Ten years ago, I made a career decision that changed far more than my job.
In January 2016, I decided to step away from permanent CIO positions. I wanted more flexibility in my life
and wanted to move back near my family – which at the time included three young grandchildren and one more on the way.
My plan was to do interim management, consulting, and coaching- but on my terms and my schedule. Still, I wasn’t quite ready to step off the cliff without knowing what came next. I didn’t leave my permanent position at Michigan Medicine until I had my first interim CIO role lined up at University Hospitals in Cleveland.
It was the transition I needed, both professionally and personally. It gave me the opportunity to try a different way of working while we sold our house, moved back to New England, and bought a home near our daughters and their families.
As that first interim engagement wrapped up in October, I was already deep in conversations with two colleagues about launching a health IT advisory firm. On October 7, 2016, StarBridge Advisors officially launched.
And here we are – 10 years later.
Over the past decade, StarBridge has served healthcare organizations across the country, helping with leadership transitions, IT strategy, project-based work, and leadership and career coaching. With approximately 40 senior healthcare IT leaders on our Advisor team, we have worked with organizations ranging in size from large regional health systems to small community hospitals.
But as my StarBridge colleague, David Muntz, and I have reflected on this anniversary, I’m reminded that the real story isn’t simply the number of clients we have served or engagements we have completed. It is about relationships, trust, and experienced leaders willing to share what they have learned with others.
That was at the heart of StarBridge when we started, and it remains so today. Our Advisors have stepped into organizations during difficult leadership transitions, helped leaders make consequential technology decisions, guided transformations, coached and mentored other leaders, and sometimes simply been the experienced person someone needed to talk with.
I’ve never looked back with regret on my decision to take this path. I went on to do three more interim management engagements myself. As a StarBridge Principal, I’ve helped run the business and placed many of our Advisors in interim roles and consulting engagements.
And I continue to coach and mentor.
Beyond my formal leadership and career coaching engagements, I talk with several people each month about their own career transitions and help them think through what might be next. Those conversations have reinforced something I learned from my own transition: there is no single right career path.
The path I chose isn’t right for everyone. It offers flexibility, but also uncertainty. It depends on having and continually nurturing a strong network. You need to be comfortable learning new tools, adapting to new situations, and being self-sufficient.
But perhaps the most important lesson is this: You own your career. No one else does.
A career can have chapters you never anticipated. Mine certainly has. Be open to the possibilities. Don’t assume that the role you have today, or the path you’ve followed until now, determines what comes next. And don’t get stuck in one lane, especially as healthcare and technology continue to evolve.
Ten years ago, I made a choice based partly on career goals and partly on the life I wanted outside of work. I couldn’t have predicted everything that choice would lead to.
Looking back now, I’m especially grateful for the people who made this chapter possible – our clients who trusted us, our Advisors who generously shared their experience and wisdom, and the many colleagues and friends who made introductions, referred opportunities, offered encouragement, and stayed connected.
Careers are built on choices, but they are also built on relationships.
To everyone who has been part of my journey – and StarBridge’s journey – over these past 10 years, thank you.
And if you’re wondering what your own next chapter might look like, I’m always happy to listen and share what I’ve learned along the way.
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