Suggestions
Andrew Berg RN, BSN, BA
Investor at Companyon Ventures
Andrew Berg is a healthcare professional with over ten years of experience in various clinical roles. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre from Loyola University in Chicago. Mr. Berg is passionate about people's health and well-being, and he believes that providing excellent care to patients is possible without increasing the workload or costs. His empathy for others and analytical skills make him adept at developing effective and efficient healthcare systems.
Mr. Berg has held roles such as Clinical Coordinator, Assistant Manager, and Charge Nurse at esteemed health care institutions such as NorthShore University Health System and Loyola University Medical Center. As a Scenic Carpenter at the Steppenwolf Theatre Company and Chicago Shakespeare Theater, he honed his craft of bringing imagination to life. He has also been General Manager/Technical Director and Freelance Theatre Tech Director at notable organizations such as Left Wing Scenic.
Highlights
Don't bring your boss problems. Bring your boss solutions. (And if possible have backup options)
Don't bring your subordinates solutions. Bring them problems. Work with them on coming up with solutions. Much easier to engage in a process change when you were part of the design.
There's a horribly popular misconception that confidence is a good thing. Confidence is good in the way that brightness is good, or volume or intensity, or...heck, salt or garlic. If there's quality behind it, and it's in the right place and time, and appropriate to the situation, then yes, confidence is great. But the second you start making confident declarations and you don't actually know what you're talking about, you lose all credibility. You may fool the 10th percentile, but the smartest people in the room no longer trust anything you say. And you don't come back from that. What you can (and should) do, is confidently say "I don't know that acronym or lingo, please explain what you're talking about" or "I don't know, but I'll find out and get back to you" or "I'm not sure of all the implications, but it seems to me that..." or "I haven't done that before, but if you show me how I'll give it a shot." The best people now know that you don't have certain knowledge, but they also know that you don't bullshit, that you take ownership for your responsibilities and your own knowledge, and that (probably) when you say you know something, you actually know it. You also open up the door for those in the room with less knowledge. You demonstrate that you can be valuable and trustworthy without having all the answers and, most importantly, that people at different levels of skill or knowledge or creativity can collaborate productively. Speak with confidence when you know. Speak with confident humility when you don't.
