“You cannot lead an organization beyond your capacity to lead yourself,” said career coach Muriel Maignan Wilkins, CEO and Founder of Paravis Partners and author of “Leadership Unblocked: Break Through the Beliefs That Limit Your Potential,” as she and other expert panelists offered advice and insights on leadership as a clinical trial competency during a Signature Series gathering on Sunday (April 26) at ACRP 2026 in Orlando. “Maturing is understanding that the choice is up to you” about how to respond to the challenges you face as a leader or someone who wants to step into a leadership role, she added.
Wilkins was joined by Michelle Rowe, RN, Vice President for Research with HCA Healthcare; Jennifer Sheller, ACRP-CP, Senior Vice President and Head for Global Clinical Trial Operations (GCTO) with Merck; and moderator Susan P. Landis, CEO of ACRP, in a lively discussion spinning off from reflections on their career journeys, the leadership skills that fueled their growth, and the pivotal moments that defined their paths.
With Landis encouraging the panelists to integrate their stories of personal leadership into their career stories, the trio reflected the importance of distinguishing between a generic definition of a leadership position and the actual performance of leading.
Sheller noted that “it’s less about doing [things oneself] and more about leading through others,” and highlighted her early experiences in youth sports as part of her pathway to taking on leadership roles.
“I think about leadership as something bigger than yourself” and a way of “making an impact for so many more” people than just oneself, noted Rowe, who cited working on a team to develop a cancer center and to set a vision for it as a foundational influence on her perception of herself as a leader.
Saying that “it’s OK if there’s a difference between why you work [at the job you hold] and why you lead,” Wilkins further advocated for the panel’s audience members to interrogate the “why” behind their own intentions to lead others, advising that “waiting for the opportunity to lead to come [your way] is not the way.”
Reported by Gary Cramer
