Shannon Stephenson is the CEO at Cempa Community Care, a Chattanooga-based health care organization with the mission of championing healthy communities by providing affordable, compassionate and high-quality care through advancing comprehensive support services and person-centered best practices. Among the organization’s recent accolades, Cempa has won Edge magazine’s Champions of Health Care Community Outreach Award (2019); was presented the Governor’s Award of Excellence for its response to the COVID-19 pandemic (2021); has been recognized by the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce as the Small Business of the Year in the nonprofit sector (2022); and was named one of Chattanooga’s Best Places to Work by Edge magazine (2022).
What books have you read and recommended to others that influence your leadership style and how you’ve developed your career?
“Influential Leadership” by Michael Frisina. Though this book is written to health care leaders, the principles and insights that Dr. Frisina covers are applicable to leaders in any setting. The main premise is that, although leaders get things done, an influential leader does more than that. They are also able to better the lives of those who work at the organizations, as well as for those for whom it serves.
Dr. Frisina’s belief is that if enough leaders across the health care landscape adopt the thesis of “influential leadership,” not only will their respective organizations — and the people powering them forward–thrive, but they can also change the entire industry for the better. Not long after reading this book, I had the chance to introduce Dr. Frisina at a conference, and it was a true honor.