Name: Bill Meehan

Title: Director, Micheli Center for Sports Injury Prevention

Organisation: Division of Sports Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital

William P. Meehan III, MD, is Director of the Micheli Center for Sports Injury Prevention, Director of Research for the Brain Injury Center at Boston Children’s Hospital, and Principal Investigator of the Neurologic Function across the Lifespan: A LONGitudinal, Translational Study for Former National Football League Players (NFL-LONG Study). He is an alumnus of both Harvard Medical School, where he is currently a Professor of Pediatrics and Orthopaedics, and Harvard Business School. He conducts both clinical and scientific research in the area of sports injuries, particularly those of the brain and spine.

He is the 2012 winner of the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine’s award for Best Overall Research. He has multiple medical and scientific publications, is author of the books Kids, Sports, and Concussion: A Guide for Coaches and Parents and Concussions, and is co-editor of the book, Head and Neck Injuries in Young Athletes.

Thank you to the 2,000 leaders who’ve generously done the 7 Questions on Leadership!

I hope Bill's answers will encourage you in your leadership journey. Enjoy!

Cheers,

Jonno White

1. What have you found most challenging as a leader?

Controlling misinformation. The world is full of misinformation these days. You see it in the news, in business, in medicine, in medical research. People seem more willing to say whatever will get them what they want, regardless of the truth. This type of deception is starting to become accepted, even praised at times. Fighting against this trend has been challenging. I still believe, however, that the truth always comes out in the end.

2. How did you become a leader? Can you please briefly tell the story?

Early in my career, I was fortunate enough to get a once in a lifetime opportunity to conduct state-of-the-art research in my field. We assembled a great team. Unfortunately, due to mismanagement and poor leadership, we did not make the most of the opportunity we were given.

I wanted to avoid that happening again, so I started reading books on leadership and management. This led to me several courses and ultimately, to Harvard Business School. Although it was difficult at the time to watch such a golden opportunity get squandered, it was the strongest, most motivational lesson on the importance of good leadership that I could get. It has made me more effective at managing the opportunities I have earned since.

3. How do you structure your work days from waking up to going to sleep?

I get up between 4:30am and 5:00am every day. Most months of the year I get my exercise by commuting by bicycle. In addition, 2 days a week I work out with a great bunch of folks from 6a-7a. I schedule most of my patient clinics in the morning, as this is when I am at my best.

Two mornings a week and most of my afternoons, I split my time between conducting medical research and tending to my administrative duties, which include co-directing the Emerging Physician Leaders Program at Boston Children’s Hospital, a program designed to take physicians who have their MBA, similar training, or prior on the job experience, and teach them the details of hospital operations, budgeting, financing, marketing, contract negotiations, and other aspects of the hospital.

I spend most evenings and weekends with my family, playing games, shooting marbles, canoeing, fishing, camping, etc. I am in bed by 9:00pm nearly every night.

4. What's a recent leadership lesson you've learned for the first time or been reminded of?

The folks who are willing to disagree with you are your biggest asset and often care about you the most. Obviously, you want disagreement to be respectful. But you should still want it. I have seen too many leaders retaliate against or alienate those that disagree with them. This is a mistake. When done respectfully, especially in private, they are not challenging your authority, they care about your success. You should befriend them and listen to them. Other folks likely have the same thoughts, but do not have the nerve to tell you.

5. What's one book that has had a profound impact on your leadership so far? Can you please briefly tell the story of how that book impacted your leadership?

Because I imagine most of your readers are already familiar with Stephen Covey’s The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, and rightfully so, I am going with Robert Axelrod’s The Evolution of Cooperation. Axelrod invited professional game theorists, psychologists, economists, political scientists, mathematicians, and sociologists to compete in a contest, a game of iterative prisoner’s dilemma.

He uses the results of the contest followed by several real world examples to show that cooperation, in most situations, is more likely to lead to success than competition. There is much more to it, but the message I took home from the book is, when interacting with a potential competitor:

A. Be supportive and genuinely happy for their accomplishments.

B. Start with cooperation.

C. Reciprocate their move – both defection and cooperation.

D. Be simple, direct, honest, and predictable.

Academic medicine is highly competitive. As such, the urge to compete is strong. The lessons from this book extinguished any hesitations I had about collaborating across institutions. Starting with collaboration has served me well.

6. If you could only give one piece of advice to a young leader, what would you say to them?

Play it straight. Be honest. Most folks who care enough to ask for advice are going to be successful in their endeavors. The one thing that will tank them every time, is if they are shady, dishonest, untrustworthy.

7. What is one meaningful story that comes to mind from your time as a leader, so far?

Early in life, I had the great honor and privilege to work for the Honorable Thomas M. Menino, Mayor of Boston. My first month on the job, there was a debate about opening a home for the mentally ill. I would soon have to testify at the zoning hearing, on behalf of the mayor. In my report, I let his honor know that most of the neighbors were against it, most of the neighborhood civic groups were against it, and most of the local politicians were against it.

Mayor Menino read the report in front of me. When he finished, he thanked me for being so thorough. Then he asked me what I thought the right thing to do was. I started by telling him that I thought he would lose votes by supporting it. He interrupted me, and asked again what I thought the right thing to do was, emphasizing the word “right.” I told him that I thought we should support it, that I did not think it would cause any problems for the neighborhood, and that the people involved deserved a place to live.

“Then that’s the way you should testify,” he said. “When you are working for me, always do what’s right.” This man, whose fate rested in the hands of the voters, based his decisions on his set of beliefs, on his moral compass, as opposed to the polls. It was powerful for me, as a 23-year-old kid, to see such fortitude. It is a lesson I learned solidly that still guides my decisions today. People were and are so skeptical of politicians, but Mayor Menino was the real deal – an honest, decent, straight shooting, hardworking man.