Chief Change Officer — Episode #418

Resa Lewiss, MD: Building a Career with Both Hands — Part Two

Date: July 5, 2025
Host: Vince Chan
Guest: Dr. Resa Lewiss — Emergency medicine physician, educator, and co-author of Micro Skills

Episode Overview

In this second part of their conversation, Vince Chan welcomes Dr. Resa Lewiss, an influential emergency medicine physician and educator, to explore strategies for building a fulfilling, adaptive career and life. The episode dives into Dr. Lewiss' book Micro Skills, which distills vital career and life “playbook” insights into actionable, accessible guidance for anyone—regardless of background or field. They examine the real mechanics of polished communication, the art (not just tactics) of networking, and the absolute necessity of self-care as the starting point for any kind of sustainable growth.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The “Workplace Playbook” Mindset

[03:01] Resa Lewiss on the Motivation Behind Micro Skills

• The book was born from a desire to give people what Dr. Lewiss never had: “a workplace playbook.”
  • "I certainly felt along the way that I did not get a copy of that playbook... So the motivation was to create a book that would help people in their careers and not just doctors and not just women, but truly everybody."
• Three book “truths”:
  1. Time as Currency:
     • "Time can only be spent. You can't put it in a savings account for later and you cannot get a refund."
     • In ER, this is literal—time passes, cases move on, you must pivot constantly.
  2. Unequal Start Lines:
     • "The world is not equal. We all have different start lines and start at different places. But by learning these micro skills, we can fill in gaps."
     • The book assumes no advantage and aims at radical accessibility.
  3. Learning is Limitless, If Accessible:
     • Education’s value is boxed in by opportunity, time, and resources. “We wanted to write a book that made no assumptions about where someone is coming from... We want to tell you these secrets, these tips, the plays in the playbook.”
  • The book is designed for practical, jump-in jump-out reading with a granular table of contents.

Polished Communication in a Fast-Changing World

[07:59] Deep Dive: Email and its Unseen Skills

• Email wisdom:
  • “We all think we know how to email because literally we've been doing it for years...” But most people misuse tools like BCC and CC.
  • "People decide whether or not to read an email within 10 seconds... So we give specific advice on creating a title that you're actually telling what the email is about."
  • BCC for Good:
    • "We basically really feel that the BCC should not be used nefariously... The BCC can work towards having positive communication and actually creating health for yourself."
    • Example: BCC yourself to ensure follow-up, or BCC the department to avoid mass ‘reply all’ clutter.
  • Transparent Networking Introductions:
    • Explicitly state when a person is being moved to BCC, so everyone knows communication is being handled openly.

[12:08] Respect as the Core of Communication

• Vince:
  • "It's about respect. It's about knowing when to involve someone, when to close the loop, when not to overwhelm people with too much noise, and when silence can actually feel like exclusion. It's not just about the email, it's about how we treat people."
• Resa:
  • “A lot of the book is about how to be kind to yourself and others...”
  • Team communication norms should be discussed openly, not assumed.
• Both acknowledge the hidden layer of politics and perception in “simple” communications:
  • Vince: “It’s more than just communication. It’s reputation management. It shapes how people see you, how much they trust you.” [13:51]

Networking: Beyond LinkedIn, Toward True Connection

[15:23] Networking as a Practice, Not Just a List

• Story-based Learning:
  • Each micro skill is taught via a real-life vignette, followed by ‘why it matters’, common challenges, and a literal “how-to.”
  • "We literally tell the reader how to. Because I remember reading a finance book that said go start, just make a budget. … I never made a budget. … Our goal is to break things down into small micro skills, small fundamental units behaviours to help the reader gain the skill."
• Snowballing & Strategic Introductions:
  • "For example, Chris Hare and I met. He suggested I reach out to you. Now we're speaking in conversation. That's part of the snowballing effect..."
• Networking for Introverts:
  • Practical, mindful strategies:
    • Arrive late/leave early at events; set a goal of meeting just a few new people
    • Stay at off-site hotels for quiet recharge at conferences
    • Organize “walk and talk” meetings for meaningful one-on-one time
  • “Many workplaces are very much built for extroverts and networking events are built for extroverts. We have highlighted ways that the introvert can actually reserve and keep their energy and not get drained at networking events.”
• Networking as Self-Care:
  • Vince: “I’m actually an introvert too... I’ve learned to manage my energy and focus it on the conversations that matter. That’s my way of practicing self care.” [19:28]

Self-Care as the Foundation of All Growth

[20:38] Why the Book Starts with Self-Care

• Dr. Lewiss:
  • “Everything starts with the self. And the better you are in terms of yourself, your health... The better team member you are, the better you’re able to produce a high quality product.”
  • Burnout and “moral injury” are rampant, not just in healthcare but across sectors.
  • Individual agency:
    • “We know that we are not as powerful as these organizations... However, we strongly feel that we can have individual agency.”
• Redefining Health:
  • More than physical—includes mental, emotional, social, financial, and civic health.
• Real Talk on Sleep and Rest:
  • “I actually didn’t realize and appreciate and believe... until I started reading the science and also feeling the difference of when I really started paying attention to taking care of my sleep and sleep, we absolutely need it for our health.”
  • “Deliberate rest is literally deliberately resting... The more we do deliberate rest, when we actually sit down, we're even more efficient with our deliberate practice.”
• Workplace war stories:
  • Physicians working in ER with an IV pole attached due to dehydration or migraine; driving home after an all-night shift desperately hoping not to fall asleep at red lights—signs of a culture that doesn’t prioritize or even allow self-care.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "Time can only be spent. You can't put it in a savings account for later and you cannot get a refund."
  — Dr. Resa Lewiss [03:20]
• "We wanted to write a book that made no assumptions about where someone is coming from."
  — Dr. Resa Lewiss [05:45]
• "People decide whether or not to read an email within 10 seconds."
  — Dr. Resa Lewiss [08:49]
• "Communicating is not just about the message, it's about how we treat people."
  — Vince Chan [12:08]
• “A lot of the book is about how to be kind to yourself and others.”
  — Dr. Resa Lewiss [13:09]
• “Networking events are built for extroverts. We highlighted ways for the introvert to actually reserve and keep their energy.”
  — Dr. Resa Lewiss [17:27]
• "Everything can be broken down into small, intentional step by steps that are additive, that translate to other things and that basically like we can do these big things by just breaking them down into small digestible steps."
  — Dr. Resa Lewiss [27:27]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:12 — Introduction to Resa Lewiss & episode theme
• 03:01 — The creation and philosophy of Micro Skills
• 06:55 — Deep dive into polished communication
• 07:59 — Email micro-skills and examples
• 13:09 — Communication as respect and culture
• 15:23 — Networking micro-skills, introvert strategies
• 20:38 — Why self-care comes first; rethinking “health”
• 25:52 — Host on applying micro-skills; winding down
• 26:38 — Final takeaways on breaking down big goals
• 28:00 — Episode summary and close

Final Takeaways

• The “micro skills” approach levels the playing field and makes sustained career and personal growth truly accessible—and human.
• Polished communication is more about respect and intentionality than about technical rules; likewise, networking can serve introverts if approached intentionally.
• Real leadership and change begins with self-care and setting healthy boundaries—and with tightly breaking down the overwhelming into the doable.
• “We are the chief change officers of our lives... The more we pursue the things that bring us joy and satisfaction, the better we are with the hats that we wear in all areas.” [26:38]

For more, follow Chief Change Officer on your preferred platform, and consider reading Dr. Resa Lewiss’s book, Micro Skills, if you want practical, step-by-step guidance for every vital skill in the workplace and beyond.