In the sunlight of a loft that overlooks the middle of the city, there were two things that stood out about this young leader.  Growth for him was not a concept wrapped in self.   The second thing was that he addressed every situation that he faced with the will to transcend, to see the larger story, and to make choices that took on that story one chapter at a time.

Asher Royal and I met in the summer of 2011.  Three years of operations leadership had built an appreciation for how hard it can be to navigate the dance in a single specialty care model where senior leaders convulsed with marginal strategies and ultimately abandoned the mission at an alarming rate.  He had three bosses leave the organization in a span of three years.  Julie Royal, Asher’s wife, gave Asher the room and support to think about how he could deepen as a business leader.  Their young son Ari was 3 years old, and their daughter Remy was still in diapers.  The Royals were special for so many reasons, and there was a legacy that began with Asher’s father that I admired and studied in each of the conversations that spanned the two years between our first meeting and Asher’s first significant move into the rapid waters of a chronic care innovator.   He had the right foundation to take the risks that ultimately shaped his path.

Hebrew and Italian languages both grace the word “Davita” with a meaning that calls out the beloved or translates to the idea of giving life.   Parnassus has long been a foundational partner with the kidney care organization that branded themselves with this word.   For two years, we were able to work with the Chief Growth Officer and Chief Operations Officer to map the right trajectory that fit Asher’s vision and support their growing enterprise.  In October 2012, we found the perfect match within a Sr. Director of Development role.

Today, Asher reflects on the fact that early on, DaVita represented an amazing environment.  He was surrounded by smart people who cared. The leadership did not look at failure as a “gotcha moment” or play out blame to shift focus from a failure, but instead, they encouraged people to try things and fail fast, learn, and try something else.  It was a profound cultural encounter.  His initial move into the organization took him from a Vice President to a Director level, but he was willing to take that risk based on my advisement that it was more about the full growth of the experience within DaVita than what title you had when you started.

The work was fascinating.  They were building something unique even for a fee-for-service chronic care environment.  Opportunity began to emerge within the nascent categories of Value Based Care, and Asher and his team took the time to learn quickly and open the vision for their hospital partnership across the Southeast.  He was now a vice president, and he leveraged the learning that he soaked in from mentors like David Grams, Scott Lloyd, Cassie McLean and others to find the right moments with every team that he led to invest in their spirit as well as their skill.   It was about imagination as a leader.  Asher once told me, “Early on, I thought leaders should be able to answer every question, but I learned that they were at their best when they pushed me to consider things more broadly before drawing a conclusion and acting on it”.

We talked a few weeks ago.  Asher spent almost a decade with DaVita and grew with the business that he loved.  Why did he love it?  “We talk about employees as teammates, and we succeed or fail based on the work of that team. It’s dignity that makes a difference and supports accountability for the work”.  Selecting teammates with a constant vision for their minds, soul and spirit for DaVita’s clinical mission became a driving passion.   Asher is now the Chief Operations Officer for a rapidly growing GI practice with a large multi-state footprint.  He owns a large P&L and conducts his domain much more like a symphony than a culinary kitchen.  “I have learned to say ‘how do we begin to think about this’ versus telling my team what to go do. This encourages the freedom to imagine and explore”.

We invited Asher to participate in The Palladium Forum 18 months ago prior to his acceptance of his current leadership role.   One core premise that supports this division of the Parnassus Group is that leadership is not a birthright or completely a matter of charisma so leadership can in fact be taught.   Leaders can communicate and animate the advancement of their work in ways that tap into the relational milieu that makes up any organization.  Once tapped, these relationships are explored and drawn into movements and themes for change that the leader ultimately conducts. Our take on this comes from years and years of leadership expression through the businesses we have led and the leadership advocacy that we have energized.  We also stand on the shoulders of some giants like Sharon Deloz Parks and Terry Pearce.

A year after Asher completed his 9-month cohort we can both look back on things we learned within that group and about each other.  I learned that Asher had some profound firewood assembly skills as I fumbled around in a cloud of smoke and ash until he saved me on the shores of the Puget Sound where we set the final form and stature of our 9-month learning arch.

Asher shared the following:

• • “I have seen myself improve as a communicator. I have always been more of a listen first and speak second kind of leader.  Coming out of Palladium, I am forcing myself to get more comfortable with joining the conversation faster.   If I wait too long, I will risk losing value because others are either intimidated or forced into a position that makes it hard to be open to ideas of a section of contributing collaborators.”
  • “My mantra for how to be successful with our mission at United Digestive is that we absolutely have to build a world class team made up of individuals who are willing to challenge themselves and challenge the status quo, who can ultimately bring unique skills and qualities to the table that will create a “yes and” versus a “yes but” environment. It opens us up to share perspectives, enter other people’s viewpoints without being threatened but with a willingness to differentiate your view and work through a crucible of ideas and prototyped solutions until you bring success to the surface as colleagues.”

Asher says that this is one of the key aspects of why he joined United Digestive.  It is modeled from the top leadership and permeates the entire organization.  While they have work to be done to maximize all the potential that exists within their model, they have a solid foundation of mutual respect that will keep them sure-footed along the way.

-John Lankford, President & Founder, The Parnassus Group