08/05/2025
“A leader’s first responsibility is to shape the culture. It is fragile, dynamic, and ephemeral, yet it’s the very force that transforms a good team into a great one by fostering trust, resilience, and commitment.”
– Andrew Cleeland
Leadership is an essential skill, one that exists across all roles and levels of an organization. I’m sure everyone, at some point in their lives, has been told to “lead by example.” The idea is anything but new: nearly 2,000 years ago, the Stoic philosopher Epictetus said, “Don’t explain your philosophy—embody it,” demonstrating that leadership is a fundamental part of human interaction, one that needs to be learned and cultivated. But what does that look like in practice?
At our recent half-day workshop on the topic, we were privileged to hear from two accomplished medtech leaders at very different points in their careers: Allan Will, who has founded, led, and chaired multiple companies over more than four decades, and Shreya Mehta, co-founder and CEO of Zenflow, Inc., who recently closed a $24M financing and delivered a baby on the same day. Both shared personal stories from their leadership journeys and hard-won insights they have gained along the way.
Over the course of the afternoon, we explored core characteristics of effective leaders, including:
▪️ Authenticity – being true to your own leadership style
▪️Courage – staying grounded in your principles under pressure
▪️Curiosity – a drive to keep learning and growing
▪️Humility – recognizing your own limitations and elevating the team
▪️Moral clarity – the internal framework of values that guides decisions when the path forward is uncertain
We also put our leadership skills to the test through a tense, interactive case study, and discussed the findings of Project Aristotle, Google’s research initiative to understand what makes high-performing teams. One of the most prominent findings: What matters most isn’t who is on the team, but team dynamics—how the team works together. Great teams are less about IQ and more about EQ. My biggest takeaway from the study—and from my own experience—is that what distinguishes a great team is culture, particularly a culture where everyone feels heard, safe and valued.
We define culture as a shared set of beliefs that shapes decisions, feedback, and team interactions. It binds individuals together, strengthens their belief in one another, and enables the group to achieve remarkable things.
Those of you who know me know that I am passionate about this quote: “I will either find a way or make one.” This is not a solo declaration—it’s a cultural mindset. It reflects a collective belief in the mission, trust among teammates, and the willingness to push through uncertainty together to transform bold ideas into real patient impact.
The above is excerpted from the CEO column in the most recent edition of our monthly newsletter. To receive it in your inbox directly, sign up here: https://www.fogartyinnovation.org/get-involved/
