A little while back, I was walking to the elevator in the parking garage when I realized the elevators were broken. As I headed to the stairs, I passed one of our facilities team members in a rush to fix the problem.

“Don’t worry, it’s good for us to walk sometimes,” I told him.

“It’s good for team members, but for our patients, especially those in wheelchairs, they really need it,” he replied.

He was running; he was booking it. And that is what I love. That is what impresses me the most about all of our team members: They know our mission. They connect to our mission.

In my first year at Moffitt Cancer Center, I have enjoyed talking to people in all roles at the cancer center. In my mind, there is no hierarchy. I can prove with a genetic sequencer that we are all 99.9% the same, whether you are a CEO or a food services employee. You just have different experiences that get you to where you are in life.

So, when it comes to leading our more than 7,500 team members, I don’t see myself on a higher pedestal than anyone else. I want everyone to feel they can approach me, take a selfie with me, talk to me — because we are all in this together.

I have been fortunate to meet many great role models and leaders in my life. Growing up my mother was so influential to me, and Dr. Steven Rosenberg at the National Cancer Institute and the late Dr. Waun Ki Hong at MD Anderson guided me early in my medical career. Out of all the lessons they have taught me, I have found one that rises to the top: You have to learn first to lead one person. And that person is yourself.

To lead yourself, you have to be able to understand your mind and its motivations and intents. We all have that voice inside our heads telling us we aren’t good enough, but we have to learn to quiet those thoughts and decrease fear. In today’s world, that can be challenging. We are constantly surrounded by social media comments and different awards and accolades. We have all these ways to measure success, and while they are important tools, we cannot live by these metrics and the need for external validation. 

If we lead with fear, we make reactive decisions. In high pressure or stressful times — which many leaders experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic — it is extremely important to listen to others. However, that does not mean you should let what people think of you affect how you think of yourself. The only person who truly knows yourself, what you are capable of and what you have done is you.

To me, to be a leader means to demonstrate self-practices to quiet the mind, decrease the fear and live from the inside out. You must be confident and lead with inspiration and motivation with the goals of showing all you lead how they connect to your group’s mission. I am most proud when I see people like the facilities worker at the elevator. That is a leader’s true proof of success.