This year’s Medicare Marketing & Sales Summit opened with a women’s leadership panel that focused on how to lead with clarity during times of change. The wide-ranging dynamic discussion covered insights on mindset, prioritization, motivation, purpose, and the growing role of artificial intelligence (AI) across Medicare marketing and enrollment.
Moderator Peggy Sullivan, a productivity strategist and creator of the Busy Busting Framework, opened the session by asking the panelists how they “show up” when surrounded by power and pressure.
“The number one thing is to focus on what you can control, and we just need to show up and do the best we can,” said Martina Lee Strickland, head of marketing, public relations, and brand for Clever Care Health Plan.
With more than 20 years of experience building and scaling Medicare businesses across U.S. markets, she emphasized the importance of staying calm, pausing before reacting, and creating space to think strategically.
How to prioritize when every issue feels urgent
Sullivan then asked Cristi Vredenburg, vice president of enrollment, product, and marketing for ATRIO Health Plans, how she manages competing priorities across multiple departments.
Drawing from her past leadership roles within the organization, Vredenburg shared that her early attempts to give every department equal attention quickly proved unrealistic.
She now prioritizes based on three factors: impact, timing, and risk.
During the annual enrollment period (AEP), for instance, enrollment takes precedence over product or marketing. “I had to shift my mindset and stop trying to treat every department and team equally,” Vredenburg explained.
“The loudest issue isn’t always the most important one.” This approach allows her to operate strategically rather than reactively, conserving time and energy.
How to motivate teams under pressure
The panel then explored how leaders can maintain morale when expectations are high.
“Expectation is always going to be high,” Strickland said. For her, the key is reconnecting to purpose. “When you feel really strong about what you can do and the impact you bring to the organization, that matters.” She noted the importance of supportive teams, trusted peers, and environments that reinforce shared goals.
Sullivan shared a recent statistic: 78 percent of health care professionals report a loss of purpose. She encouraged leaders to reconnect with their core values, such as relationship-building, energy management, and growth, to find clarity and sustainability. We get so complicated about what our values are, but when you keep it simple, it works,” she said.
How to remain authentic and effective
Throughout the discussion, the panelists also touched on impostor syndrome, busyness versus effectiveness, and the importance of setting boundaries. Their shared message: strong leadership requires self-awareness, intentional decision-making, and the ability to focus on what truly moves the needle.
How to use AI as a leadership tool
The conversation ended with a look at the expanding role of AI.
“AI is everywhere,” Sullivan said. “We can ignore it, or we can embrace it.” She admitted she hadn’t always been comfortable with technology but recently relied on AI to help craft opening statements for six conferences in two weeks. “When you lean into it, it’s amazing what you can do in less time.”
Her advice if AI intimidates you: Just try it.
For Vredenburg, AI’s value lies in automation. Improving automation on the enrollment side has enabled her teams to spend less time troubleshooting and more time on strategic planning. Strickland emphasized the importance of ensuring AI solutions are the right fit for the organization.
“When I look at a problem, I’m hopeful that AI can help augment processes to solve some of the problems,” Vredenburg said. “Can AI increase memory retention? Can it look at marketing results and really drill down into things we can’t see at a high level?” She stressed the importance of engaging compliance, legal, and IT teams early in the process while keeping human judgment central.