted the position, and I'm glad I did. It became a valuable experience that contributed to my professional growth. I learned that we don't have to connect personally with everyone to work well together. Through honest communication, mutual respect, and healthy professional boundaries, we were able to work successfully as part of the same clinical team. The experience reminded me that sometimes growth begins when we are willing to move beyond our initial discomfort and remain open to a different outcome.

In pharma, I've learned that some of the best conversations happen when I stop trying to deliver my message and really listen to the HCP. One conversation challenged me to look beyond the clinical data and understand what was truly important to that provider and their patients, which changed the way I approached the relationship and helped me build greater trust.

Sometimes the conversation that changes you most is the one where you stop trying to be right and start trying to understand. I walked away realizing that listening with an open heart can change not only your perspective, but also the way you see people.

After months of conversations I believed their words, until panic of failure changed their culture overnight.

I was terrified of making a presentation to a CEO of a large tech company I had never met before early in my career. He seemed larger than life, ran a top-rated national company, why would he want to hear from a little non-profit nobody like me? When I entered his office building, there was a nerf gun war raging up on the 2nd floor, people hiding behind doors and pillars, one of those soft bullets landed at my feet, I picked it up and handed it to his 2nd in charge; and learned my most important lesson: leave pre-conceived notions at home and don't take yourself too serious. We all put our pants on the same way and at the end of the day, even a CEO loves some nonsense!