Benjamin Davis, MD, PhD

“The leadership coaching I did was a unique experience, where as a faculty division director I was paired with a senior administrative leader in our department.

We explored leadership challenges from different vantage points and worked to understand the personalities around us using the Enneagram system. It's not so important whether the Enneagram is an absolute truth, but rather whether it is helpful in addressing conflicts and challenges, which it is. Reflecting on differences brought more empathy for others’ experiences, which made even the truly difficult conversations go surprisingly well.

Cindy often talks about love being the ‘secret’ in leadership. At first, this concept seemed a little hokey to me. But the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. Love is the major emotion for human connection. If we learn to harness this emotion as a leader, others feel more accepted, appreciated, and encouraged.

And personally, I trusted that more of my decisions were coming from the right place with the right reasons. Overall, a great experience.”

— Benjamin Davis, MD, PhD - Division Director, Allergy/Immunology, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Iowa