Rakesh Mehta

Last year, a former colleague called me. He was frustrated. “Everyone around me seems to have someone backing them — a mentor, a leader who pulls them up. I have no one. Just my work.” I paused. Because I knew what he meant. I have seen people rise quickly — because someone senior believed in them. They got the right projects. The visibility. The spotlight. But I have also seen the flipside. People with powerful sponsors — but without the depth. When the leader moved on, so did their momentum.

Alex was drowning in urgency. Three client projects. Multiple stakeholders. Every request labeled “ASAP.” The team was running fast — nowhere. So, Alex hit pause. He gathered everyone and asked a simple question: “Three months from now, how will we know we succeeded?” It sparked debate. Some wanted speed. Others pushed for innovation. Finally, they aligned on one thing: On-time delivery. 95% client satisfaction. That became their North Star. From that moment, everything shifted. Meetings had purpose.

CDC layoffs hurt Indiana residents with sickle cell disease | Letters Emily Riehm Meier, Amanda Okolo, Isaac Janson, Seethal A. Jacob, Andrew O’Brien, Brandon Hardesty and Rakesh Mehta The layoffs of federal health workers this month included elimination of the Center for Disease Control's Division of Blood Disorders. The loss of public health experts with decades of experience causes us great concern.