I am My Own C-Suite

I have always had this visceral reaction to the notion of the C-suite. On the one hand, I have wanted a seat there, seemingly where the action was, where the impact could be had on the day-to-day decision making that affected the practice of medicine.  And yet, the idea of being in the C-suite evoked waves of nausea that left me wanting to run in the other direction.  This dichotomy is quite sobering.   Perhaps it can be helpful to  think of yourself of the CEO of your own life.  But when my visceral reaction to the concept of the C-suite even limited the utility of that construct -  I turned the C-suite upside down.

And I decided.

I AM MY OWN C-SUITE.

CWO - Chief WELLNESS/WONDER/WAYFINDING Officer

CMO - Chief MOTHERING/MEANINGFULNESS/MINDFULNESS Officer

CIO -  Chief INTUITION/IMAGINATION/INSPIRATION Officer

CEO - Chief EMPOWERMENT/ENCOURAGEMENT Officer

CCO - Chief COMPASSION/CREATIVITY Officer

CFO - Chief FUN/FREEDOM Officer

I need no invitation to the table.

I create the table.

And as I gather my team around that place of togetherness I decide, in the moment, who I am showing up as.

In one moment, my daughter is needing my love and attention. She is figuring out her own friendships and navigating those seas of middle school.  So in that moment, I am her CMO - Chief Mothering Officer and her CEO - Chief Encouragement Officer.  I lead with tenderness and with love.

From there, I work on my evolution from OBGYN delivering babies to delivering myself anew as a patient and physician coach.  I call upon my CCO - Chief Compassion Officer and CIO - Chief Intuition Officer to offer me profound kindness, understanding, and grace. In that space of compassion  I can intently listen to my intuition and from that sacred place, endless creative possibilities abound.

In the moments when I can suspend judgment - of myself - I find the joy in playing a board game or sitting by the lake watching my lovies kayak by. My CFO - Chief FUN and Chief FREEDOM Officers delight in a job well done when I can find the fun, indulge it, and then be free.  Their success in their roles elevate the quality of my life beyond measure.

And then there is my CWO.  Sometimes she is Chief of Wellness; at other times she leads in Wonder or Wayfinding.  Her role is to remind me to follow my North Star, that internal compass that guides me to my next correct turn. She enables me to embrace being a Wayfinder.  In sensing what feels right, I know it to be true because it is easy, calm, and peaceful.  My body is relaxed. And in that state of relaxation, I am free to Wonder and dream.  In so doing, I am restoring my Wellness. As Chief of Wellness, I remind myself that it is not selfish to care for myself; I cannot give and give until I am fully depleted. Burnout is real. And I cannot care for anyone else until I care for myself properly.

So I invite you.

Be your own C-Suite.

Create your own team.

Build your own table.