Meghan Joyce has worked as an executive for companies as diverse as Uber and Bain Capital and sits on the board of Boston Beer Co., but is now in the C-suite of an upstart insurer.
MH: How did you decide to get into healthcare?
Joyce: What motivates me and inspires me is being able to have an impact in a mission-driven area. It’s critically important to me that however I’m spending my time, it is having a positive impact on our communities, and nowhere exemplifies that more than healthcare.
MH: Looking back on your career, is there anyone you feel you owe some gratitude for their advice?
Joyce: Yeah, so many. But one of the first and best pieces of advice I’ve ever gotten actually came from my mom when I was a kid, in the context of a school play that I was working on. She pulled me aside one day and told me leadership is about bringing out the best in other people and that’s your opportunity here. And I really took that to heart and frankly, that’s been a core part of my values and approach to leadership and management throughout my life.
MH: Is there anybody who is a role model other than people you know?
Joyce: I think about Rosa Parks all the time in the sense of someone who was not coming from a traditional position of authority or empowerment and took it upon herself to muster the courage and compassion for those around her to take a stand. And what Rosa Parks teaches me is that you don’t need to, and frankly, you can’t wait to be formally empowered to make an impact on the world.
Another is Katharine Graham, who was the longtime publisher of the Washington Post, a leader before her time. And what inspires me about people like Rosa Parks and Kate Graham is that they didn’t wait; they stood up for what they knew to be right. They led with a combination of courage and compassion, and they brought out the best in a whole lot of other people by doing so