Accelerating Women Leaders (ft. Kristin Myers)

Thanks for tuning to Digital Voices Podcast, where we chat digital transformation challenges and opportunities across healthcare and life sciences. And now, your host, Ed Marx.

Welcome to another drop of Digital Voices. My name is Ed, and I'm so happy to have you with us again because it's so much fun. We have such of the brightest people in the industry who join us, and this drop is no different than my friend Kristen Myers, who's the Chief Information Officer, Digital and Technology Partners at Mount Sinai Health System. Kristen, welcome to Digital Voices.

Thanks, Ed. Great to be here.

Yeah, I've been wanting you on, uh, for, for a long, long time, but I know you're super, super busy, so, uh, we finally have you, and I know our audience is, uh, as thrilled as I am. But before we get into it, already detected an accent. So I'm gonna ask DJ Megan, have you ever been to Australia or is it on your bucket list?

I've never been. I would love to go. Definitely a bucket list destination.

Yeah, it's pretty awesome. I've had the opportunity to go once or twice and I think we might hear a little bit more about that. So Kristen, you and I, I was trying to think when we first met, I think in person, definitely when I came to New York City in 2015, But I think we interacted before that, but that would maybe be the first time in person.

Yeah, first time in person was, you know, when you were overseeing the entire technology team and Epic implementation at H&H is when we met in person. And, you know, you've always been an amazing mentor and provided guidance. So, it was great to meet you in person for the first time. You know, as you said, we had talked a number of times on the phone. Yeah.

Yeah, I still remember because, you know, I was new to the city and I was so glad, you know, to connect with someone who actually lived here. And then I remember getting lost, though. I came early because I knew it was going to be hard to find the place. And sure enough, I got lost. I was probably a couple of minutes late. But we had a great, great dinner. We have so much in common, and I'm glad we've been able to keep our friendship over the years. So tell us a little bit about your playlist. Like, what kind of music do you like to listen to?

I like everything, but anything David Bowie. So Diamond Dogs, Starman, or dance music like David Guetta. You know, I'm Good is a great song. So I like all kinds of music. Do you—

not to be stereotypical, but just curious— like, do you follow any specific bands that may have come out of Australia?

No, actually, I don't.

I was into a couple bands like a long time ago. Like, this is before your, your era. Uh, it was, uh, Split Enz.

Oh yeah.

And yeah, and, and then they— David Finn or whoever the leaders were, they then launched another band that was pretty popular. Can't remember the name of them, but anyways, I— they had a great sound. And, uh, so I've always, uh, always connected them. And of course, uh, the other one, again about that same era, maybe a couple years later, was, uh Men at Work.

Oh, yeah. Yeah. Look, they used to have a show actually called Countdown that we used to watch religiously on a Saturday and Sunday. And Split Enz, Crowded House, Men at Work, you know, they were all on that show playing live. It was amazing. But no, I have not kept up with the Australian music scene since I've been here. Yeah.

I haven't either. I mean, because those bands, you know, date me a little bit. Uh, but Crowded House, that was the other one I was looking for. There was some, some of the people between Split Enz and Crowded House were, were the same. Anyways, I, I just love the music, uh, back in the day. So what about a life, uh, mission or quote or passion, something that sort of guides you? Is there— do you have words that you sort of live by?

Yeah, I think, you know, stay agile, um, you know, as a mindset and a work style. So I think we all know the pace of change has just been accelerating, especially with COVID We, as individuals, have to be agile, and so do our organizations. You have to adapt and flex, respond, embrace change. As a mother also, these are things that I need to do every single day as well, not just as a CIO.

Yeah, that's a good word, actually. Yeah, if you're not agile, you have a tough time in life and at work, that's for sure. Well, we sort of gave a little bit away, but can you share with us your kind of your story? Like, where did you start and, uh, how did you know all the way up to present day? And you can go personal, professional, however you, however you want to share.

Sure. So I grew up in a small town, about 100,000, uh, called Toowoomba. in Queensland, Australia, and went to university. I was going to be a lawyer. So, I did a dual degree, 5 years, a law degree and a technology degree. And, you know, I chose technology because I thought it would be great to have a second degree, you know, as I became a lawyer. And ultimately, when I finished the degree, decided that I really wanted to follow the technology track. So, You know, one of my first jobs was Cerner Corporation. So I moved to Sydney and was an interface analyst. Actually, that's how I started out. And I got recruited after a few years by Capgemini Ernst& Young, and they brought me to New York, which was amazing. And, you know, actually my first client was Mount Sinai. And at the time, Mount Sinai and NYU were one organization. And I thought I'd be here for a year. And here I am still today. But, you know, I worked at Capgemini for about 3 years. And that's when Mount Sinai and NYU actually had the demerger. And so I was consulting at NYU when the opportunity came up at Mount Sinai for an IT director in 2004. So I joined the organization. I really wanted to drive change and have my own department. I think as a consultant, you know, one of the challenges I had was, you know, giving recommendations and, you know, them not necessarily being followed up by the organization.

Right.

And then you're moving from site to site. So, I really wanted to own that experience and the decision-making and drive change in an organization. I was very lucky. I joined at the right time. We started a system selection pretty much straight away for ambulatory care. And we were able to engage Epic. We signed a contract with Epic at the end of 2004, early 2005. And I was able to lead that transformation over the years. So in 2006, became a senior director overseeing that Epic clinical transformation. And then 2010, was promoted to a vice president. And, you know, as a vice president, you know, not only the Epic transformation, but also setting up a program management office for the technology department, leading the technology merger also between Mount Sinai and Continuum Health Partners.

Wow.

And I also was the leader for the entire health system not just for technology, for ICD-10 back then. And then in 2017, became Senior Vice President and oversaw the entire application portfolio. And, you know, 2020, you know, was promoted to CIO and Dean for Technology. And then, you know, with the success of, you know, the work we're doing in digital and, you know, the roadmap that we created in the last 2 years, I actually recently became the Chief Digital and Information Officer.

Yeah, no, that's awesome. And I do want to dig a little deeper in that because you're one of the rare people who have grown a career. You've been there almost 20 years now, and you grew that career internally and very successfully, as you just described. So I think people who might be like mid-career listening, you know, they'll be very, very interested on that. And then, yeah, I had forgotten the history about NYU and then Continuum, acquiring Continuum.

I know.

It's very, very— that you can trade. So one, tell me just one big change in those 19 years. Like, I, I know there's tons of them, but if you pick like one, one big one, what, in your 19 years there so far, you know, what, what would that be?

That's hard. Uh, you know, I would say probably organizational culture, um, evolving, um, through time and Culture is the heart of the organization. And what I've seen at Mount Sinai, which I'm really proud of, is a change towards a more diverse and innovative culture. And we've made a lot of strides in diversity and equity and inclusion. And we have a very open and public support for anti-racism. And we have expanded a lot of DEI initiatives externally and internally. You know, I think the promotion also of innovation, leveraging new technologies and new ways of working and encouraging ideas, it's prevalent across the organization. And, you know, we've really embraced, I think, diversity and innovation. And really, it increases the success of our initiatives and improves our employee satisfaction and engagement. And ultimately, it's a better place to work for everyone. So, I think that that's been A shift. Obviously, COVID-19 was a major shift with the hybrid workplace. And then, you know, the mergers, the demerger with NYU, and then the merger, you know, with Continuum Health Partners has been, you know, major. But, you know, again, I always go back to culture because, you know, that really defines the team.

Yeah, absolutely. And, you know, I can put an exclamation point on what you were sharing. About sort of the diversity portion, you know, my then nephew was sort of struggling as he was— and now she, my niece, kind of struggling through, you know, making sure she was getting the right care as she transitioned. And she found a safe place, a good place in Mount Sinai. I'm so happy to hear that.

Yeah.

You were amongst the first in the country to really create a special, uh, you know, what am I trying to say? You know, for the unique uniqueness, you created a special division department, um, and so it was very welcoming to that community. So, so exclamation point and bravo, you know, for, for, for all the work that, that you all have done. So, uh, you— we just talked about your growth internally. Was that intentional or providence? So did you like think this through and it's like you know, sort of stair-stepped your way by doing great work, or, or did it just happen? You know, again, for the listener, Kristin, when you answer, you know, think about someone who might be a manager or director today who wants to be like you and, you know, an awesome leader in a fine organization.

I think it's a bit of both. You know, I've worked extremely hard, uh, throughout my career and, you know, developing strategies, executing successfully, fostering relationships and building them within the organization and managing and leading teams and then driving results. I think what's important is just making sure that people are aware of the work that you're doing. Sometimes you can get so involved in your work that your head's down and you're not necessarily I know people want to be humble, and so do I. But you also have to let people know what you're achieving because sometimes they don't know what's happening and the achievements that are occurring. Just making sure that you're communicating with your leaders and that you're building those relationships within the organization. with other business leaders. I think that because of driving results and being just results-driven and being able to deliver, I have a lot of credibility. I was given a lot of trust in the organization, which I really appreciate. I got to the point where I believed that I was ready for the CIO and CDIO role. I was thinking about how did I want to really evolve my career to the next level. And I think I was lucky. The opportunity presented itself at Mount Sinai at the right place and time. And I was able to take the opportunity. But I also think that with your career, you should stay open. So for example, for a long time, I actually thought I was on a career trajectory to be a COO. of a hospital. I got some advice, actually, about this. It was, don't pigeonhole yourself into a COO track or a CIO track. Where the opportunity presents itself, ultimately, you should take it because you could do either. I really enjoy being the CDIO and Dean of Digital and Technology at Mount Sinai. really where I want to be. And, you know, I'm proud to be here.

Yeah, no, again, another exclamation point on what you're sharing, because oftentimes organizations aren't looking internally, especially when they're thinking about the digital piece. They've been going external. And the fact that they had you there, you know, was a blessing to both you and the organization. And you've been, like you shared, you know, very— a lot of wisdom in your last couple of minutes there speaking about building that brand, making sure that people know about you, communicating, developing relationships, be credible through your work and your professionalism, open to new ideas and open to other opportunities. So that's really good. So you mentioned you changed your department name, or at least as I shared the name, you have changed the name of your department to Digital and Tech Partners. Can you share with us sort of the motivation behind that?

I think that, you know, with COVID everyone really understood the impact of technology on healthcare and how it's exponentially increased. And for me, I've always been, in the work that I've done with Epic and transformation, very integrated with the business. And the word information technology or IT, there was, I think, a perception of work that is just data center focused or more infrastructure focused rather than the work that we actually do.

Yeah.

With the name change, and we engaged our teams and really thought about what made sense here, I think Digital and Technology Partners better reflects and represents the vision, our values, culture, contributions, and the work that we do as a department and as individuals. It also represents how I would like others to perceive us, so agile and collaborative, customer-centric, innovative, and proactive. I think that it will also ultimately help us recruit and retain technology talent. I know this is an ongoing challenge that everyone is experiencing. I think it's also a step forward in the transformation journey that we need to lead and drive digital and technology initiatives across the health system and that we're in full alignment with the health system mission and goals at all times.

Yeah, that's great. It makes a tremendous amount of sense. Let's talk about maybe one or two initiatives that you're excited about that you can share, and then I want to flip into women in in technology and healthcare. So, uh, is there like one or two things that you're super like proud of that you're all doing with digital?

Yeah, I think, um, you know, when we started looking at, you know, digital, you know, we wanted to make sure that, you know, we had a vision, uh, that, you know, we had an appropriate governance structure, and that, you know, we worked with, you know, our employees and also our patients and prospective customers to understand what our roadmap should be. And so we reimagined our entire digital strategy around how we wanted to be experience-led. We wanted it to be equity-based, that will improve patient experience and bridge the digital divide and ultimately reduce cost of care. So our digital vision is that, you know, we digitally enable Mount Sinai as a preferred destination for our community and by anticipating needs to easily provide equitable and seamless experiences. And so in August 2021, our My Mount Sinai branded mobile app was launched. And, you know, the amount of increases in terms of app activation and usage has increased exponentially. And, you know, even today I got a report that 76% of our patients are now using My Mount Sinai exclusively for digital scheduling, etc.

That's huge.

I'm so excited about that. I think we've made a huge impact by changing the experience with the branded mobile app. We also developed a pretty comprehensive roadmap in mid-2022, focused on care navigation, virtual health, and enhanced digital scheduling experiences, as well as remote patient monitoring. So every quarter, we're releasing products to ensure that the experiences are getting better. And we have interviews with prospective patients as well as Mount Sinai patients and really to get feedback on what their pain points are. And ultimately, they look at the products that we're developing and giving us feedback. So I think having that experience-led focus, you know, I'm pretty proud of. I think it's a different mindset than just, you know, putting out technology.

Kristin, we're only, you know, two-thirds in and already gave us a masterclass on career and career development as well as digital. I mean, packed in there was like, you know, great insights into how others might emulate, you know, that success. I mean, that rate of 70-some percent of engagement, on your app, that is definitely the highest I've ever heard by a long shot. You all have a lot to be proud of. But I want to switch now because I know our audience wants to hear a lot about this too, and that is women in digital and tech and just general leadership. And you're a pioneer, right? You've been at this 19-plus years, 19 at Mount Sinai. But as you shared, you were already doing leadership things prior to that, but definitely in healthcare. And as a CIO, CDIO, Tell us a little bit more about that. Like, did, did, uh, did you encounter resistance that you had to overcome? Or, you know, share some thoughts again from the point of view of a listener who might be, uh— I think it's good for both males and females, but females specifically, you know, thinking about, I want to be like her.

Yeah, it's, you know, it's been a journey to say the least. Um, and it started when, you know, I went to college. Um, I was only one of 2 women in the technology and law course. Of course, when we went into pure law courses, there were a lot more women there. But we were the only 2 enrolled women in the technology law degrees.

Wow.

I was the only woman who obtained a CISO certification at Carnegie Mellon recently, quite a few years ago. Yeah, I'm very aware of being the only one in the room and the gender disparity in technology. And I think that it's at all stages in your career, I think that I've certainly experienced challenges, but finding the right place you know, in the right employer, the right organization, the right culture, I think is tremendously important. And I have to say, you know, Mount Sinai is a firm believer in equity. You know, I have many women as leaders in my team, but as well as peers. And also the president of Mount Sinai is a woman. And I've seen such an evolution and a change come about in the last few years. And so I remain hopeful.

Yeah, and that's good advice too. You got to think about the organization. How can we accelerate getting more women leaders in healthcare tech? And speaking to men like myself and other women, I mean, what can we do proactively to make sure that door is open, people know about it?

I think it all starts with the recruitment process and just being very intentional about having a diverse list of candidates to consider for new positions. And I know that, especially in the infrastructure space, sometimes we get one resume that is a woman. But I think that you've got to go out and actively seek women to be recruited as part of these positions. I also think that for promotions, making sure that we've got an inclusive review regarding that and also our new hire candidates, we have to reduce gender bias. But again, it comes back to intentionality.

Yeah.

So, making sure that you know, we're actively involved in the recruitment and promotion process to ensure that the process is free from unconscious bias is tremendously important. So I think leaders have to be involved. I think secondly, mentorship programs. And I developed a mentorship program quite a few years ago in the department. And, you know, it's been very successful. And it's actually been adopted at, you know, the health system level at this point. It's not specifically for women, but it also— we do have a track within there where it can say if a woman wants a female leader to work with as their mentor. And it provides a confidential and open channel to communicate around the challenges or being able to provide feedback around different issues. just empowering women to also take charge of their careers. So I personally mentor many, many women and have guided them on their career paths. And I'm very proud of that. And I also think internships— we've got a women-specific technology internship. It's called Breakthrough Tech to help encourage women to continue their careers in technology and digital. I just think that there is a perception when you speak to high school students, or even early women in college. There's a perception that technology is really around data centers, or servers, or networking. And it's really so much more. So, I think a lot of it also is around education.

Yeah, those are— you gave me like 5 Concrete things, uh, that all of us, uh, can do. So that's awesome. So I have so many more questions, but, you know, I'm gonna be limited to one or two here as we sort of, uh, round the corner. How do you stay current and keep an eye on the future? So obviously you have a big, big role and you've done an amazing job. How do you, you know, how do you do it and how do you know what's coming up? And, you know, Stay relevant, basically.

Yeah, I think you've got to read the news every day. Whether it's New York Times, Wall Street Journal, you've got to subscribe to technology, CIO forums, business magazines. You've got to attend conferences, collaborate with other healthcare organizations and leadership. We have the CIOs meet at least quarterly in the New York area, which is great. I think cultivating other relationships, even outside of the New York area, of other CIOs that you can speak to. Then continuing to invest in your education. I think that one of the areas that I'm focused on is just continuous learning and making sure that the team also have that quality. For instance, last year, I spent some time going to MIT and focused on blockchain. And this year, I'm focused on AI. So I'm going to some formal education around that. And again, just, I think, focusing on continuous improvement, reading books, it's important.

So I know you're also a mother. And so how do you— Charge your batteries and remain fresh and live the integrated or balanced life, however you might describe it.

I mean, it's so important to not be burnt out. And look, the line between personal and work, I mean, it definitely gets blurred at times. And it's a struggle, especially with the peak of COVID not just for me, but for many of my team members in the organization. I've tried to be more structured about designating time that I'm not checking and sending email constantly and trying to schedule time off. I try not to email my team on the weekend unless it's a crisis or we've got downtime or something eventful has occurred. But I think scheduling time off, you've got to focus on your own well-being, but also your family. Your family is so important. And I think that I encourage my leadership team to do this. And I know that we all encourage our teams to do the same. It's not easy.

Yeah.

But I definitely think that making sure that people have Time to recharge is extremely important.

So in the last 29 minutes, Kristin, we covered super big areas, not just music that came out of Australia, but career is solid advice too because I number them all as I'm taking notes here. It's just solid things on career, on digital, on women in healthcare, and different things they can do and how we can help as leaders help them to advance and have equal opportunity. Talked about life, talked about remaining fresh. Is there something I missed or something we talked about that you want to double down on? I'll give you the last word.

Yeah, I think just developing relationships in the organization. I just, I can't emphasize enough how important it is, especially if you want to grow within your current organization. And, you know, these people can be advocates for your career growth, and they can provide, you know, support and guidance and really sponsor you. Just, you know, making sure that you're cultivating an identity or an image that resonates with others and being authentic. And it's a bidirectional relationship, so it shouldn't be transactional. I think that, you know, the idea is not just to take but to give, and developing those mutually trusting relationships is so important. And trust is the basis of all relationships, and I think people don't pay enough attention to this.

Yeah, Kristin, this has been amazing. I'm, I'm refreshed, uh, like as a leader, and, and I know that it'll be an inoculation, you know, of sorts of, uh, of encouragement to others that are listening, uh, and just full of great ideas, you know, that, that will be helpful to so many people. So I, I, I personally appreciate, Kristin, how you've been an influencer in my life, and I thank you for that. And thank you for being on Digital Voices and sharing so freely of yourself.

Thank you, Ed. It was fantastic to catch up with you.

All right, this wraps up another edition of Digital Voices. Thanks for listening.

Thank you for listening to Digital Voices podcast with Ed Marx. If you enjoyed this episode, subscribe on your preferred streaming service and leave a rating and review. And most importantly, thanks again for listening.