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Amanda Wilde (Host): Welcome to the Healthcare Executive Podcast, providing you with insightful commentary and developments in the world of healthcare leadership. To learn more, visit ache.org. I'm Amanda Wilde. In this podcast episode, I'm joined by Shannon Connors, Senior Director Digital Health and National Accounts at Exact Sciences.

Exact Sciences is one of ACHE's premier corporate partners. Our premier corporate partners support ACHE's vision and mission to advance healthcare leadership excellence. In this discussion, we'll focus on the impact of leadership in cancer screening innovations. Shannon Connors, welcome to the podcast.

Shannon Connors: Thanks for having me, Amanda, and certainly to our ACHE partners and everyone listening. It's an honor to be here.

Host: What is your role exactly at Exact Sciences? Your title is Senior Director Digital Health and National Accounts.

Shannon Connors: Absolutely. So, I have the pleasure of working with two incredible teams, one that serves our largest health systems, our national accounts, as well as emerging business partners, and also a team of digital health strategists that really work with our health system customers to help them unlock the power of their technology investments to positively impact patient care.

I also work at the intersection of technology partnerships and implementation, and that's really helped me to see from a leadership perspective, just the importance of building relationships, creating trust and alignment, and also fostering connectivity so that we're truly viewed as that trusted partner internally and externally. Because we know that while technology, certainly innovation may be scalable, trust is not, and it's earned by people and not platforms.

Host: What leadership traits are most critical when trying to bring the human element to solutions in healthcare?

Shannon Connors: The first trait that comes to mind is empathy. We know empathetic leaders often understand or seek to understand the lived experiences of patients, of clinicians, of caregivers. And so, designing screening tools that account for fear, stigma, trauma, and certainly accessibility and not just clinical effectiveness is incredibly important.

I also reflect on the importance of humility. As much as we like to think as leaders that we have all the answers, sometimes we don't, and we really need to be intentional about working across disciplines or communities, being open to feedback from frontline workers, patients, community leaders, and really co-creating solutions together versus driving top-down mandates.

I also think about communication and sometimes how mistrust, perhaps confusion or misinformation can derail even the best solutions. And so, it's incredibly important for leaders to explain the why, and not just the what and tailor that messaging to different stakeholders.

And then, finally, think about resilience. Changing systems and changing behavior is slow. It's often complex and sometimes full of setbacks when you think about pushing through funding rejections, regulatory delays, or early pilot failures without losing sight of the mission, and it's framing failure truly as progress, which is also an important component of humility.

Host: Well, part of working together includes partnerships. Strategic partnerships are often seen as just business deals. How do you ensure they stay mission-focused and people-centered?

Shannon Connors: So at Exact Sciences, we approach partnerships not as transactions, but as shared and collaborative goals where we have co-ownership of outcomes. And it's truly that shift in mindset that changes everything. We keep the patient at the center of everything that we do and that unlocks our true potential when it comes to our strategic and innovative partnerships.

Host: Now, technology is always advancing, advancing rapidly, which is great in healthcare. But why isn't technology alone enough to drive meaningful outcomes?

Shannon Connors: It is important to note that technology is a catalyst. It's not a solution. And when it comes to early detection, it only works when people and patients, they feel safe, they feel informed, and they feel motivated to engage in their healthcare. Innovation doesn't succeed without a team culture that really is aligned and inclusive and certainly mission-driven.

As I reflect on this week at Exact Sciences, it's AI Acceleration Week, and I was reminded of a quote by Steve Jobs after he was asked about his faith in technology at the time versus 20 years prior. And he responded with "Have faith in people." And I believe that's something important, especially as leaders, that we're intentional about granting trust oftentimes before it's earned, giving people the tools to do great work and recognizing that people are every organization's most important resource. People help to fuel, guide and unlock the power of technology and innovations that makes a difference. But change only happens at the speed of trust, and it's trust that's built not in conference rooms, but in patient rooms, staff meetings, and certainly in the community, and having those conversations together.

Host: Shannon, the adoption of new cancer screening methods remains challenging. Why is that?

Shannon Connors: So, cancer screening is evolving. When we think about the introduction and acceleration of AI, liquid biopsies, self-sampling kits, and remote diagnostics, they're revolutionizing early detection. But despite groundbreaking technology, adoption remains slow, uneven, and oftentimes ineffective.

Adoption remains a challenge because of fragmented systems in which healthcare systems may lack the infrastructure to support new tools. There may also be equity gaps, which can leave rural, low income, or minority populations behind. And then, there are also provider skepticism in which clinicians may be wary of new and unproven tools. They could lack training or even face workflow disruption. So, that's really where leadership comes in and is needed to align stakeholders to navigate the complexity and champion adoption across the healthcare system.

When it comes to human-centered leadership specifically, really ensuring implementation is culturally appropriate, clinician-friendly and responsive to real-world conditions. So, it's about the how, not just the what, and centered around a compelling why that we can all get behind.

Host: What have you learned about aligning various stakeholders around the goal of early cancer detection?

Shannon Connors: We are incredibly intentional and focused on relationship-building with different stakeholders from health systems to community-based organizations. It's not just important, but it's incredibly important to our mission and our purpose. So, I think about our community engagement and our annual event, which is the Cologuard Classic that really celebrates survivorship and advancements in colorectal cancer detection that make patient stories possible.

I think about our partnership with payers to expand access to care, and oftentimes to transform how preventative care reaches people so that no patient unintentionally falls through the cracks. And then, of course, our longstanding collaborations with health systems like the Mayo Clinic and Johns Hopkins University.

And finally, just how embedded health equity is at Exact Sciences and how we prioritize partnerships with the National Minority Quality Forum, the work that we do with federally qualified health centers and health systems to address screening disparities, our own health equity advisory board that helps guide our approach to equitably serving populations, which again helps us to deliver on our mission and our purpose.

Host: Shannon, you touched on this just a moment ago. Can you discuss how leadership and trust intersect in building innovative partnerships?

Shannon Connors: Absolutely. And when it comes to trust and leadership, people follow leaders who are authentic, they're accountable, and they're willing to stand in complexity with them. And the same goes with building innovative partnerships that are truly built on trust. When we trust in one another, I often say we're comfortable leaning into the hard and co-creating that shared vision that helps us develop mutually beneficial goals and solutions that ultimately impact patient care and outcomes.

Host: If you could give one piece of advice to other healthcare leaders trying to balance innovation with compassion, what would it be?

Shannon Connors: I believe it starts by keeping the patient at the center and leading with purpose, being intentional about asking questions and avoiding making assumptions and also creating space for diverse perspectives. We work in a dynamic environment that is fast-paced. And it's so important to slow down and think about who else should advise or be pulled into a discussion.

Ultimately, we know that technology evolves, but it's truly leadership that ensures that evolution reaches everyone. So if I had one message for healthcare leaders, it's this: Don't let innovation outpace compassion and never lose sight of who you're innovating for.

Host: Shannon, thank you so much for these valuable insights and encouragement for other healthcare leaders.

Shannon Connors: My pleasure. Thank you so much, Amanda.

Host: Shannon Connors is Senior Director Digital Health and National Accounts at Exact Sciences. Exact Sciences is one of ACHE's Premier Corporate Partners. Our premier corporate partners support ACHE's vision and mission to advance healthcare leadership excellence.

For more information about the American College of Healthcare Executives, visit ache.org. Subscribe so you won't miss an episode. And stay tuned for our next discussion. This is Healthcare Executive Podcast from the American College of Healthcare Executives.