I wish there was a way to learn and change behavior without being uncomfortable. And yet it's like a really good indicator that we're growing when we don't want discomfort for discomfort sake. When you're doing something that you know you need to be doing and you feel a little bit at discomfort and that fear, you're on the right path. I love that thought is that's how we grow.
Kathy Fiddler: TidalHealth
Kathy Fiddler is the Vice President of Population Health for TidalHealth, a non-profit two hospital health care system on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. She has been instrumental in building community programs supporting improved access to healthcare services on the lower shore.
Kathy is a registered nurse and a retired Major in the United States Air Force Reserve. She served for 26 years in the US and abroad and supported Operation Restore Hope, Operation Desert Storm, and Operation Enduring Freedom. She is also a lifetime member of the Reserve Officers Association and a board member for the United Way of the Lower Eastern Shore. In 2019, she was recognized as one of the Top 100 Women in Maryland. She's also an alum of the Coaching for Leaders Academy.
In this conversation, Kathy and I discuss her career growth over time from mostly clinical and operational work to leading at the executive level. We explore how being intentional about surrounding oneself with a diverse set of voices helps to both build confidence and surface better outcomes. Finally, we look at how working through discomfort in service of others can help us to make the world better through our work.
Key Points
The work of a leader is very different than the operational and technical work most of us did earlier in our careers.
Having a smaller meeting before a larger meeting can help a more introverted leader engage in the way they want.
We sometimes sell ourselves short by concluding we won’t add value. By leaning into that discomfort, we find it’s often the case that others struggle with similar fears.
Shifting from having the right answers to asking the right questions will help a leader to uncover what may have been unsaid that’s critical.
Finding communities of other leaders helps you to find the diversity of perspective to support you building your own confidence.
Related Episodes
Create Margin Through Intentional Leadership, with Amy McPherson (episode 429)
Personal Leadership is a Journey, with Michal Holliday (episode 436)
Lead Best by Being You, with Elena Kornoff (episode 474)
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