This article was written by Jessica Levco, Healthcare Writer & Event Strategist. 

At the 34^th annual Healthcare Contact Center Times conference in Atlanta this June, Kathy Divis, Greystone.Net president, and her long-time friend, Danny Fell, SVP of Health, BVK, had a heartfelt discussion about what it means to be a leader.

In 2024, they wrote chapters for Transformative Leadership: Self-Mastery for the New Voice of Business Success by Jill “GiGi” Austin. Divis wrote about what it means to be a “reluctant leader,” and Fell’s chapter was about the importance of mentorship.

What exactly makes someone a reluctant leader? According to Divis, it’s often circumstantial rather than chosen — something that gets pushed upon a person. And that’s what happened to her.

As a co-founder of Greystone.Net, she spent many years working alongside her business partner, John A. Eudes, who she describes as a “charismatic frontman of the business who had a professional vision and personal presence that nobody would forget.”

When Eudes was diagnosed with advanced pancreatic cancer — everything changed. Divis chose to step up and lead the Greystone.Net team even though it had never been part of her plan. For those coming into unexpected leadership roles, Divis shared these tips:

• Listen more than you speak: “It’s important to listen to what your employees, staff and clients are thinking,” Divis says. “You have to be able to understand their point of view and be able to communicate it.”
• Brush up on your negotiation skills: "Whether it’s customers, clients, vendors or employees, you’ve got to have strong negotiation skills to keep your stakeholders aligned,” Divis says.
• Be honest with your expectations: “You’re not doing anybody any good if you’re not being truthful with them; you’re setting them up for failure,” Divis says.

Fell’s story illustrates how mentorship can completely redirect a career trajectory. During his college internship, he worked at HCA Pulaski Hospital in Southeast Virginia, where his mentor, Christine Meade, instilled in him a passion for hospital marketing.

"Not only was she so dynamic and excited about the industry, she also offered to introduce me to people in the industry,” Fell says. “I was like a sponge. I loved it.”

Since his internship, he’s built a three-decade career as a founder, business strategist and marketing consultant for various start-ups and Top 10 Fortune global companies. He was also the inaugural recipient of the John A. Eudes Vision & Excellence Award from Greystone.Net.

Fell shared three mentoring paths: within your industry, around your specific area of expertise and focused on particular skills. 

Fell says that mentoring relationships often evolve into lifelong professional networks. And as your career evolves, particularly in later stages, both mentoring and being mentored become increasingly valuable, he says.

“Some of these relationships for me go back three to four decades,” Fell says. “Your personal network is the most valuable thing you have.”