Marianna Vathi

Marianna Vathi is a Founder and Consultant with 15+ years of experience across healthcare, financial services, technology and education, and a Master’s in Education. She works primarily with people leaders in healthcare, helping them strengthen the human skills that build trust within their teams and among their peers, improve collaboration and performance, and connect everyday work with organizational goals. 

An entrepreneur, lifelong learner and AI enthusiast, Marianna brings a human-centred and strategic approach to her work. She is currently exploring opportunities in the pharmaceutical industry, while deepening her knowledge through professional education and actively engaging with the pharma community to understand where her experience and strengths can create meaningful value.

1. How do you inspire others? 

I truly care about people, seek to understand their reality and bring them value. That starts with an honest curiosity to learn about their priorities, challenges and what matters to them. I make a point of recognizing their contribution, the impact of their work and at least one strength I see in them. Sometimes I connect them with the right person or resource. Other times, I offer a perspective or question that helps them see something differently. At the same time, I get inspired by others constantly. Their perspectives, strengths and ways of approaching challenges often make me rethink my own assumptions. I believe people are more likely to grow when they feel truly seen and can recognize both their contribution and their potential. 

2. What is one characteristic you believe every leader should possess? 

A growth mindset is one of the most important characteristics that every leader needs. For me, it means staying curious, reflecting honestly on both successes and most importantly when it doesn't go the way we were expecting it would, taking accountability, and allowing what we learn to change what we do next. Leadership affects other people, so a growth mindset also means asking not only, “Did this work?” but, “What impact did my approach have on the people around me, the organization, and the original goal?” I see them as role models who set the tone through both their actions and their inaction. For example, how inspiring it is to hear a leader saying: “This didn’t go as planned, but there’s something useful here.”, “ This is on me.”, “We’re going to learn together.” So, a successful leader, to me, is always seeking opportunities to grow and that happens when learning and reflection actually leads to a change in behaviour. 

3. How do you define or manage your career progression? 

When I think about career progression, I never picture a straight line pointing upward. It looks more like a sketchy line drawn by a kindergarten child! What I do think it needs, though, is intentionality. It’s very easy to get caught up in the dayto-day, keep moving, and forget to ask whether the direction we’re taking still makes sense for us. In the very beginning of my career I heard that career progression is not linear, but after building my own business I had no doubt at all! Entrepreneurship helped me learn and progress in a completely different way than expected, and definitely not a linear one. For example, I slowed down a launch to validate assumptions first, rather than moving forward simply because the idea made sense to me, I expanded the scope of stakeholders in a project realizing that more people than I thought were involved, I adapted the format of a service after realizing that the content was valuable, but the way it was delivered did not fit the client’s reality, etc. Sometimes progress means moving forward, and sometimes it means pivoting. But both require intention. So, one trick that has helped me a few times when considering my next step, is to zoom out and ask myself: What have I learned from my career path so far and what would make me feel proud of this next step? The more clarity I gain, the better my answers to those questions become. Of course, I haven't figured everything out! It’s a process, and mentors, career coaches, advisors, and great friends who are willing to tell me the bold truth (eg how I communicated, how I delivered a feedback or how I performed on the project etc) have offered me golden guidance that I will always be grateful for. The most rewarding part of that process is being open to receiving the feedback and actually giving it a try. 

4. What healthy habits do you employ to maintain your mental health and wellbeing? 

Consistent is key! I always cared about my wellbeing, but I wasn’t consistent enough, without realizing it. One day, a mentor helped me see that, and when I started actually to stay consistent (As consistent I am with my work! That amount of consistency.), the benefits became impossible to ignore. Since then, I've become much more intentional about working out, walking in nature, taking proper breaks, spending time with friends and enjoying the occasional massage or bubble bath! Interestingly enough, making space for these things consistently didn't compromise my work, as I initially thought. After a while, I found a new rhythm to keep that balance, and that new rhythm fueled me. I became more productive, gained more clarity and found myself coming up with more creative solutions in both my personal and professional life. Reflection has also become one of my most important self-care practices. It wasn’t comfortable at first, but with practice, discomfort gives way to curiosity, creativity and a sense of peace. Learnings become pieces of information that show me where I need to grow. Discussing those reflections with a trusted mentor, coach or advisor has also helped me uncover blind spots I couldn't see alone and stay brave enough to keep working through them. I find this process build resilience and resilience can support the mental health and wellbeing. So, for me, wellbeing is something I need to protect with the same consistency and persistence I bring to my work. It gives me the balance and clarity to stay grounded, and the resilience to navigate challenges in both my personal and professional life.