Run Toward the Fire: How Gautam Shirhattikar leads teams through constant change

What do you do when most of your company’s revenue disappears three months into your first CEO job? Gautam Shirhattikar, CEO of Synergy Health Partners, ran toward the fire, and he says he learned 10 times more from that volatility than stability could have taught him. In this episode of Activating Greatness, host Alec McChesney and Gautam unpack VUCA (volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity). They also cover how leaders can use Colonel John Boyd’s OODA loop (observe, orient, decide, act) to lead through constant change. Gautam explains how his team used the loop to fix a patient-scheduling misstep within a week. He shares why he ranks financial results seventh on his own CEO scorecard and how a 4 a.m. self-reflection practice keeps him from rushing to conclusions. You’ll also hear why he’s bullish on the next generation of leaders. He believes the pace of a company’s growth depends on the pace at which its leaders grow.