Are You Showing Your Passion?

5/14/2019

Are You Showing Your Passion?
Recently I had the privilege of attending the 2019 Medical Alley Annual Dinner. Medical Alley Association board chair, Sheri Dodd, introduced the key message for the evening which was that the future of health care is collaboration and the collaboration exists beyond the clinic walls.

The annual dinner drew more than 1,000 attendees. It was an amazing networking opportunity as well as a place to have conversations with the best and brightest leaders working to solve the challenges we all are facing with health care in this country.

About Passion
What got me thinking about passion was Cindy Kent. She is a new Best Buy board member and former general manager with a health care division at 3M. Cindy is exceedingly passionate about what’s possible for health care and her ability to lead and influence at the board level of Best Buy.

Cindy is one of my dearest colleagues. She and I met a few years ago and had one of those instant-connection moments that continues today.

A Fire-side Chat
Cindy was part of the fireside-chat portion of the Medical Alley program. What I noticed was how the energy of her passion was contagious. It’s obvious she is well-qualified for her role and brings insights and experience that are second to none.

But when she spoke, the room listened in a more optimistic way. She allowed us all to experience a new level of interest, hope and engagement. We felt the power of her leadership.

Cindy mentioned how passionate she is about what Best Buy is doing to contribute its expertise to solving some of our nation’s health care challenges. She had my attention. I was silently wondering “What is Best Buy doing in health care?” I soon found out.

Innovation
Best Buy is taking an active role in exploring how their technology experience and connection with consumers in their homes can be applied to helping aging adults remain in their homes longer and more safely. Many caregivers today are in the workforce and need ways to check on aging loved ones that is proactive and linked to their smartphones. Best Buy is committing resources to figuring that out by working with innovative partners and helping make home a hub of care.

Passion Defined
Back to passion. I decided to look up the definition. The one I liked most is from UrbanDictionary.com. “Passion is when you put more energy into something than is required to do it. It is more than just enthusiasm or excitement; passion is ambition that is materialized into action to put as much heart, mind, body and soul into something as is possible.”

No Apologies
Don’t ever apologize for the passion you feel. Passion is contagious and we need more of it in our leaders today. It’s key to inspiration and determination.

Sometimes it takes a while for us to trust the passion that we feel. Be patient. I know it took me a while to acknowledge the passion I feel for working with women leaders. Now, I trust that passion within me one hundred percent.

Opportunities to Apply Passion
We are facing big challenges and big opportunities in all sectors of our world today. We need more leaders like Cindy Kent who are courageous enough to bring all of who they are to the table—and lead the way.

Keep up the awesome work, Cindy. We are watching, engaging and being inspired!