Conscious Leader – Richard Dale

In this insightful podcast episode, Naji engages in a thought-provoking conversation with Richard Dale, a seasoned leader with a background in startups, corporate groups, and executive coaching, particularly in healthcare. Richard reflects on his journey as a leader, describing a shift towards conscious leadership over the past 10 years. He emphasizes the importance of understanding leadership as the invisible medium that shapes organizational culture. Richard underscores the significance of psychological safety in fostering high-performing teams. He shares practical strategies, such as implementing root cause analysis, to create an environment where failures are examined without blame, contributing to a culture of continuous improvement. The discussion delves into the challenges and opportunities in healthcare innovation, with a focus on AI. Richard expresses enthusiasm for AI's potential to provide personalized information at the point of care, enhance diagnostics, and revolutionize drug development. Throughout the episode, Richard's wisdom shines, offering valuable insights for healthcare leaders navigating the complexities of their roles and striving for positive organizational impact.

"Leadership is what shapes culture, it is that invisible medium, which generates the currents, which very often, nobody really sees."

MEET OUR GUEST Richard Dale Executive Coach, Leadership and Impact Advisor, Board Member, Values-forward Leader, Innovator, Facilitator, Former President @ OptumLabs.

Richard Dale is a seasoned, values-driven executive leader known for his strategic acumen and operational excellence. Richard has consistently delivered proven results by translating vision into market realities in startup, large company, and non-profit contexts. His leadership strengths lie in building robust teams and fostering powerful relationships with diverse stakeholders, achieving meaningful and sustainable business outcomes.

Richard currently specializes in Executive and Leadership Coaching, Health Sector Advisory, Impact Consulting, and Team/Culture Facilitation. Richard has been an active coach for senior executives and high-potential leaders since 2000, emphasizing the invisible environment of leadership that significantly influences organizational success. Drawing on his diverse career experiences, he believes in creating awareness of rarely seen aspects of leadership and inspiring leaders to be the change for growth and success.

Until recently, Richard held executive roles within Optum (part of UnitedHealth Group) for over ten years, where he played a pivotal leadership role in founding and operating OptumLabs, and subsequently as a Senior Vice President for Health System Alliances in Optum, leading efforts for multi-billion-dollar cross-enterprise partnerships and innovation collaborations.

As COO and then President of OptumLabs, he spearheaded a big data research and innovation collaborative of 40+ complex partnerships, including Mayo Clinic, Harvard, Yale, Johns Hopkins, UMN, University of California, AARP, US Department of Health and Human Services (office of the CTO), Imperial College London, London School of Economics, and the National Health Service in the UK. Under Richard's leadership, OptumLabs delivered groundbreaking initiatives starting with hundreds of peer-reviewed scientific publications providing insights that led to improvements in various facets of the healthcare system, and data science innovations including real-time data exploration tools and deep-learning models.

With an earlier background at Sigma Partners VC and before that as co-founder of Phase Forward (acquired by Oracle), Richard has a wealth of experience in venture capital, entrepreneurship, and high-tech startups.

Beyond his professional work, Richard serves as a board member for Seeds of Peace, an interfaith and cross-border youth movement fostering peace-building initiatives globally. He previously served as the founding board chair for Adamah, the leading US Jewish environmental non-profit. Richard bakes sourdough challah and rides a recumbent bike. Richard has had at least one brush with fame: ask him how he came to have lunch with Bill Gates.

Join Richard as he shares not just his wealth of experience but the transformative moments that shaped his approach to leadership in healthcare. Discover how innovation, strategic partnerships, and a commitment to positive change can redefine the future of healthcare leadership. Get ready for an inspiring journey that transcends the ordinary, led by a speaker who has consistently turned vision into market realities.