The 10 Most Impactful Leaders in Healthcare 2020

EXPERT TALKS The Fuss about AI EXPERT’S ADVICE The Glass Ceiling Effect: Another Perspective on Women and Leadership

WOMEN IMPOWER Dynamics of Women Participation in the Ever-changing Modern Workforce

Editor’s Desk

A Shout out to the Leaders in Healthcare

A Gist of making a difference, leads one to actually create a difference

B

e it IT or healthcare, every sector is in a need of an effective leader who possess a complete understanding of the markets as well as the up gradation of technology. Considering the current situation i.e. amidst COVID-19, the need has turned into a desperacy, as it has affected businesses abruptly.

Though we are separated by various nations, in the business world every leader consider him/herself to be a global citizen.

Healthcare industry has given many breakthroughs to rely on and that has become a biggest help for the evolution of mankind. Innovations must be considered as a need and not just want. As said by one of the greatest visionaries of all times, Steve Jobs, “Sometimes when you innovate, you make mistakes. It is best to admit them quickly and get on with improving your other innovations.” Through this quotes, he emphasizes on the how one must never give up on an idea and try harder until it makes big. A leader understands the need of the hectic markets and put forth the best solution out there inorder to create a disruption in the on-going customary methods.

Insights Success brings out the impactful healthcare leaders, in its special edition, “The 10 Most Impactful Healthcare Leaders in 2020.” The issue focuses on the contribution made by such avid leaders and how it has impacted in creating a better life for the people.

The magazine has shortlisted the perfectly fitted personalities in order showcase the current significantly growing healthcare industry.

Here’s the cover of the edition, stated below; though every sector is in need of disruption, yet not all the bound of getting one. It requires more than just a vision but an innovative ideology capable enough to make a breakthrough in the traditional methods. A perfect leader comprehends real-time situations and attempts to implicate better ideas for the better growth of the business as well as the community. Meet Jawad Shaikh—Executive Director of Avelead, is one such exemplary leader who put forth exceptional contribution in the healthcare sector. His unique ideology and ways which paved a way for him and his company to achieve its current stature, accomplishing many milestones.

Let’s unveil such alike, inspiring stories and interviews of many such passionate leaders in this special edition and spread a word about their contribution in making this world a better place.

Also, while flipping the pages, don’t forget to go through the articles and CXOs written by our inhouse editorial team and industry experts respectively.

Bhushan Ghate

16 EXPERT TALKS The Fuss about AI

CXO 20 DR. SEAN HALL Providing Quality Innovations in Health Care Industry

28 NEIL VERDAL-AUSTIN RedeďŹ ning the Benchmarks in the Healthcare Sector

JAWAD SHAIKH Integrating Innovations to Boost Healthcare

24 EXPERT’S ADVICE The Glass Ceiling Effect: Another Perspective on Women and Leadership

ARTICLES

32 WOMEN IMPOWER Dynamics of Women Participation in the Everchanging Modern Workforce

COVER STORY

08

Editor-in-Chief Pooja M. Bansal Managing Editor Anish Miller

Executive Editor

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Visualizer

Art & Design Director

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David King

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Senior Sales Manager

Business Development Manager

Kshitij S

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Marketing Manager

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Business Development Executives

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C O V E R

WITH THE RIGHT LEADERSHIP AND THE RIGHT TECHNOLOGY, YOU WILL ACHIEVE THE RIGHT RESULTS

S T O R Y Jawad Shaikh Executive Director

The 10 Most Impactful Healthcare Leaders in 2020

T

hough every sector needs disruption, not all are bound to get one. It requires more than just a vision but an innovative ideology capable enough to make a breakthrough in the traditional methods. A perfect leader comprehends real-time situations and attempts to implicate better ideas for the better growth of the business as well as the community. Meet Jawad Shaikh—Executive Director of Avelead, as one such exemplary leader who put forth exceptional contribution in the healthcare sector. His unique ideology and ways have paved the way for him and his company to achieve its current stature, accomplishing many milestones.

Perfect Blend of Skills and Experience Being the Executive Director of Avelead, Jawad always focuses on managing strategy, growth, and operations. He earned his technical leadership skills by investing his 20 years, serving clients in a variety of capacities, including innovation, architecture, engineering, and promoting Healthcare Information Technology. Prior to Avelead, he was the Founder and senior partner at Accision Health (before merging with Parallon Technology Solutions). His vision, broad technical expertise, and talent to solve critical business needs have been a vital asset for bringing healthcare to the 21st century and helping deliver results for several clients nationwide through Avelead.

Living life with a Purpose Jawad had to face many challenges in his life, and one such was Cancer. In the year 2014, he was diagnosed with Thyroid Cancer, which changed the way he looked at his life. He states that treatments, doctor visits, and all the ups and downs made him realize how essential it is to live a life with purpose. He has worked in the healthcare industry for almost 20 years but seeing the healthcare system in action as a patient gave him a different perspective for the modernization of healthcare technology. He firmly believes in keeping his work and personal life separate. He delegates his time by scheduling out his workday minute by minute to maximize productivity. At the end of the day, he refuels himself with his four favorite people: his wife and three kids.

Embracing Advancements Jawad addresses the fact of technology being the forefront of critical business operations, and it’s a surprise that the healthcare industry hasn’t evolved as much as other major

TO BE THE WORLD’S MOST FORWARDTHINKING TECHNOLOGY CHOICE FOR EVERY HEALTHCARE ORGANIZATION USING LEADERSHIP, TECHNOLOGY, AND PROVEN RESULTS

industries. Technology is imperative for health systems to maintain not only clinical efficiency but also reduce overall cost and sustain revenue integrity. Avelead’s goal is for healthcare systems to utilize its MBAT SaaS Platform Software for this process efficiency and automation.

Innovation from Avelead’s team is vital for being a true disruptor. To make Avelead’s team of leaders most capable and focused, Jawad uses a scoreboard and game clock method. By setting clear, transparent, and measurable goals with targets, he allows his employees to do what they do best while providing support, guidance, and direction.

Avelead has taken strides to revolutionize processes in healthcare by looking at the big picture: before the automation of technology can take place, current performance needs to be evaluated and brought up to speed.

For example, Avelead’s MBAT RevID software is the only solution available on the market to automate daily charge reconciliation for healthcare revenue cycle. This also simultaneously organizes and reduces revenue leakage for years to come. Jawad believes and states that it is the goal of the company to be the most forward-thinking technology choice for every healthcare organization.

Advice to Rely on “A great leader is a clear communicator who actively supports their team while recognizing their accomplishments. A leader’s goal should be to set a good vision for their team to learn, develop, and grow towards,” says the Co-Founder of Avelead.

He also expresses that a team is essentially an extension of its leader, so it is quite essential to build, delegate and trust your team sooner rather than later. One thing we all have the same amount is time. The only way to create more time is to replace yourself; do this by delegating and trusting your team to get it done.

A Glimpse into the Corporation Avelead is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. It provides robust methodologies and innovative software technology to implement, maintain, and optimize healthcare clinical and financial systems. Avelead has utilized it’s MBAT SaaS Platform and consulted with more than 200 hospitals and health systems nationally on their clinical, financial, and operational performance. Jawad and his team leverage their client’s current investments with their new systems and Avelead’s proprietary technology to improve revenue

integrity, procedural workflow, and overall clinically driven revenue cycle optimization.

Later he adds, whether healthcare systems are ready to implement new systems or considering which solutions are right for them, Avelead can help make sense of all the available options out there. The company can team up with client vendors or in-house IT teams to offer assessments on independent vendors, pre-sales considerations, integration, and data migration services; it’s one of Avelead’s specialties.

Avelead offers an in-depth understanding of issues faced by care providers, revenue cycle experts, information systems professionals, and health system executives that can only come from experienced, leading-edge talent. “We don’t stop there; we continually stay current on healthcare regulations and standards – with the appropriate certifications and credentials combined with industry and departmentalspecific experience,” states Jawad.

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Choose E xc e l l e n t, Choose Insights

The Fuss about AI I

have been a strong advocate of conversational technology (VoiceTech/NLP) and AI and have pitched for it in various conferences, Guest Lectures at leading business institutes and to corporates and I am often being asked what will happen to our jobs? So this is true that Artificial intelligence seems like a big untameable monsters to most, and everyone is little anxious about future.

And that could be true sitting in 2010, but past few years new old research and young progressive companies and devision of enterprises are willing to make it their sole purpose that the infuse digital transformation in their company and provide assistance to others. But, with the prevailing reputation that comes at a cost of educating everyone, really everyone.

They see it as a risk and any have burnt their hands trying to tame novice early stage AI models. But thats fine, thats how we grow. I believe that we are intellectual beings with curious minds, why would we want to do repeatable jobs which machines can do with greater efficiency. We can delegate these chores and teach the machines to help us better and imitate human decision making, innovate at personal level and “Democratise Artificial Intelligence”.

Democratising AI through platforms for like voice technology - Natural Language processing so the technical algorithms can stay with specific user base while use of the AI algorithms can be made as simple as conversing with machines. Thats a sure shot way to upskilling resources for example: Team of Analysts can train dashboards and Business Intelligence tools to map business KPIs and generate Compelling Business Stories and Insights in natural language for everyone in the organisation to benefit from, and then keep building the training over it through machine learning. We are personally running trials with Fortune 50 companies on this, so when I say you need to

16 | JUNE 2020

start looking at ways to incorporate new technologies I mean it.

For enterprises there are certain imminent crisis that demand that they change rapidly and market is not at all as forgiving as it was a few decades back, someone is constantly rooting for you to make a mistake.This is leading enterprise to transform under the integrated environment of Digital Transformation.

Voice Technology has lately become a stable AI process and would completely change the way we interact with technology in the future. Visualization will remain at the heart of it however with conversational technology, we can expect a shift to more verbal ads, like radio, but more personalized and actionable, but still to make a decision on which product to buy you would want to see it visually.

Also search will become more specific and hyperlocal, where we will be prompted to give verbal feedbacks, that would amount to popularity of products and places, how it happens with mobile applications today.

Siri, Cortana, Alexa have brought conversation technology to people for some time now. They come bundled up with smart phones and can be used to do basic searches, to look up certain things, cue up songs etc. Speech technology has come much further than that. With its advancement we can now control our oven, tv and other house hold devices, can search complex data from cloud or can make phone calls for ourselves. It can change the way we function in our daily lives, our time with our family, services we receive and the jobs we do. It can eliminate learning curve of devices, repeatable chores, and compiling excel sheets. And it will not happen eventually, it’s happening now.

Developers will innovate to create more audio centric user interface, there will be discovery period for them to find out how to minimally prompt user to give inputs and implement

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Expert Talks

About the Author Preksha Kaparwan is the Co-founder, CMO, V.UX Designer of Realbox.AI .

The versatile IHM Pusa graduate initially served as the chef but got inclined towards technology and business analytics and founded RealBox in 2015.

Within three years of its inception, they have raised $300k for Realbox and, their customers include fortune 50 and big 4 enterprises. As a thought leader she has been part of TEDTalk talk shows. She was awarded 'The sparks 2018' by your story for tech services for her exceptional contribution as a Tech Evangelist.

voice modulated visual commands. We can see speech approaching a point where it would become so reliable that we can just use it, like how we do it with other humans, and not even think about it.

Preksha Kaparwan Co-founder & CMO RealBox Data Analytics Private Limited

I am personally inspired to bring acceptance for conversational technology globally and I believe that the real success for this would not be when big corporations and industries would be using it but when every small and medium business and every household would be using it and help us to get a hold of our receding grip on reality from visually attractive and distracting screens on our tv, on out laptops and our smart phones.

We have seen this kind of a shift with automated technologies and processes which has led to reduced laborious work, eďŹƒciency increased and averted accidents. Smart phones brought technologies closer to the end user. So, I took side with ArtiďŹ cial Intelligence and Machine Learning technologies, that will aid seamlessly while co-existing in our realities. And impact is not just on us in our personal capacity but for businesses too and professionals who spend endless nights collating data and make pretty ppts to show to the bosses.

I believe that spreading the word on changing technological demography is not our responsibility or our burden. But you know why I make it my purpose??

Because it is a major step in evolution of technology and I know we need to harness it, shape it now, before someone else does it for you.

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JUNE 2020 | 17

Dr. Sean Hall MD, MBA (clin pharm mgt) CEO

Medlab Clinical Ltd 20 | JUNE 2020

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The 10 Most Impactful Healthcare Leaders in 2020

Dr. Sean Hall Providing Quality Innovations In Health Care Industry

R

esearch and development in the healthcare industry are vital. Yesterday we saw the impact of the “opioid crisis”, today we are at war with a biological threat, the novel Coronavirus.

It becomes necessary to study the cause, symptoms and effects of the disease. These factors help to make a cure for diseases. One company in this field is Medlab Clinical Ltd, who are a medical research and development facility based in Sydney, Australia. Medlab is steadfast on researching and formulating novel bio-therapeutics, focused on improving health outcomes in early to moderate stage chronic diseases such as chronic kidney disease and per-diabetes/obesity.

Meet Dr. Sean Hall, CEO of Medlab Clinical Ltd. He is a medical doctor, researcher, lecturer and businessman who has authored multiple papers and patents. Sean would be considered an innovator in healthcare, new drugs, and disease understanding.

A Life-Changing Moment When Sean's late brother Alex passed away due to cancer, Sean witnessed first-hand how it affected him, and how little he was able to truly help him. It changed his life.

Pain, epilepsy, anxiety, depression, weight gain and a significant loss of quality of life started Sean's focus on oncology co-morbidities with a belief that we need to do more.

“We innovate, so identify the problem, substantiate it, and develop a solution.” www.insightssuccess.com

JUNE 2020 | 21

Maintaining Life-Work Balance Sean Says, “There are times when there is no such thing as work/life balance, and there are other times when it is easier to balance out. As I travel a lot, what time I get with my family is critical, and together we try to enjoy it - in some cases that could simply be a pizza and movie together.

I try not to miss birthdays, anniversaries, Christmas and Easter – and there have been times when that was proving difficult. However, I am lucky to have a family that understands the importance of what I do and what motivates me to do it. I am lucky they share this culture; they know when I need my head on the game, when I need my head off the game, and when I need to be with my thoughts.”

Sean believes everyone needs to have an “outlet” - the gym and ocean are critical in keeping him level-headed and focused.

Making the Most Out Of As a general rule, Sean likes to challenge his employees. He gives them various opportunities to demonstrate critical thinking, innovative thinking, and problem-solving; when you think about it, that's what Medlab is entrusted to do, think of new methods, solve problems, and design new drug candidates.

Sean strongly recommends ongoing education and frequently will offer some form scholastic fund in lieu of a pay review to further a particular staff member. Continuing education is vital; learning new techniques and understanding socio-political changes at a rapid pace; simply look at the ways the novel Coronavirus has impacted us, our behavior, social interactions, business and now a significant desire for a medical cure.

In short, what we did yesterday is not appropriate for today.

Aligning With Technology Sean believes that technology is a two-edged sword, used correctly and wisely, it can be a significant enabler and if handled incorrectly it’s a considerable hindrance, and user engagement falls off. Also, He finds that most of the staff are “subject matter experts” on various aspects of technology, be that brand preference, device preference, software needs (perceived or real). The point is that technology for most can be a very emotive topic, so it's an absolute must, that if you embrace technology, you embrace your staff in the learning aspects to maximize user engagement.

Again, looking at todays needs, aligning with technology as we work remotely, is fundamental to all businesses, as we learn to adapt to new social and business restrictions imposed by the novel Coronavirus.

22 | JUNE 2020

Contributions for Health Care Sectors Sean’s oncology-related focus, specifically co-morbidities like cancer-induced pain, quickly highlighted the significance of unmet needs; factor in the global opioid crisis, and it’s easy to see this particular area of medicine is ripe for innovation.

But innovation in medicine is a tricky “mistress,” as an old university professor of mine once said, “medical innovation is easy, acceptance is difficult,” and it’s understandable considering the time, energy, and millions of dollars expensed in the traditional phased research approach.

For Medlab, their most commonly known work is in advanced cancer pain, whereby they have accelerated nanoparticle research into CBD and THC. The posit is to offer a new pain therapeutic that is a non-opioid with less severe side effects (when compared to standard opioid therapy), strong efficacy and will (hopefully) one day soon provide alternatives to current cancer pain treatments.

Guiding the Path for Uprising Leaders Sean states the first rule of business; cash is king, so know your funding options, what you are willing to sacrifice and what you can’t. Identify your pathway models and know your milestones - understand their importance. Understand that investors may see different milestones or re-rate your importance, so investor alignment is critical.

Recognize that innovation takes time and evidence, so know you can go the distance, understand similar and potentially competing companies and ensure that you have a quantifiable uniqueness.

Sean says as a leader, “You need to surround yourself with good, trusted people whom you can seek advice from and subsequently rely on said advice. You need to be able to spearhead teams to quickly and concisely articulate an endpoint, develop an execution plan, and run it.”

Sean believes a leader should build and develop trusted sources of information and recognize everyone (including yourself) has strengths and weaknesses. It is essential to know that as a leader people will always look to you for solutions and directions. At times this will be collaborative and other times, it will be a direction. Lastly, you can’t please everyone, so don’t try.

Sean’s advice is to always look at ways to improve yourself and your managerial style. You must understand and continually double-check the direction you are taking your company/unit, plan it out, work through that plan with your trusted sources and when circumstances change, adapt. Stay commercial, keep your eye on the prize, know your endpoint, and question how you will achieve that and the pathway you are taking. www.insightssuccess.com

The Glass Ceiling Effect: Another Perspective on Women and Leadership 24 | JUNE 2020

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Expert’s Advice

T

he glass ceiling is a barrier so subtle that it is transparent; yet so strong that it prevents women from moving up the corporate hierarchy” ---Ann Morrison, American Author The term “Glass ceiling” can be defined as an unacknowledged upper limit in corporations and other organizations, above which it is difficult or even impossible for women to reach out to the highest ranks.“Glass ceiling” is a popular metaphor widely used for the hard-to-see informal barriers that prevents women from getting promoted or achieving further opportunities in leadership positions. The metaphor of “glass ceiling” has also been used to describe the limits and obstacles faced by racial minority groups.

“The glass ceiling is not simply a barrier for an individual, based on the person’s inability to handle a higher-level job. Rather, the glass ceiling applies to women as a group who are kept from advancing higher because they are women.”

The U.S. Department of Labor’s 1991 definition of glass ceiling is “those artificial barriers based on attitudinal or organizational bias that prevents qualified individuals from advancing upward in their organization into management-level positions.” (Report on the Glass Ceiling Initiative.)

Job isolation: Women are offered the same kinds of job roles like staff, public relations or occasionally finance specialties that rarely lead to the more powerful management positions.

Over time, women are eventually excluded from jobs in the mainstream of business, the route taken by CEOs and presidents.

The Elements behind the Glass Ceiling: It is pretty obvious that women are facing a lot of hurdles to break through the glass ceiling and reach to the highest leadership position throughout the ages.

Preventing both women and organizations from reaching their full potential, the invisible “Glass Ceiling” denies us all of the maximal benefits of gender diversity in leadership. Some of the most common barriers are highlighted below:

Famous American actress cum author Ann Morrison defines the concept of the Glass Ceiling as:

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JUNE 2020 | 25

Old-boy Network: There are many instances when men gets the managerial powers in an organization who manages greater numbers of people, enjoys more freedom of hiring and firing, and controls the company’s assets directly while women are deprived of such authorities and powers. It is the “Oldboys” of the organization that makes all the policy; where the women are kept virtually absent.

Sex Discrimination: In a recent survey, working women were asked about the greatest obstacle they had to overcome to achieve success; “simply being a woman” was the most frequent response. In another survey by the Wall Street Journal, women leaders quoted their most serious obstacle in their business careers to be “male chauvinism, attitudes toward a female boss, slow advancement for women, and the simple fact of being a woman.” These instances are enough to prove the prevalence of sex discrimination in the workplace.

Sexual Harassment: Sexual harassment remains one of the biggest barriers for women in managerial roles. A corporate environment that tolerates sexual harassment intimidates and demoralizes women executives. Even after the adoption and enforcement of numerous laws against sexual harassment, women do not feel sufficiently encouraged and empowered to speak out for fear of compromising their work.

Benefits of Women in Leadership: Studies found that inclusion of women in business leadership has significantly improved such factors as firm value, financial performance, economic growth, innovation and social responsiveness and philanthropy.

The additional benefits of women in corporate leadership include stricter monitoring and supervision and fewer legal infractions such as fraud and embezzlement. A better balance among women in leadership positions can create a more diverse team of leaders with different perspectives and a greater ability to contribute new ideas

26 | JUNE 2020

and thus enhancing the profitability. The transformational leadership style often used by women tends to be a good option for contemporary organizations, as it encourages employee morale, motivation and performance.

Overcoming the Barriers: Strategies Women’s progress up the corporate ladder is still limited by the “glass ceiling” despite the myriad of Government policies and programs which have been introduced to ensure that their talents and skills are recognized and accepted.

Women can help themselves to overcome this career hurdle by: Acquiring appropriate business skills and know how; Taking up line‐management positions rather than management service roles; Gaining the necessary experience through “apprenticeship” and “acting positions”; Seeking career counseling; Volunteering for leadership and executive positions; And lastly, acquiring the ability to measure their operating effectiveness in the workplace.

An awareness of the emergence of new barriers to their progress is also worth considering. The current socio‐economic situation is creating different “glass ceilings” in the form of the downsizing of organizations, new differentiated and self‐directed career paths, the advent of the contractual worker, and the care of aged parents.

Conclusion: Since the latter half of the 20th century, women have made great paces in increasing their representation in the work force. However, a considerable gap remains in achievement of leadership positions across different fields. Renowned feminist Gloria Steinem stated it best: “Clearly no one knows what leadership has gone undiscovered in women.” It is far past time we strive to find out and finally shatter the glass ceiling.

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Mr Neil Verdal-Austin Chief Executive Officer

SomnoMed Limited

28 | JUNE 2020

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The 10 Most Impactful Healthcare Leaders in 2020

Redefining the Benchmarks in the Healthcare Sector

M

eet Neil Verdal-Austin, the Chief Executive Officer of SomnoMed, whose has impeccably contributed in the evolution of healthcare sector. His innovative ideas and unique leadership style has made him achieve many milestones in his path, taking his organization to its current stature.

Under his guidance, the company has paved its own way in benefiting to the industry as well as the community.

With a mission to delight company’s customers and patients with the highest quality products and services for the treatment of Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA), Neil and his team are relentlessly implementing the company’s core values on a daily basis that are; Integrity, Customer Focus, People/Patients, Teamwork, Quality, Respect, and Innovation.

Insights Success admire such avid and proficient personalities and takes pride in featuring Neil in its special edition, “The 10 Most Impactful Healthcare Leaders in 2020”.

The Man behind SomnoMed’s Success Neil states that he has been trained at the University of Cape Town as a Chartered Accountant.

His ambition was to always be in the business and drive a long-term sustainable environment in which people could thrive. He was also aware from an early stage that the type of business that would suit him would be the one which could change people’s lives. His early career was in Orthopaedics, this profession enables mobility and movement, which certainly gave him the energy to make that business better and stronger for the sake of patients. Moreover his next career stage was within Sleep and SomnoMed. Prior to being the CEO, he served the business as CFO. With almost 12 years of experience at SomnoMed, he can easily say that the company transform people’s lives every day. To be specific, it provides them their sleep and sleep quality back. “Treating patients who suffer from Obstructive Sleep Apnea is extremely rewarding,” says Neil.

A Glimpse into Neil's Life Neil states that he has balanced his professional and personal life with obvious difficulty like most do. Life is demanding; where everyone wants to give 100 per cent and it’s tough to balance all those various aspects. It’s about perspective however and making sure that all components are in some sort of equilibrium. That equilibrium shifts and moves almost constantly and is

www.insightssuccess.com

JUNE 2020 | 29

“

sometimes out of balance but managing such shifts as best as you can needs courage and determination.

Employee-centric Work Culture SomnoMed has a culture which is beginning to take a shape that will allow all employees a room at the idea’s table. Neil states that the company is open and respectful of all ideas which will be robustly debated but in a safe environment.

This allows creativity at all different levels to be heard which in itself drives “purpose” and productivity and resourcefulness the immediate spin-off's.

Embracing Technology Up-gradations Many businesses are trying to or already aligned with some form of technology to either thrive or survive. SomnoMed’s business is no different. It underpins all of its product and service offerings with a technology framework; which is only getting more ingrained and integral each day as the company is helping to treat patients suffering from Obstructive Sleep Apnea. “The outcomes of this are extremely beneficial to the effective delivery of the treatment, time to treatment and the comfort that the SomnoDent ® appliances offer our patients,” says Neil.

Further he states that this comfort drives compliance which is extremely important on the effective treatment of patients with such a condition.

Other treatments, although efficacious, do not show the same levels of compliance which means patients don’t remain in treatment with a condition that gets worse, if left untreated. Further technological developments that Neil and his team is working on, will bring long term connectivity and much easier to use, digitally driven and innovative treatment processes for all partners and patients.

Contributing for the Greater Good “I like the word ‘evolution’!” says Neil. The company has contributed to the wellbeing of over 550 000 patients worldwide for the last 16 years and will continue to do so.

SomnoMed have changed the general view and perception of the treatment sector that is Oral Appliances around the

30 | JUNE 2020

Never give up, have a well communicated plan, stick to the strategy, drive the “can-do” culture within the organization and have fun.

world. SomnoMed began with education and seminar training programs, building awareness and at the same time, lifting the regulatory conditions so that these devices are now classified as medical devices treating a long-term medical disease.

“This has meant that in most of the 28 countries that we trade in, patients are now being offered and treated with, a SomnoDent ® device which enables those patients to regain their sleep and function better each day and that transforms their lives,” quotes Neil.

This also has the effect of subliminally taking control of the co-morbidities which may arise and should obstruct sleep apnea. And, not be effectively treated such as diabetes, heart disease and various cardiovascular issues, etc.

“Our role as the leaders of the oral appliance sector across 28 countries, is to grow the sector and ensure that more and more patients are treated with the most effective solution.

The SomnoDent ® is the patient’s choice over many other treatment options. We are committed to investing in the technology that is needed to continually deliver that for them,” Neil adds.

Three Traits worth Knowing Below are the traits of SomnoMed’s Chief Executive Officer would like to emphasize: Ÿ

What springs to mind is firstly an attitude – an attitude that anything is possible.

Ÿ

Secondly an ability to effectively communicate that attitude and feeling to all stakeholders to get buy in – this includes ensuring, internally, that everyone understands their individual purpose and function.

Ÿ

Thirdly to be able to formulate a credible and realistic plan around that attitude that is strategically sounding, commercially viable and will create value in the long term.

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Dynamics of

Participation in the Ever-changing Modern Workforce

32 | JUNE 2020

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Women Impower

G

one are the days when women were stereotyped to a certain set of skills and professions, restricting them from exploring the world of endless opportunities. Today, women have announced their arrival in many fields of the business world. Therefore, it seems more important than ever before to recognize female contributions in every profession.

Fighting through biased work culture in favour of male dominance, women have conquered the unconquered on the account of their distinct calibre and predilections. In the times when the world female participation rate is to the dispiriting levels of around 67% and pay-off rate of about 63%, achievements by women go-getters are praiseworthy.

Listening capabilities is one of the distinguishing aspects of feminine species as compared to their male counterparts. Instilling and pursuing ones thoughts is undoubtedly important for effective working.

But being a better listener is something that can make a difference as studies show that the customer values and trusts the firms if they perceive that they are being listened to by the firms. With inherent caring and affectionate traits, women outclass men when it comes to understanding critical demands of the customers.

Emotional Intelligence (EI) - the ability to identify and manage one’s own emotions as well as the emotions of others - is an essential skill when it comes to dealing with a diverse class of consumers. Women are naturally gifted with higher EI making them better suited for pressure situations and avoiding counter-productive decisions while keeping emotions in check.

Emotional Intelligence encompasses two major dimensions – awareness of one’s self and awareness of others. Both the attributes are very much significant for the survival and success of any organisation. Self-awareness involves being familiar with trigger points and behavioural traits when put to the test. This, in turn, helps to modulate impulses avoiding conclusions which are harmful for the welfare of business. In addition to self-awareness, an awareness of others is equally critical in business. Analysing and decoding non-verbal communication – that amounts to 93% of the message – eventually benefits in convincing and converting a lead into a client.

Collaboration, and not the cutthroat competition, is the modern era’s principle virtue to achieve success. Many endeavours which seem to be beyond the bounds of

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possibility can be attained by combining efforts from different resources, channels and departments. Further, collaborating products with consumer experience are enormously important. It leads to crafting the best solutions for customer’s pain points and compelling value propositions that reflect their overall business objectives.

Multiple studies have found that women prefer to work in teams, while men prefer to work alone. An unfaltering affinity towards collaboration primes women to garner success in different fields of business which gives them an edge over others.

Increased profitability can be a motivating factor for many firms to hire more pool of female talents as many studies support the fact. Statistical research shows that Fortune 500 companies with the highest representation of women on boards financially outperform companies with the lowest representation of women on boards. Moreover, genderdiverse teams have higher sales and profits compared to male-dominated teams, and a recent Gallup study found that gender-diverse business units have higher average revenue than less diverse business units.

Trust over female leaders is an attribute which needs to be reciprocated while making the choice. More American workers perceive female executives as honest and ethical than male executives. Pew’s “Women and Leadership” surveyed Americans in 2015 and found that 34% say women are better at this, while only 3% say men are better at it (64% say there’s no difference).

While it’s unclear whether this means women are actually more honest, it’s a subtle reminder of how tangled some business decisions can be. Leaders are often tasked with choosing between options that aren’t black and white, ethically speaking, and the capacity to lead honestly is important to the entire company’s success and job satisfaction.

Not to mention, increased job satisfaction and organizational dedication to cite positive and meaningful business culture are the added advantages feminine employees carry to the organisation.

However, the journey is not all merry go round every time.

Hindrances – seen, unseen – are there to check the unrelenting zeal of women aspirants to thrive in the industry. These obstructions need to be pointed out and rectified to create an environment that fuels women empowerment.

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Lack of confidence, according to many experts, is one prime reason women tend to question themselves and doubt their worthiness. In order to advance, they must coach their inner critics.

Out-speak and define what women want professionally if they want to get succeeded. Too often they don’t know or rely upon others to define it for them.

“Building relationships with those in positions of leadership is critical,” Susan Brady, executive vice president of Linkage Inc. says. “Put down the to-do list long enough to connect with decision makers across the organization, and help them understand who you are and what you bring to the table.”

Women are generally uneasy about asking for what they want. They must stop thinking about what they need as a self-serving request. They must develop the courage and fortitude to stand up and ask for what they want.

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While proving value, women tend to overcompensate in order to demonstrate that they are adding value. Instead of doing it all alone, change the paradigm and track to encourage others to take on more responsibility, thus enabling them to scale and multiply their own impact.

Not to forget, biased work culture and regional barriers are the crucial obstacles in the road of women work participation. But, today women are breaking these shackles and coming out boldly to be a part of economic processes shouldering their male counterparts.

There has been obvious progress in achieving gender equality around the world over the past two decades: more girls are attending school, more women are working and are being elected to public offices, more women hold management positions, and the situation involving women’s legal as well as social rights have also improved.

However, a great deal still remains to be done to achieve equal outcomes for women and men. Recognizing women’s abilities, the values they bring to the organisation, the transformation they achieve as far as work environment is concerned, and considering monetary benefits associated with the female work participation, corporate sector need to welcome their emergence with open arms. No future is far where maledominated workplaces will be a tale of extinct, we believe.

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