Welcome to the Monthly Newsletter by Amer Kaissi  Edition #75, March 2026 Everyone knows Brené Brown, and she is out with a new book. In “Strong Ground: The… continue

In the amazing show The Pitt, ER Chief Dr. Robby constantly clashes with the Chief Medical Officer Gloria Underwood. Gloria repeatedly reminds Robby that his ER’s patient satisfaction… continue

We live in a very negative and divided world, made worse by social media and cable news. Many employees can’t help but bring some of that negativity with… continue

At a recent healthcare conference, a seasoned leader shared the following insight with me: “In healthcare, we always talk about having our clinical staff practice at the top… continue

The Franklin River is an iconic eighty-mile body of water that flows through the majestic wilderness of southwest Tasmania in Australia. Traveling the river by raft takes about… continue

Let’s examine the connection between your style as a leader and the outcomes that your organization can achieve. When you display open-mindedness, teachability, and low self-focus, you empower… continue

Compare and contrast authenticity with the example of Elizabeth Holmes, the founder of Theranos, a company that promised to revolutionize healthcare. Holmes dropped out of Stanford at age… continue

More than 80 years ago, the Austrian neurologist and psychologist Viktor Frankl wrote: “Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our… continue

Ego-driven leaders tend to make up stories when they are facing challenges in order to avoid taking personal responsibilities. When you encounter an upsetting situation, your ego may… continue

I shared this list last week as a gift with my newsletter readers. Since then, I have received many requests to make it public. In the interest of… continue

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, once declared in a senate testimony about Covid-19: “I am very careful, and hopefully humble… continue

Unfortunately, many leaders waste that time on social media and 24-hour cable news. A much better use of that time is to develop a book reading list, find… continue

“As we’re currently hurdling through the unknown of COVID 19, I am noticing a great deal of lack of ownership. Everything is so “untested” and “unsure” that I… continue

Imagine being dropped in the middle of a forest at 2:00 am. You need to find your way back while running or biking to a specific point on… continue

In the small town of Christchurch, New Zealand, a terrorist drove to a mosque and started shooting worshipers while live streaming the attack on Facebook. He then continued… continue

“Nuh-uh, I don’t believe it, man. I don’t see it.” Travis Kalanick, the young co-founder of Uber, pushed at his recently hired president Jeff Jones and the rest of… continue

Peter Drucker, the father of management, said: “You cannot manage other people unless you manage yourself first.” I totally agree and would add that you cannot lead other… continue

I was recently talking to a young healthcare executive when the conversation led to Executive Presence (EP). Nicole (not her real name), a petite minority woman explained how… continue

Despite the rise of rudeness and incivility in politics and in society in general, compassion is making a strong comeback in business and leadership. What does it mean… continue

“Powerful” by Patty McCord, is unlike any of the vanilla-flavored business books that I have recently read. Every chapter contains counter-intuitive and unorthodox advice on how to build… continue

A while ago, I had the great fortune of speaking to a select group of anesthesiologists and Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs).. These physicians and CRNAs are service… continue

Welcome to the Monthly Newsletter by Amer Kaissi  Edition #48, December 2023 Every year, I plan to read 65 books. Some years I manage to, others I don’t…. continue

Welcome to the Monthly Newsletter by Amer Kaissi  Edition #47, November 2023 Adam Grant is one my favorite authors and organizational psychologists. His first book “Give and Take”… continue

Two years ago, Mo was hired to lead a team of scientists and researchers as a Director in a fast-growing medical device company in Philadelphia. He was excited… continue

Welcome to the Monthly Newsletter by Amer Kaissi  Edition #46, October 2023 If you want to read a short, practical, and insightful book on team culture, then the… continue

The diabetic overweight patient was at the doctor’s office for a foot exam. After the exam was completed, the patient struggled to put his socks and shoes back… continue

The best leaders are outsiders who don’t have a long experience. Wait, what? That sounds counter-intuitive. But this is exactly the argument that Harvard Professor Gautam Mukunda makes… continue

Welcome to the Monthly Newsletter by Amer Kaissi  Edition #44, August 2023 One of the issues that come up the most in my executive coaching with leaders is… continue

It is called BUDS: Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL Training. The seal candidates were divided in teams of seven in one of the most grueling exercises during their week of… continue

It is no secret that many clinicians are burnt out and resentful. Recent studies have concluded that only 20% of physicians are engaged (Kaissi, 2014; Sweeney-Platt, 2016). Older… continue

One of my favorite quotes goes like this: “Intelligence is like underwear. It is important that you have it, but there is no need to show it off.”… continue

Consider this situation: You are boarding a fight with unassigned seats. You overhear the flight crew saying that there will be some empty seats on the plane. You… continue

Welcome to the Monthly Newsletter by Amer Kaissi  Edition #41, April 2023 Dr. Trzeciak is an ICU physician & Chair of Medicine. Dr. Mazzarelli is an ER physician… continue

In her book, previous Google and Apple Executive Kim Scott shares a story that took place after she had just joined Google. Scott was asked to attend a… continue

“Please, not another leadership book!” I know what you are thinking, because I have had the same thought myself, many times. That is typically my reaction when I… continue

Welcome to the Monthly Newsletter by Amer Kaissi  Edition #39, February 2023 A large chunk of my coaching in the last few months has focused on helping leaders… continue

Welcome to the Monthly Newsletter by Amer Kaissi  Edition #38, January 2023 We’re starting the year with an amazing book: Women and Leadership- Real Lives and Real Lessons. It… continue

In my article last month, I discussed how jerks use personal insults, invade others’ personal territory and use verbal and non-verbal threats and intimidation. They use sarcastic jokes and… continue

Jared is an executive at a large hospital system. Here are some of the things that Jared’s team say about working with him: “He yells at people and belittles them… continue

Welcome to the Monthly Newsletter by Amer Kaissi  Edition #37, December 2022 For this final edition of the year, instead of highlighting one book, I am sharing with… continue

Welcome to the Monthly Newsletter by Amer Kaissi Edition #36, November 2022 “Compassionate Leadership” is one of my favorite leadership books of the year. Based on extensive research… continue

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you have heard about Uber’s narcissistic and brash CEO Travis Kalanick who was fired by his board. In previous articles, I argued that… continue

Welcome to the Monthly Newsletter by Amer Kaissi Edition #35, October 2022 The basic premise of “Anti-Racist Leadership: How to Transform Corporate Culture in a Race-Conscious World” is… continue

In a previous article, I argued that high-performing leaders are humble. That sounds counterintuitive, you might be saying. Aren’t effective leaders supposed to be charismatic narcissists? In this article,… continue

Welcome to the Monthly Newsletter by Amer Kaissi  Edition #33, September 2022 Off the Clock by Laura Vanderkam is one of those books that opened my mind on how… continue

“Though the virtue of humility is occasionally praised in some faraway tribe, remote religious order, or politician’s rural birthplace, the reality of our fame-addled and power hungry existence… continue

Welcome to the Monthly Newsletter by Amer Kaissi  Edition #32, August 2022 “What if tradition and inertia proved to be so strong that all the bad habits snapped… continue