EPISODE #9: LEILA BRYNER, SVP, CHANGE HEALTHCARE- AUTHENTIC LEADERSHIP AND THE VALUE OF A DIVERSE TEAM

February 5, 2021

In today's episode, Christie sat down with Leila Bryner, Senior Vice President of Employee Communications & Employee Experience at Change Healthcare. Leila provides the vision, strategy, and leadership that deepens engagement with stakeholders. Repeatedly, she has been called upon to build teams and capabilities that support communication, engagement, and experience improvements for internal and external stakeholders. A trusted advisor to several Fortune 500 CEOs and executive officers, Leila is passionate about reimagining the role of communications to drive creative and lasting results.


Connect with Leila Bryner on Linkedin.

LEADING FORWARD with Christie Berger


Highlights: "Authentic Leadership and the Value of a Diverse Team"

  • Change can present an organization the opportunity to be agile and try new things, by trusting your team to navigate through the change.
  • Leadership skills should focus on being: transparent, honest, vulnerable, and having a two-way conversation.
  • When building a team: Finding people who not only have the skills you need but the right attitude. A candidate should have an open mindset, be prone to growth, be willing to take risks, fail, learn and move on.
  • A team that has a growth mindset and is diverse (demographically and in thought) is important.
  • Being purposeful: What can someone new bring to the team that will “fill in the gaps?”
  • Hire people that want to have fun. These are the people you will be spending lots of time with. You want team members you can laugh with, and liking your team members is crucial.
  • Knowing your role and being confident in your expertise and speaking with professionals that are experts in their own fields, is a balance that leaders must learn.
  • “Leadership does evolve over time.” As you progress as a leader, you will find that you are less focused on day-to-day task-oriented skills but more focused on the soft skills.
  • Relationships really matter in upper management. Not looking to please people but to build relationships and build trust.
  • Be deliberate as a leader to reflect and fight team burnout. Take time off on the weekends, don’t send emails late at night.


LEADING FORWARD explores how successful leaders and organizations thrive in spite of, and sometimes because of, challenge and uncertainty. Each conversation will reveal unique stories and experiences that will help others expand their own definition of leadership, explore tactics to address today’s challenges and identify new ways to leverage the opportunities that lie ahead.


About Christie Berger

Christie is an executive coach and expert in leadership development. In addition to her private coaching practice of over 14 years, Christie served as Head of Executive Coaching for Belmont University, Center for Executive Education and has collaborated with a variety of global consulting firms. She has worked with hundreds of leaders from small to Fortune 50 organizations.

Christie is also passionate about supporting women in leadership. She created and facilitates Fusion Leader Circuit, an executive development program for women leaders. Christie encourages her clients to push their growing edges in order to accelerate performance and reach their leadership potential.