Hi friends,
On May 1st, I became a Division Director
That sentence still feels strange to write—not because I don’t care, but because I never saw myself as a “leader.”
I’m not loud. I don’t love the spotlight. I used to think leadership meant being bold and commanding. Two things I am not. I also thought that to advance in academics, or any professional capacity, I needed to place my job above all else. But burnout taught me otherwise.
Burnout was my wake-up call.
It crept in quietly: exhaustion, disconnection, the feeling that I was running on autopilot.
I thought I was just tired. I wasn’t. I was depleted and I was grieving.
A facilitator in a resident debrief said something that cracked me open:
“If you’re not sleeping, your personality has changed, and you can’t remember the last time you felt joy—it’s not just stress. You need help.”
I did.
Healing didn’t happen overnight.
But coaching, reflection, and some hard choices helped me find my way back—not to who I was before, but to a version of myself I’d buried under survival mode.
That version of me?
Quiet. Thoughtful. Values-driven.
Someone who loves his family, has hobbies, is nuts about his dog, and happens to be a doctor.
Turns out, that’s exactly the kind of leader I want to be.
So no, I didn’t set out to lead.
But now that I’m here, I lead by listening, staying grounded in what matters, and trying—every day—to make this system a little more human.
Thanks for being on this journey with me.
Warmly,
Ben
P.S.
If you’re feeling burned out, questioning your path, or stepping into leadership and wondering how to stay true to yourself—this is the kind of work I do as a coach.
If that speaks to you, I’d love to talk.
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