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ISSUE NO. 06 · SEPTEMBER 2026 |
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| On a more personal note, my dad and my aunt came to town, and I got to sign their copies of the book for them in person. That one hit different. It was amazing to see it in their hands!
Somewhere in the middle of all that, the book spent a week as the number one new release in three categories on Amazon, and number three overall in the Physician category. At its peak, it hit 2,537 in Best Overall Book on Amazon. Josh Hartzell tells me that’s pretty good given the millions of books on Amazon, so I believe him.
None of this happened because I am especially good at self-promotion. It happened because people showed up. Colleagues, mentors, family, strangers who became readers. That is the thing about self-awareness and trust: you cannot build either one alone. |
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WITH GRATITUDE
Last week, I was reminded of the strengths of Military Medicine at the Triservice ACP. More than that, I was reminded that people are its greatest strength.
I have sat through award ceremonies before and wondered how the winners were chosen. I had seen some of them in action, and I doubted they deserved it. That did not happen at the Triservice ACP.
Leaders from the Army, Navy, and Air Force received awards that day. Each branch gave out several, and many went to more than one recipient. I sat next to a dear friend, and we kept turning to each other after every name. Yep, they deserve that! Yes, they are amazing! I am so lucky to know them!
That is not a small thing to say about so many folks. It means the standard held. It means the physicians are doing the hard work, appreciating each other for doing it, and recognizing those who are doing it best.
I am grateful for that room, for the friend sitting next to me who felt it too, and for all of the folks that have mentored me along the way. Watch the video below to see what I mean: |
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FROM THE BOOK
SELF-AWARENESS AND TRUST: LEADING HEALTHCARE TEAMS FROM THE INSIDE OUT
CHAPTER 5: Leading from Wholeness: Values, Vulnerability, and the Power of Authentic Presence
Chapter 4 was about knowing your identity well enough to be true to it. Chapter 5 is about what happens when you actually live that out loud, and what it costs you when your values get tested for real.
It opens with a slide. Early in my career, I built a mentorship program for residents and asked faculty to introduce themselves before it started. I made my own slide first, and it included a photo of me with my wife. I did not think of it as a bold move. It felt simple. If I was asking other people to show up as themselves, I needed to do the same.
A week later, a faculty member I barely knew pulled me into his office. He told me he had seen my slide. He told me he had just proposed to his partner, after twenty years together, because watching me be open had made him believe it was finally safe to be open too.
That moment shaped how I led from then on, but the chapter does not stay there. It moves into something harder: a story about a trainee whose behavior harmed people across an entire system, and what happened when I did what I believed leadership required. I recommended accountability. The institution chose a softer path. I paid a personal cost for standing where I stood, and even knowing what I know now, I would definitely stand there again!
The chapter closes with a compass. A friend from my Army years gave it to me at my retirement, after years of us being each other's true north through the hardest moments critical care can hand you. I still carry it. I still use it to ask people the same question it taught me to ask myself. |
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A LEADER I AM WATCHING: Dr. Jennifer Brown
I want to start with the book that changed me. Jennifer Brown wrote How to Be an Inclusive Leader, and I read it at a point in my career when I thought I already understood inclusion. I was wrong, or at least I was not as far along as I believed.
That book did not just inform me. It changed how I coach. It changed how I mentor. It changed what I listen for when a leader tells me about their team, and it changed the questions I ask when something in that story does not sit right. I have carried pieces of it into nearly every coaching conversation I have had since, with leaders at every level, from residents just finding their footing to executives who have run departments for decades.
I do not say that lightly. I have read a lot of leadership books. Very few of them rewire how you actually show up for other people. This one did.
I am grateful to Jennifer for getting it down on paper, because I believe the leaders I mentor are better for it, even the ones who have never heard her name. If you read one book off this newsletter all year, I would start there. She has also written Inclusion, Beyond Diversity, and her newest release, The Shape of Change.
Jennifer is the founder of Jennifer Brown Consulting and the host of the podcast The Will to Change. I recently listened to an episode where she said something that has stayed with me. So much of what we have not known, explored, or prioritized involves our own lived experience and the lived experience of others. Our workplaces, like so many of our systems, were never built by or for everyone. Jennifer's case is that we all have a once in a lifetime chance to change that, and it starts with getting comfortable being uncomfortable.
Real growth is awkward. It is uncertain. And it is necessary. |
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CONNECT WITH JESS
Podcasts
• The Fire Chief with Lee Scheinbart: How Can CMOs Build Trust from the Inside Out?
• The Growth Edge Leadership Podcast with Laurie Baedke: Leading from the Inside Out: Self-Awareness and Trust
Upcoming Events:
• “You Don’t Have to Carry this Alone,” Suicide Awareness Webinar sponsored by West Point Women, Virtual, Sep 16, 2026 at 7pm EST, link pending, but please block your calendar
• United Against Silence, Poetry and Performances Community Showcase, I will be doing a book reading: Sep 18, 2026 at 7pm EST, Strathmore Mansion, Bethesda, MD.
• Mission Belonging, Day of Belonging: Sep 19, 2026, Rockwood Manor, Potomac, MD - Presenting: “The Ground We Stand On: Psychological Safety in Creative Communities”
• WIM Summit: Sep 24–26, 2026, Chicago, IL, Presenting: |
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| • StandUp4Doctors Retreat: Oct 9–12, 2026, Ossining, NY
• International Society for Hair Restoration Surgeons World Congress, Oct 15, 2026; Congress in Rio de Janeiro, but I will be presenting virtually: “Standing FIRM: Assertive Communication for Women in Male-Dominated Professions.”
• American Association for Physician Leadership, Oct 22-24, 2026; Scottsdale, AZ - Presenting: “Across the Divide: A Practical Workshop in Civil Discourse.”
• International Coaching Federation, Converge 2026, Oct 28-30, 2026, Washington, DC
Book Launch Events: While I will be launching the book at Mission Belonging (Potomac, MD), Women in Medicine, (Chicago, IL), and American Association for Physician Leaders (Scottsdale, AZ), the following events will be for the book only:
• Healthcare Leadership Foundation Virtual Book Launch: Oct 29, 2026 6-8pm - Block your calendar, Invitation forthcoming
• Army-Navy Country Club, Arlington, VA: Feb 11, 2027 6-8pm - Block your calendar, Invitation forthcoming
• If you have other ideas or would like me to come to your program or institution, please do not hesitate to reach out!
Self-Awareness and Trust: Leading Healthcare Teams From the Inside Out is now available. You can buy the book at Amazon and the American Association for Physician Leadership (AAPL).
📖 Learn more: jessbuninmd.com/book |
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| ONE QUESTION FOR REFLECTION
What is one value you want your leadership to reflect more consistently in the year ahead?
Please consider sharing the newsletter with someone who might like to join my journey.
I would love to hear your feedback and suggestions!
I will write again in 2 weeks!
Warmly,
Jess |
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