Bringing Out Your Best for Success

This article was updated on June 11, 2025.

Everyone strives to be a great leader in their field. But to truly emerge as a leader, you need to navigate challenges and communicate efficiently, especially in today’s healthcare landscape. That’s the message from Alan Friedman, MA, founder and CEO of J3P Health, who believes that through self-knowledge, anyone can become an effective leader and overcome obstacles to allow their practices to thrive within a healthy work environment.

Friedman delivered the ACR 2025 Moreton Lecture entitled “Maximizing Professional SUCCESS Through Connectivity and Self-Knowledge.”

Friedman has learned a lot from being the founder and CEO of J3P, an organization aimed at helping professionals treat each other with respect and effectively communicating and listening to solve common problems. This journey starts with understanding your own personal brand, and how you view and approach problem-solving. Having self-awareness, according to Friedman, is the foundation for the work that we do and the relationships we build. Friedman admits there are things you can and can’t control. One thing within your control is how people perceive you based on how you communicate and interact with them — that’s where self-awareness comes into play. Behavior is the externalization of how you think; it is what you say and what you do. Your personality, motivation and environment play crucial roles in how you approach working with others.

The audience was asked to think about their strengths and what are known traditionally as weaknesses when handling interactions and problem-solving. However, Friedman asked the audience not to think of the negatives as weaknesses but rather as challenges since challenges can be overcome. Challenges, like how we think and behave, can be changed. To help improve interactions, Friedman says you need to focus on the three core behaviors of humility, empathy and curiosity. Being humble and opening your mind to new ideas and perspectives is key in bridging gaps in understanding to solve problems. You need to be curious about understanding others and use empathy when determining how to properly respond. Considering these behaviors, you can gauge how much energy you need to be the person you want to be versus the person you really are.

Personality traits also known as tendencies can be helpful, but can also have risks associated with them, Friedman says. J3P Health in partnership with Deeper Signals has developed an assessment platform with a face valid report that outlines traits that are natural to you and how this information can help make you as an individual, leader and as a member of a team more effective. He cites an example of how being candid without a filter can work against you and may be perceived as insensitive — when in your mind you are trying to lead a tough conversation or simply explain the situation as it is.

Friedman explained the results of assessment data submitted by 127 ACR members, breaking them down into sections: Board of Chancellors (27), Council Steering Committee (11) and Councilors and Alternate Councilors in the ACR (89) and displayed traits of each on heat maps. Board of Chancellors members showed themselves to be candid, stable and outgoing. The Council Steering Committee was found to be disciplined, reserved and passionate. Councilors and Alternate Councilors were seen as reserved, pragmatic and passionate. It allowed everyone to see the composition of each cohort and how to properly and more effectively approach each group in terms of problem solving.

Friedman concluded the lecture by talking about getting more productivity and fulfillment from work by thinking about your approach to problem-solving. Communication is not just what’s comfortable or easy for you, but what is preferable and acceptable by and for your audience. You need to think about how to effectively communicate with your audience. By finding that balance, Friedman believes we can become more collaborative and efficient professionals — something the house of medicine needs now more than ever.

By Alexander Utano, associate editor, ACR Press