Carla Shade is an area vice president for Medxcel.

By Carla Shade

As a healthcare leader, my central goals include increasing inclusion and fighting for women. My leadership style is to bring color and diversity into the workplace to build amazing teams of people who each bring their own experiences, insights and perspectives to the table and represent the communities we serve.

With that diversity comes the need to adapt the way I interact with team members every day to fit their different personality types, which connects to one of our organization’s core values: integrity – inspiring trust through personal leadership.

Instead of approaching everyone the same way, I’ve found meeting them where they are can be a powerful tool of connection. I often help my associates understand the why behind decisions and guidelines by relating the reasoning back to them personally, which helps to motivate a change in behavior instead of forcing people to act a certain way.

In order to connect with my team members, I focus on developing mutual respect and allowing organizational values to guide interactions and decisions. Values help align our team with a common purpose, encouraging associates to feel more energized to give their best effort.

When people have a reason for what they do, their work quality increases and team connections strengthen because they are better able to find common ground as a team. My team works to enable safe and healthy environments, and every day, I’m inspired by coworkers who dedicate themselves to this purpose by going the extra mile to execute their work effectively, mentor others, commit to volunteerism work, or engage in small acts of kindness.

““Positivity and empathy are contagious, so taking the time to lead by example, support team members along their journey, share wisdom and enable creativity impacts the overall workplace environment.” —Carla Shade #PowerToChangeStories”

Carla Shade has over 20 years of healthcare leadership experience and currently serves as area vice president for Medxcel, covering Michigan, Wisconsin, New York, Maryland and Birmingham, Alabama. https://www.linkedin.com/in/carla-shade-combs-7b24a8118/ ; https://www.medxcel.com/about; https://outsidethepatientsdoor.com/episodes/s2-e10-value-driven-leadership-with-nick-marsico-a