The keynote presentations at RISE West 2022 offered lessons on leadership as well as strategies on how to live a better life. If you were unable to attend the annual conference in Los Angeles, here are six quotes that may inspire you in your personal and professional lives.
On how to effect change
“What I like to do as a leader is surround myself with all types of people…diverse groups, high performers, middle of the road, intergenerational groups. It takes a democratic collaborative style to effect change. It doesn’t always work in a crisis. I did a lot of disaster management, which is more authoritarian. My style is more democratic and reflects my core philosophy. To effect change and improve lives of others, it has to include justice and has to be about equity. I create conditions for people to have opportunities to do well. Leadership and philosophy have to be integrated in that way.”
— Melanie A. Prince, MSN, BSN, RN, NE-BC, CCM, FAAN, former president, Case Management Society of America, and retired military colonel, U.S. Airforce, during her keynote address on “Learnings from Grief, Grit, and Focusing on the Light at the End of the Tunnel”
On dealing with conflicts
“I truly enjoy conflict management. It’s a great challenge because it’s an opportunity for growth… I call myself an accommodating negotiator. My Gen Z family members hate that. But I’m trying to understand the other person’s point of view. I believe in that…So when I deal with conflict, it helps other parties to walk in shoes of each other so they can experience the factors within that conflict.”
— Prince during her keynote address on “Learnings from Grief, Grit, and Focusing on the Light at the End of the Tunnel”
On giving back and creating opportunities for others to shine
“My why is to create conditions so that people can have an opportunity to excel and be whatever they want to be. It drives me every day. I’m grateful for my experiences. I had a lot of opportunities and a lot of people helped to make opportunities to make reality. My why is to give back.”
— Prince during her keynote address on “Learnings from Grief, Grit, and Focusing on the Light at the End of the Tunnel”
On winning as a team
“We were trained in corporate American not to share our personal lives but we saw in the last two years that is not real…If something is going on in individual’s life, try to solve the problem. It makes for a more powerful team. Practice thinking about how you can help your team mates so we win as a team not as individuals.”
— Kian Gohar, founder & CEO of Geolab, an innovation venture lab in Los Angeles that explores impact-driven innovation moonshots to tackle grand challenges, in his keynote address, “ Competing in the New World or Work”
On taking credit when it’s due
“I think we sometimes shy away from being our own best cheerleader. This is what I did. There is a lot of we in teamwork. Sure, but if you led it, let people know you led the team. You did and don’t make apologies about that. I was doing hard work and I was so concerned about being a team player, often the team fell apart when I was deployed. I learned the hard way I had to be loud about my accomplishments.”
— Prince during a panel discussion on “Empowering Women in Health Care”
On seeing the best in people
“When you see the light in people, if you see the best in someone, you get the best in someone . . . If we can be with those in need the most and see light in those people, we going to change the world.”
— Ryan Brolliar, founder and author of “The Music is Medicine Tour,” about his tour which included visits to all 50 states, 78 hospitals, and more than 1,500 patients in nine months