Rebels with a Cause:  Exploring the Element of Novelty Part 1.   

Mobeen and Matthew welcome guest, Connie Clerici to Built to Lead to examine the element of novelty as a trait of “good rebels”. Connie is a system innovator who embodies the principle of novelty in all of her work. Connie founded Closing the Gap Healthcare as a disruptive force in the home care landscape in Canada. With a background in nursing, Closing the Gap, led by Connie, has embraced the cutting edge of how home services are provided, expanding into community clinic work, virtual care, and social support.  

Connie is currently Board Chair at Closing the Gap.  She actively gives back to shaping the next generation of leaders in her work on the Advisory Board of the Ivey School of Business at Western University and as a Senior Fellow in the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto.  

Her pragmatic approach to how we deliver home care in Canada earned her the Queen Elizabeth Second Diamond Jubilee medal in 2012. This is in addition to dozens of other accolades including Canada’s Most Powerful Women, RBC Entrepreneur of the year, and a top 25 women of influence.   

In part 1 of this conversation, Connie relays her leadership story, beginning as a health care aid and critical care nurse in hospital.  Novelty and change were not welcome leadership characteristics in hospitals, sending Connie on a journey into community nursing where she focused on serving the needs of vulnerable children with special needs.  Again, dissatisfied with the “status quo”, she eventually created Closing the Gap - a novel way of serving clients and families, based on a culture of quality, autonomy and respect.   

She discusses the evolution of Closing the Gap diversifying services from children to seniors.  Connie discussed her definition of “thought leadership” – her focus on values and how values form the tenets of the organization including evidence-based services, continuous learning, and innovation.   

She encourages leaders to focus on novelty – embracing new opportunities that are outside of one’s comfort zone, seeking mentors and engaging with people who hold diverse and different perspectives from your own.  She ends with advice for new and early career leaders based on her experience in health leadership.  

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