What if the very thing that got you promoted is the thing that now limits your leadership?
When Conor Bagnell stepped into the top role at MHK, part of the Hearst Health network, he did what high performers do — he provided answers. When his team asked for alignment, he went away, built the strategy himself, and brought it back.
What he got in return wasn’t momentum. It was silence.
That moment forced a deeper realization: at the enterprise level, leadership isn’t about being right. It’s about building shared ownership.
In this episode, Conor and I explore the shift from expert to enterprise leader, why premature clarity can undermine alignment, and how productive disagreement strengthens executive teams. We also unpack how meditation shaped his self-awareness, why new CEOs should resist the urge to make immediate decisions, and how trust grows when leaders create space rather than control outcomes.
If you’ve built your career on being the smartest person in the room, this conversation may challenge you.
About Conor Bagnell
Conor Bagnell is President of MHK, part of the Hearst Health network, where he leads strategy and operations in the healthcare technology space. With a background in engineering and product leadership, he has spent over 15 years serving health plans and provider organizations, focused on innovation, alignment, and customer impact.
About the Host
Dave Osh is the founder of Varlinx and a transformation catalyst dedicated to evolving leadership potential and creating a ripple effect of unity in our divided world. His conversations surface practical, human strategies leaders can use tomorrow. Dave is the author of The CEO Potential: Transcend Self, Team and Organization for Lasting Success in the New Age of AI, and is known for his TED talk, Overcoming Bias to Unite Our Divided World.
