A central theme of Margaret Lee’s career is discomfort. It’s what fueled her start in nursing, later advancement to chief culture officer and deputy CEO at her Singapore-based hospital, and motivation to pursue lifelong learning.
“It’s the very fact that it is uncomfortable that we tend to get the most learning out of it,” Lee says.
It started at 16, when she took her Singapore-Cambridge General Certificate of Education Ordinary Level entrance exam. Lee aspired to become a graphic designer but didn’t test high enough. She was instead placed in the nursing track at a polytechnic, a practice-based school that offers diploma-level programs.
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DOWNLOAD NOW“I think that was one of my first major failures in life,” Lee says. “After being hit so badly, I was hungry for an opportunity to regain my dignity and confidence. When I ended up in nursing, I had to keep an open mind. I think what helped was that it was quite a culture shock.”
She started forming relationships with fellow students from diverse backgrounds who were passionate about nursing, inspiring her to stay in health care. She went on to pursue a critical care nursing specialization, a bachelor’s degree in nursing from La Trobe University, a post-graduate diploma in higher education from Nanyang Technological University, and a master’s degree in health science management from the University of Sydney.
“I’m proud to say that, even as of today, I’m working with many of the people I studied with back in 1993,” Lee recalls. “I never wanted to be a nurse, and then, by chance, it was something I could lay my foundations on after finding friends for life in the program and a purposeful calling for life. With being able to overcome every challenge, I gained the confidence to now be curious about, ‘What else? What else can I do?’”
Her curiosity and persistence caught her supervisors’ attention, and she continued to advance, going from an assistant director of nursing to chief nurse and now chief culture officer and deputy CEO.
“I stayed open to changes and became comfortable with being uncomfortable,” Lee says.
Not only is she thriving in an industry she’d shied away from, but she’s giving back to it by serving as an adjunct assistant professor at the National University of Singapore. Since Lee now works in an administrative role, she doesn’t want to lose touch with what matters to nurses as the industry evolves.
“I see this adjunct appointment as my way of staying connected to people who will eventually be our future nurse leaders,” Lee explains. “I think it’s a great way for me to contribute as they’re growing in their professional journey. At the same time, it’s reciprocal because I gain their perspectives and learn what’s important to them for me to support them better.”
To continue learning and growing, Lee researched online programs and was intrigued by Harvard Business School’s case study method. After reading about renowned HBS Professor Clayton Christensen, who coined “disruptive innovation,” she decided to take HBS Online’s Disruptive Strategy course.
“I needed something where I was challenged to rethink and reframe my paradigm,” Lee says. “That was the first course I landed on, and it aligned with what we’re trying to do in the hospital to bring about innovation and transform health care to make it sustainable.”
Lee describes learning about Christensen’s jobs to be done theory, which asserts that customers don’t simply buy a product or service—they “hire” it to do a “job.” As she began applying the theory at work, it sparked more questions, inspiring her to take her second, third, and eventually eighth HBS Online course.
Since finishing Disruptive Strategy in 2022, Lee has completed:
- Strategy Execution
- Sustainable Business Strategy
- Entrepreneurship Essentials
- Credential of Readiness (CORe)
- Negotiation Mastery
- Power and Influence for Positive Impact
- Leadership, Ethics, and Corporate Accountability
Through the process, she earned four Certificates of Specialization in Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Leadership and Management, Strategy, and Business in Society.
“I was quite blown away,” Lee says. “I had such a good experience, and when I say ‘good,’ I mean ‘uncomfortable.’ The irony is that I don’t naturally like to meet new people, but it forced me to get out of my shell. I appreciated the opportunities to meet peers from different parts of the world across different industries. It was fulfilling.”
Throughout each course, Lee notes she gained new theories and skills she could apply immediately, such as balancing purpose and profit from Sustainable Business Strategy or building influence and leveraging your power for change from Power and Influence for Positive Impact.
“I could easily bring in a lot of the concepts I’ve learned and apply them at work,” Lee says, adding that HBS Online helped her think beyond her profession. “We have to learn what’s specific to nursing to get started, but by the time you move up the ranks, what gets you started may no longer be relevant to what will continue to help you be successful. The more open we are to learning from other industries, it hastens our effectiveness. We gain a wider repertoire of possibilities that can be transferred to health care, so it increases our value.”
When Lee isn’t working, she enjoys taking long walks with her husband and traveling with their three children. When asked what advice she has for them—who are around the same age she was when faced with her first professional obstacle: 19, 17, and 14—Lee leans into discomfort and curiosity.
“It’s always about perspective,” Lee says. “You can say, ‘Oh, I could be something or someone else,’ but those thoughts aren’t going to bring you any step forward. I don’t think there’s anything we should consider as a wrong turn. It takes the need for us to be open to learning that will allow us to test new ways of doing things.”
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