I thought what drew me to New Amsterdam was its characters and its medicine aspect, well at least at first. I later came to the conclusion that what really made me binge was Max´s leadership traits. It may seem weird, but there was just something about how Max Goodwin, the medical director, led his team to victory by not saying, but hearing. It made me just rethink my whole personality as a leader.

Often we think that speaking is the only way to lead- that we need to speak the loudest and debate everyone that has another opinion. Although we learn a lot from other leaders, we can learn even more from those in other ranks.

Max´s staple phrase is “How can I help?”. I challenge everyone to take that a step further.  Rethink how you can help, how can we help no matter where. Maybe it is by supporting a friend or maybe it is by running for board, but we need to think how we can help our community, our friends, and most importantly ourselves.

We don't need to try impossible things, we don't need to operate in an open heart surgery, but there are so many ways we can help at our level. As said previously, not only do we need to help fix our problems, but if we are in a position to do so, we can help others achieve their goals: help them reach new heights. When we ask how we can help, we are putting forward a proposition: an idea. That does not mean that we will always be able or that people want to be helped, if we want and can we may be able to do so.

In one episode, Max needs people that can donate blood. He tries a million ways- he goes to the best restaurant in NYC, he sets up a dog shop, he puts on Broadway  performance- but nothing works. It's not until he talks with his colleagues that he figures out that all the chefs, performers, etc. can donate their blood. Yes, I may have spoiled a whole episode, but the main takeaway from this is that even though sometimes we are convinced we have the best ideas, we can always learn from others. After all, he never let anyone ask him, “how can I help?”

This is why he would make a good board member- he is there to help everybody grow and even if he was not on board he would make a great member in general. He is willing to help, and that is the most important leadership characteristic.