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Erin Kershaw

Something that drives me crazy 😵‍💫 🤬

Wasting my time or undoing work that I have already done

Obviously

I really admire teammates who… cover image
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Erin Kershaw

I really admire teammates who are…

focused on teamwork & outcomes

A functional, multi-disciplinary team and a focus on values/mission/oucomes is important for succuss. Being too selfish or too selfless often leads to poor outcomes, for the team and/or the indivitial. Hence, although the focus should be on the team and outcomes, it is extremely important for individuals to clearly communicate their own strengths, weaknesses, goals, and boundaries. In this way, just as individual wins should not be at the expense of the team, a team win should not be at the expense of the individual, whenever possible.

How I relax cover image
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Erin Kershaw

How I relax

Walk or exercise; spend time with family; learn something new

I like to read the NY Times and do the mini-crossword and wordle before going to bed.

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Erin Kershaw

😬😧🥴 Recently went outside my comfort zone…

Being inside my comfort zone is outside my comfort zone

As a leader, physician, and scientist, I love to be at the cutting edge, which often means living outside my comfort zone. I love to learn new things, explore new ideas, ask unanswered questions, test hypotheses, and solve problems. If I am in my comfort zone, I am very uncomfortable.

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Erin Kershaw

Epic work fails

1) Tore my knee apart 2) Set the lab on fire

1) Tore my knee apart: While getting of the middle position of a chair lift (skiing), the person on my left went left, and the person on my right went right, as they are supposed to do. The problem was that both caught my skis on their skis. The result: each of my legs went in different directions as I fell, and I ripped all the tissues/tendons/ligaments holding my left knee together. It took a year of physical therapy and surgery to walk on my own again. The moral of the story: If you are not paying attention, other people going in different directions can really knock you off your game and causes a lot of damage. The same is true in leadership. You need to follow your vision and strategic plan, get everyone going the same direction, and not get distracted by people or things that tear you in different directions. 2) Set the lab on fire: In lab in 4th year of medical school, I had an epic work fail while plating bacteria. This involve dipping the glass rod in alchohol, lighting it on fire, letting it cool, then using is to spin the bacteria on the plate. HOWEVER, this time I put the alcohol in a plastic rather than glass beaker, and a small piece of flame entered the beaker, lighting the alcohol on fire, which melted teh beaker, sending a river of flam across my work bench. Fire extinquisher to rescue. The moral of the story: sometimes those training modules DO come in handing (P - A - S - S)!

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Erin Kershaw

When I'm stressed, you might notice me…

looking for time/space to recharge my introverted batteries

To help me when I am stressed, please 1) communicate by email rather than face-to-face OR schedule a dedicated meeting to address specific issues, and 2) be focused, concise, direct, and to the point. To prevent stress, please 1) send regular updates of progess and plans (i.e. weekly outline via email or teams).

Most fulfilling project cover image
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Erin Kershaw

Most fulfilling project I've worked on

Leading the Endocrine Division at UPMC/Pitt

It is exciting to build teams to to overcome complex problems. The lessons we learn from our successess and our failure help us move the needle in the right direction and build stronger relationships over time.

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Erin Kershaw

My Achilles Heel is…

Being to quick to fix things for others.

I love to solve problems and fix things so the team can move more quickly. It is difficult for me to watch peolple struggle with things that I or others can do more quickly and easily. I recognize that it is important to sometimes allow people the space to struggle and figuring things out on their own. It would help me if people would be transparant with me, and let me know when they need/want this space or when I am jumping in to quickly / overstepping.

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Erin Kershaw

Teammates might misunderstand me as...

A perfectionist.

I have high standards/expectations, but not for the sake of being perfect, but rather because 1) I want to help people have the best chance of learning the skills they need to be successful (by their definition) in a competetive field, and/or 2) to make processes easier/better in the long run, and/or 3) to elevate the team as whole.

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Erin Kershaw

Personality type

INTJ

MP TypeFinder: My most recent MB test revealed the following: Introverted (I 64%) > Extroverted (E 36%); iNtuitive (N 70%) > Sensing (S 30%); Thinking (T 53%) > Feeling (F 47%); and Judging (J 86%) > Perceiving (P 14%); (See https://www.truity.com/)

Motivations cover image
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Erin Kershaw

Things that deeply motivate me…

Helping others ❤️Getting things done ✅Being my most authentic self 🎨Learning as much as I can 🤓Working with people I love 🥰Spending time with loved ones

I love to learn new things and get things done, preferably in a team with people I love, respect, and/or want to help. I want to be around people who accept me as my authentic self, and want people to feel comfortable being their authentic self. It is very rewarding to go through challenges, whether they result in success or failure, with a team that works together, supports each other, and becomes better in the process.

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Erin Kershaw

The best environment for me is:

time for deep work in the AMno swiss cheese calendarMinimize meetings

I like to "block schedule" time for "inward-facing activities" (grant/manuscript writing, experiment planning, stragety/vision developement, etc) and "outward-facing activities" (individul and group meetings, faculty meetings, lectures/seminars, national meetings, networking, parties, etc). It is difficult to get into productive flow when these activites are randomly interspersed like "swiss-cheese." I like to wake up and start working on flow-activites immediately, use after lunch or late afternoon for for interactions/meetings, and late evening to "clean up" work issues from day and plan for the next day.

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Erin Kershaw

I like to get feedback when its given…

1:1emailidc just tell me

I am probably over-aware of my many flaws and criticize myself more than anyone else ever could. I care about people, but can still be disappointed by suboptimal results/outcomes. Please don't take anyting personally, and I will try to do the same. I strongly encourage you to give me feedback. In fact, I prefer brutal, honest, and transparrant feedback, but it should comes from a place of caring, mutual respect, and trust, with the intent to improve. I want to improve. Just say it, and give me a chance discuss things with you. Maybe we can both learn and improve from the situation and come out the other side stronger and better.

Values cover image
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Erin Kershaw

My core values

AchievementAdventureChallengeHonestyHumorLearningMeaningful WorkOpenness

I love learning new things and challenging myself. This makes me open to new ideas and adventure. This drives to learn and challenge myself leads to meanngful work and achievement, but can also lead to failure, which requires honesty, humor, humility, and perseverence.

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Erin Kershaw

Outside of work, you'll find me...

ExerciseWalkingRunningHikingAdventures

I like doing "Walkie-Talkies" with family, friends, or colleagues (walking while talking)

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Erin Kershaw

I learn best by…

Reviewing all available information

I love to learn. I read/review any/all information I can obtain on the topic (preferably primary / high quality sources). Then I reach out to experts to "reality-check" what I have learned. Then I develep a plan to most efficent test/develop my skills. Then I ask an expert to review my work. Although the above is my preferred approach, I am also not afraid to jump right in, get my hand dirty, and/or make quick decisions when I have to!

How to make my day cover image
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Erin Kershaw

You will make my freakin day if you…

take something off my platerespect my spacerespect my timeSend update with data or a win

I love email with progress updates, new data to discuss/review, new ideas/thoughts, and/or a personal or professional "win."

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Erin Kershaw

My areas for growth

Stays composed throughout conflict or difficult situationsMaintains effective work life balanceManages feelings of self and others during conflict

I am very passionate about and emotionally invested in the mission, work, and teammates / collaborators / colleagues. I am also an intervert (contrary to what most people think). These characteristics sometimes make it challenging for me to manage certain situations and/or people who are more extroverted or whose passions do not align with mine. In addition, because I prefer transparancy and authenticity, I welcome conflict becuase resolution of conflict often leads to a higher understading and a better place. Not everyone feels that way, so I want deveop skills to better manage those situations.

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Erin Kershaw

My superpowers

Intentional and strategic project planningMaintains clear long term vision that drives decision makingStays true to own values with integrityInvests and is interested in personal and professional growthPrioritizes common good over self-interest

I am driven to find better ways of doing things to build a better future (vision), but I also like to be thoughtful about developing and implementing a plan to achieve that vision (strategic planning). I tend to focus on the "long game." Specifically, I prefer to 1) think before I act so as not to waste time and resources, 2) develop self-sustaining systems rather than quick fixes, 3) invest in develing people and interdisciplinary teams capabable of achieving more than the sum of its parts, and 4) integrate disparate information and skillsets to achieve unique and innovative outcomes, 5) focus on steady progress over time. I like to problem solve and figure out how all the pieces fit together to optimize outcomes for everyone whenever possible (find the win-win-win). I often put the team above myself, but must stay true to my own values and integrity (the need of the many outweigh the needs of the few or the one).

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Erin Kershaw

I work best as a…

Some mix of execution and strategy. I love doing tasks and the high-level strategy conversations.
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Erin Kershaw

I'm energized at work by…

getting sh*t done.building stuffsolving problemshelping others succeed