Let me share some snippets of my expertise with you. I hope you find them useful and if you would like to chat more, just…
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Enhance your presence
One of the biggest challenges new leaders face is stepping into management without ever being taught how to lead.
In my latest video, I share a simple yet powerful approach for your first days as a leader: slow down, listen deeply, and take the time to understand your team before making changes.
Watch this short video to better understand how listening first can help you build trust, gain insight, and lead with greater confidence.
Try weaning yourself from PowerPoint. Use less and less over time. When you do use slides, limit them to a word or two, maybe three. This way, the slide becomes a visual cue instead of a treatise to be read. You and your expertise become the conveyance, the show, the meaning, and the message.
You are the expert they selected. They want your perspective, your take on things. You can always send them the details later. Right now, your job is to deliver a message that engages them and then creates opportunities for them to engage as well, not only through Q&A but also in small groups.
Remember: they are experts too.
Avoid, at all costs, the familiar "turn to your neighbor and..." Instead, get people on their feet and have them form groups of three with anyone but their neighbor. In large groups, I often say, "And just for fun, let's do this in total silence."
You are not as important as your audience. Coaches often use the mantra WAIT: Why Am I Talking?
That's not a bad mantra for those of us on the platform, either. We learn very little by sitting, receiving, and, frankly, judging. In small groups, I'm not judging. I'm co-presenting. I'm engaged and aware. This can easily be coupled with time for the audience to process ideas together.
Recently, I listened to a well-known business author, one of my favorites. We even use his book in my university classes. He delivered a 90-minute lecture on his "new book." I don't remember a thing about the presentation except that I think he used the phrase "my new book" about 38 times, maybe 42. I lost count.
What was his takeaway message? As best I could tell, it was: "Buy my book." It could have been so much more. It could have been about us.
One of the biggest leadership challenges is knowing when to help and when to step back.
As leaders, it's natural to want to solve problems for our teams. But the most impactful leadership comes from helping people discover their own solutions.
In this short video, I share a powerful analogy that can help leaders coach more effectively, strengthen accountability, and avoid getting stuck carrying problems that aren't theirs to solve.
One of the most dangerous signs in leadership is a room that's always in agreement.
People who don't feel safe often stop sharing what they're really thinking. They smile, nod, and move on, while the most valuable conversations never happen.
In this short video, I talk about creating an environment where people feel comfortable speaking up, challenging ideas, and contributing fully.
Watch the full video to learn how great leaders build trust.
Select a word or phrase to linger over.
At meetings, in your presentations, perhaps even in casual conversations, what is the one word or phrase you want others, and yourself, to remember most?
In our church, the priests give 3-minute homilies on weekdays and 7-minute homilies on Sundays. One of them often selects a single word or phrase to emphasize. He opens with it and closes with it. Memorable.
A pharma leader I know did the same thing by highlighting the theme of a meeting at the beginning and returning to it at the end.
The classic TV show Columbo began by showing us who the murderer was and closed with the arrest. The mystery revolved around the detective's thinking.
We can start any meeting, and I emphasize any meeting, with: “It's so good to see you,” or “Thank you for meeting with me today.” As one physician said to me, “We have all the time we need today so I can answer all the questions you might have.”
Even if the person is a devoted enemy of yours, you can still begin this way.
And regardless of how the meeting goes, you can still close with: “I'm so happy we were able to discuss this today. Although it may not be resolved today, I am confident that both of us can work over the next few days to resolve it. Thank you for having the energy to meet today.”
You could also substitute a variation of courage or candor for the word energy.
When was the last time someone thanked you for disagreeing with them?
Burnout is a word I hear all the time when working with medical and pharmaceutical professionals. But what if burnout isn't just about working too hard? What if it's a signal that you've become disconnected from the parts of your work that once energized you?
In this short video, I share a powerful lesson from a surgery professor, an honest conversation with a pilot, and a simple question we should all be asking ourselves: What is actually burning me out, and what am I doing to stay connected to what I find most rewarding?
Watch the short video to discover a new perspective on burnout and how to reconnect with meaningful work.
We are constantly being interviewed. Those first few moments of an interaction are especially vital. We are sizing each other up. Consciously and unconsciously, we are deciding how this interaction might go. We are looking for some kind of connection, whether it's with a fast-food clerk, a hotel clerk, or my boss's boss.
I have lost count of the number of times I've asked someone what they do and been met with the answer, "Sales." Full stop.
How do I respond to that?
At one extreme, they could launch into a long-winded elevator speech that rings of "me, myself, and I" (for me, the equivalent of projectile vomiting). At the other, they could do what one elevator companion once did with me and begin with a question:
"You know those plastic clamshell containers they use in grocery stores and restaurants for takeout? That's what I sell... and has that industry changed! How about you?"
Nice. Now we have the start of a conversation.
A friend told me that air marshals, when asked what they do, want to avoid conversations at all costs so they can stay alert. Their answer?
"I sell life insurance."
Not particularly wrong (!) but definitely a conversation killer.
So, what do you do? Who do you do it for? And what's new in your world? A one-word answer rarely creates a connection. A thoughtful answer, one that invites curiosity and conversation, often does.
Executive presence is often misunderstood. It's not about titles, credentials, or the letters after your name. It's about how you make people feel and the impact you have in every interaction.
In this short video, I share why true executive presence comes from listening, elevating others, and learning from leaders around you. No matter your age, tenure, or position, you have the opportunity to be a catalyst for positive change and be recognized as someone who leads with influence and purpose.
🎥 Watch the video to discover how you can develop executive presence by focusing on others and increasing your impact.
"You taught me something today."
"I learned an important lesson from you today."
"I was impressed when you said ______."
"I noticed ______ about you today."
"Thank you for modeling ______ for me today."
These are small things that encourage.
I was lost arriving at LAX recently, assuming it would be the same airport I remembered from five years ago. Not so much. I asked a transportation aide, who was pushing a wheelchair passenger, how to get to baggage claim. "Follow us," she said.
As we wove through elevators, corridors, and a few long stretches, we engaged in light conversation. As we approached the destination, I turned to her and pressed a $20 into her hand and said, “You taught me something today about not only giving directions but taking the time to lead the way. Thank you.”
She tried to return it, but I would have none of that. The three of us parted ways, and I resolved to be more like her.
We probably don’t always need ‘feedback’ that threatens or corrects as much as we need to know how we may have helped someone grow.
Starting a new role, whether you're early in your career or bringing years of experience, is an opportunity to shape how others see you. Curiosity, thoughtful questions, and active participation can help you establish credibility and build connections from day one.
In this short video, I share practical advice on how to make a strong impression, contribute with confidence, and take control of your professional brand in a new organization.
🎥 Watch the video to learn how small, intentional actions can make a lasting impact.
We've all been there. Someone at work rubs us the wrong way. Maybe it's a colleague, a team member, or even our boss.
When that happens, it's easy to turn inward—to feel resentment, disengage, or even start polishing our resume. But what if there was a different approach?
What if, instead of focusing on why we don't connect with someone, we became genuinely curious about them? Where did they learn their values? What experiences shaped their perspective? What are they trying to accomplish?
Alfred Adler famously encouraged us to "see with their eyes, hear with their ears, and feel with their heart." When we do that, understanding begins to replace assumptions, and relationships have a chance to grow.
In this short video, I share why curiosity is often the first step toward stronger professional relationships and better leadership.
Watch the full video to learn how being genuinely interested in others can transform the way you connect, communicate, and collaborate.
Dr. Hans H. Moosa, MD, handed me his business card many years ago. On the front was a picture of Spider-Man; on the back, his contact information.
As he gave it to me, he said, "Kevin, with great power comes great responsibility."
I still have that card, and I carry it with me every day. It's a great reminder of him and the message he lived by.
If you were designing a new business card today, what would you put on it that someone would want to keep for years?
One of my favorite Chief Medical Officers held a 3-hour meeting every Monday with his direct reports. He asked each person to bring just a 100-word summary of where they were stuck and what help they needed.
He compared leadership to a car stuck in a ditch:
It doesn't matter how the car got there. One person can drive, but it takes 3 or 4 people behind it to help push it out and get it moving again. I thought that was a genius way to run a meeting.
🎥 In this short video, I share why the best leaders are the kind of people that get behind that car and give it a push.
I was recently in a hospital where a new CEO had just been appointed. I asked a nurse manager what she thought of the new leader.
"Don't know. She's MIA. Mostly in her office. Wasn't even at the volunteer luncheon. She must have better things to do."
It made me wonder: how does that feedback ever reach the CEO?
How does someone communicate the importance of rounding, getting out of the office, meeting people, and becoming a familiar face throughout the organization?
Then again, maybe she's operating under a different mandate from those who hired her: stabilize the finances, improve margins, address a union initiative, make difficult staffing decisions. Those priorities can certainly keep a leader behind a desk.
Or perhaps those goals are best accomplished by building relationships with the people on the front lines.
When you lead a team, how much of your week is spent in your office, and how much is spent with the people who can help strengthen the culture, stabilize performance, and advance the mission?
The role of a leader isn't just to be visible. It's to be known.
Years ago, when I was teaching actors at Columbia College, Nora Dunn (SNL) sat with my students on the floor and shared an important lesson:
"Your job is not to please the audience. Your job is to engage the audience. In the engagement is where they will be pleased."
The same is true in leadership. We engage people by focusing outward: showing up early, shaking hands, asking questions, learning what matters to others, and genuinely caring about their experience. That's where connection happens.
🎥 In this short video, I share why engagement is one of the keys to being a successful leader.
We hear this a lot in medicine, but it also applies to leadership.
If you want to truly learn something, teach it. In this short video, I share a simple way to accelerate your growth by leaning into that mindset.
Take a minute to watch the video below:
Want presentations with your staff to be engaging, even when the content feels dry? In this video, you’ll discover how to bring natural, authentic humor into your meetings without forcing jokes or trying to be a comedian. Learn why the best humor often come from your audience, how small moments can turn into connection, and how personal stories can change the way people engage with you.
If you’ve ever wondered how to loosen up a room, create true interaction, and make your message stick, this is for you.
Watch the video to see how to turn everyday moments into memorable, engaging presentations.
We’ve all heard that storytelling matters in leadership. But here’s what most people get wrong…
They choose stories that are interesting to them, but not to the audience.
I see it all the time. Leaders default to sports analogies because they enjoy them… while half the room is quietly disengaging.
Great storytelling is about being relatable and the most effective stories tend to be the simplest ones about real people.
In this short video, I discuss how you can find the essence of an effective story.
Two things can be true at the same time, even when they seem like opposites. I once heard this from a policy expert when a reporter was trying to pin him down on a political issue. How much of our lives are framed as “this or that,” “either/or,” “yes or no,” or “right and wrong”? These polar opposites may not need to be so rigid. Perhaps two things can exist together. Maybe we can talk with our neighbors without falling into a “me versus them” mindset. Perhaps we can both exist together—not in spite of holding different beliefs, but simply because we can.
What about you—are there two things that can be true at the same time, even though at first blush they seem to be opposites? Alfred Adler suggested that opposites don’t attract—complementaries do. It’s similar to folding your hands together: each finger may appear opposite, yet it complements the others, creating strength.
Two highly driven surgeons I know, both on their second marriage, made a simple agreement before difficult conversations:
They ask each other one question first: “Do you want support, or do you want solutions?”
In this short video, I connect this idea to leadership: When we’re intentional about our approach, in conversations or meetings, we create space for both support and problem-solving. It’s how teams become a community working together.
Take a minute to watch and reflect: What’s your intention when you walk into your next meeting?
