Balanced Leadership

"Leadership is a choice, not a position"-Stephen Covey

Leadership is a calling that is embraced as an act of service. It is a choice one makes in order to create change. When that choice is made you must show up as your true, authentic self. There are 5 qualities that an authentic leader must possess in order to create change in their organizations, transform the lives of their teams, and impact communities. 

No. 1 Purpose

What is your purpose as a leader? Why do you do what you do? What fuels you and drives you to foster change? What do you believe in? What energizes you? Who do you want to help? Without a purpose, without a why, the road to success becomes much harder. People will follow you and remain loyal because of your why not because of what you bring. Answering the above questions will bring clarity to your role. It will help you push past adversity. It will shape and transform your journey.

No 2. Personality

Your personality is what makes you unique. It is the...

According to research by the Mayo Clinic in 2016, there were 9 strategies presented to help prevent physician burnout. One of the strategies is to provide resources to help individuals promote self-care.

As much as we don’t want to admit it, there is some responsibility that we have for fighting back against burnout. As physicians, we are taught not to ask for help and to put the needs of others before our own. Women are guiltier of this as they are also caregivers for their family members and carry the bulk of the responsibilities at home.  Unless we break the cycle of putting our needs last, we are going to continue to see high rates of burnout and increased exodus from the field of medicine.

What is Self-Care?

We are conditioned to think that self-care is all about massages, yoga, meditation. It’s much more than that. It’s a commitment you make to yourself to take care of your mind, body, and spirit. Self-care is as necessary as the air you breathe, so...

February is Heart Health Month; a time when we increase awareness about the effects of heart disease, especially in women. We know the statistics all too well. 1 out of 3 women die each year from heart disease. We also know that heart disease is preventable. We encourage our patients and loves ones to take care of their hearts by reducing their blood pressure and cholesterol levels, by eating healthy, exercising and reducing their stress level.

How much of this advice do we take on ourselves? When was the last time you checked in with yourself? How much stress are you dealing with right now? Stress is hard to quantify, but if you are having feelings of overwhelm on a daily basis, this chain of events can eventually lead to health problems and increase your risk for heart disease.

As women we spend so much time taking care of everyone else, that we put our own needs and sometimes our health on the back-burner. We are by nature caregivers, problem solvers and nurturers. We carry...

“It’s all about quality of life and finding a happy balance between work and friends and family.”- Philip Green

As a woman, nurturing your friendships can get lost in the hustle and bustle of your busy life. Pursuing or being in a leadership position comes with increased responsibilities and long work hours. Couple this with raising a family and trying to squeeze in some me-time, it can result in putting your friendships on the back burner.  The journey of graduating from college and then moving on to graduate school can change the way you live your life. You may have moved to a different, unfamiliar location which makes it difficult to sustain the close relationships that you once had with your friends. It also brings on the new challenge of trying to get to know new people and establish new friendships.

As a woman advances in her career, it’s important to maintain those friendships she had in her younger years. Your life will begin to take on new...

This article originally appeared on Thrive Global 

Physician burnout is not only a major medical crisis, but it has also become a public health crisis. Most physicians enter the field of medicine because they want to make a difference in the lives of the patients they serve, despite the long hours and time away from their family and friends. However, when it becomes difficult to keep up with the demands of longer hours, more administrative work, less time for family and social interactions and increased personal demands, they face the risk of burnout.  Some physicians will reach a point where they feel like leaving the profession that they once loved.

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The holidays are approaching fast and that means shopping, family gatherings, and office parties. The hustle and the bustle of the holidays can often lead to stress. Just thinking about the many things we must do to prepare for this special time of year can cause an overwhelming feeling. Holiday stress can also lead to irritability, emotional eating and anxiety. Below are some tips to stay stress-free and healthy during the holidays.

1. Have a schedule

 Stay organized with a to-do list or calendar that allows you to list your tasks for the day. This frees your mind from having to remember every detail and allows you to check off tasks as they are completed.  

2. Prioritize

When developing your to-do list, prioritize the things that are the most important to you and successfully complete those events first. It’s better to do less and be more efficient with less stress than to do more with a great deal of stress and inefficiency.

3. Get plenty of sleep

Lack of sleep can...

Today I had my annual mammogram and was reminded of the importance of practicing prevention.  I too, fell into the trap of not making this a priority. I was due earlier this year but never took the time to schedule it. After 2 letters from my primary care physician reminding me that my annual mammogram was due, I finally made the appointment. As a physician I know the importance of practicing prevention and preach this to everyone.

However, I fell into the trap of putting everything else first ahead of my own health. Never again. Today, I put a reminder in my phone for my annual screening next year and will not rely on a letter as a reminder to get this life saving test. After all, I am responsible for my own health, the CEO of my life and my own best advocate. The same goes for you.  

The article below was originally published 10/17/17 and now contains updated screening recommendations from ACS.

A screening mammogram not only can detect breast cancer...

Work-life balance is one of those phrases that either resonates with people or it doesn’t. It’s a term that often gets negative responses like; it’s not attainable, forget about it, balance doesn’t exist or it’s a myth. It also gets renamed to terms like work-life blend, work-life integration, work-life harmony. If what we are talking about is how to have work and our personal life coexist, what does it matter what we call it. I think we can all agree that the term work-life balance does not literally mean trying to equally distribute your time between work and your personal life.

Years ago, the term was used to make sure workers were getting a needed day off; where they were able to rest and not have to think about work. Fast forward to the digital age and now we have continual access to work.  We can now be ‘on’ 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The term work-life balance somehow began to take on the literal meaning, that you must...

“My happiness is tied to how I feel about myself. I want my girls to see a mother who takes care of herself.”- Michelle Obama

When we practice self-care, we teach our daughters to do the same. Our daughters are learning self-care by watching us. Historically, women’s needs have been suppressed and culturally, it was our role and responsibility to selflessly nurture those around us. This taught us to put others first and leave our needs for last. We, in essence, ignore what we need to help us live optimally. Therefore, it’s especially important that we model self-care for our daughters, so they don’t fall into the ways of the past.

Being a mother to two beautiful children is my greatest accomplishment. Not my medical degree, or the awards I have won, or the business I started and a whole host of other accolades; but the fact that I breathed life into two amazing human beings who changed my life forever. They taught me what it means to...

Self-care is not selfish is a popular statement these days. Women are starting to realize that time for themselves allows them to be better wives, mothers, sisters, friends and coworkers. Women often fall into the trap of not embracing self-care because the idea of putting themselves first is a difficult concept to grasp. But why is that? It’s because, historically, women have always taken care of others before themselves. Women have been taught this behavior and it has been reinforced by society for many years. Unless women break the cycle, they are going to pass down those behaviors and beliefs to their daughters and also their sons who will then have those same expectations in their marriage.

What is Self-Care?

It’s self-love and it’s self-respect. It’s a commitment you make to yourself to take care of your mind, body and spirit. Self-care is as necessary as the air you breathe, so it’s essential that you reject the belief that taking time for...