As the first rays of dawn peeked over the horizon, I found myself not waking up from a restful sleep, but among the few who had stayed alert through the night, ready to jump into action for any medical emergency. This particular morning led us to a peaceful spot in Southern California, where a traffic accident had disrupted the calm. The scene was a whirlwind of activity, with voices overlapping in a rush of urgency. "I hear you, but listen to me! I need more help back here!" I shouted, but my words were lost in the chaos. In our training, they always remind us, "If you hear hoofbeats, think horses, not zebras." In other words, start with the obvious, the straightforward approach, before considering rare scenarios. Begin with the basics. Yet there I was, squeezed into the back of a vehicle, performing CPR solo—a task meant for a team of five. Ideally, two would alternate chest compressions, one would handle the airway and oxygen, another would document and communicate with bystanders, and a leader would guide the process, announcing key moments like drug delivery, shocks, and status updates. But in the tight space of a small car, it was just me, with someone outside trying to provide oxygen. I kept calling for help, surrounded by nearly ten other first responders who were busy cutting the car's roof off. Looking back, we could have simply moved the patient, avoiding this cramped and awkward situation. When we finally reached the ER, the doctor came out to thank me and said I did a great job. However, I was too caught up in the moment to appreciate it, still frustrated by what had just happened. The lesson from this experience was clear: pay attention to the dynamics of the situation, no matter how intense your focus is—sometimes taking a moment to clearly communicate the next steps is crucial. Identify the leader in the situation, and if no one steps up, take the initiative yourself, because chances are, no one else will. Also, remember to listen and get out of your own head, as there are many people willing to help—but you need to speak up and ask questions. This experience taught me that effective communication and leadership are just as important as medical skills in emergencies. It's not enough to simply react; you must also coordinate and collaborate with your team to ensure the best possible outcome for the patient.

I like to argue that real world experiences are far and few if you think of them from a comprehensive technical point of view of what the definition of the real world is. To me, it’s the privilege to walk into thousands of homes, experience many different cultures, all in the callers likely worst day ever, a situation to be calling 911 for medical help. Whether this could be agreed or not isn’t the point. What it’s allowed me to do however, is have the perspective of what truly matters in life, and in work. Having the sense of community, belonging, and that everyone has shared experiences - whether it’s obvious or not. This is what I intend to take to running an organization, and team while building out culture. Among many activities, one I intend to hold is bi-weekly improv sessions run for my teams. The amount of soft skills obtained could not be covered more comprehensively than an activity like improv. I’ll leave a link at the end from the video that pushed me to attend classes.

In 2018, a research team led by Dotan Castro conducted a series of five interconnected studies, published in the journal Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, to investigate the impact of genuine listening on individuals. The studies involved 744 participants and consistently demonstrated that individuals who experienced authentic listening generated significantly more creative ideas, with a correlation coefficient of .39, which is considered robust within the field of workplace psychology. The underlying mechanism identified was psychological safety; being attentively heard fostered an environment conducive to open and creative thinking. The researchers conducted experiments to eliminate the possibility that inherently creative individuals simply attracted more attentive listeners, and the results consistently supported the original hypothesis. The study concluded that listening is a critically undervalued leadership skill. This finding is relevant to both aspects of the narrative: it underscores the necessity for someone to heed the medic's call from the back seat and for the medic to be receptive to the assistance readily available.

Source: Castro, D. R., Anseel, F., Kluger, A. N., Lloyd, K. J., and Turjeman-Levi, Y. (2018). Mere listening effect on creativity and the mediating role of psychological safety. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 12(4), 489-502.

Further reading: Kluger, A. N., and Itzchakov, G. (2022). The power of listening at work. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior.

This is my first newsletter, and I’d love to hear your experiences, questions, concerns, or if there’s anything you think I can help with. I’m happy to share my personal struggles back, as I believe it’s important to share what may seem as a weakness - as how could you possibly know what’s normal, without hearing shared experiences? I plan on reading every single response, and do apologize if I can’t get a meaningful reply back.

-With love,

Jim