You can’t lead a team if people are afraid to tell you that you’re wrong.

For Cincinnati Children’s President/CEO Steve Davis, the lessons of high-stakes medicine — making life-or-death decisions with incomplete information, building teams that speak up and owning mistakes — became the foundation for leading Cincinnati Children’s.

He shares how bringing people together to solve complex problems helped drive meaningful organizational change, including $20 million in savings through collaborative purchasing.

Steve also explains why the strongest leaders create cultures where people at every level feel empowered to challenge assumptions, contribute their expertise and innovate together.

That philosophy extends to AI, which he sees not a means to replace people, but as an opportunity to make health care more human.

Key Quotes

* “I’m a person who never waits to be told to go fix things.”

* “Hierarchy make it hard for people to speak up.”

* “If you’re leading a team, it really shouldn’t be completely obvious that you’re in charge all the time. Otherwise, you’re controlling too much and you’re limiting the potential of the rest of your team.”

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Welcome to Bearcats Mean Business, the official podcast of the University of Cincinnati’s Carl H. Lindner College of Business, where inspiring career stories, honest lessons and fresh business perspectives from the people building impact in the real world come together.

After moving from a small town in India to Cincinnati to pursue graduate studies at the University of Cincinnati, Padma Chebrolu built a remarkable career spanning technology, finance, operations and leadership during three decades at Procter & Gamble.

Along the way, she developed a knack for connecting dots across functions and adapting quickly to new environments. But her professional career has always been just one part of a much bigger picture.

Outside the corporate world, Chebrolu has pursued her passions for dance, music, theater, filmmaking and community service — including founding the Cultural Centre of India and producing, directing and acting in the award-winning film Passage of the River.

She sees no sharp divide between these pursuits: the discipline and presence required to perform, the storytelling needed to engage an audience, and the systems thinking needed to lead a business all reinforce one another.

For Chebrolu, leadership is ultimately about bringing out the best in others. Whether leading teams at P&G or building a volunteer-driven arts organization, she emphasizes creating the conditions for people to contribute and grow, giving credit generously and helping others discover their own potential.

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Welcome to Bearcats Mean Business, the official podcast of the University of Cincinnati’s Carl H. Lindner College of Business, where inspiring career stories, honest lessons and fresh business perspectives from the people building impact in the real world come together.

Adam Symson, president and CEO of The E.W. Scripps Company, reflects on the unexpected path that took him from aspiring investigative journalist to leading a national media company.

Symson shares how curiosity, risk-taking and a willingness to learn along the way shaped his career — and why the skills that make a great journalist can also make a great business leader.

Symson also explores the tension at the heart of leadership: having the conviction to move an organization forward while maintaining the humility to recognize that you may not have all the answers. Drawing on nearly a decade as CEO, he discusses learning from mistakes, navigating uncertainty and leading alongside people who bring expertise beyond his own.

The conversation offers a candid look at what it really means to lead in a rapidly changing world — and why the best leaders never stop learning.

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Welcome to Bearcats Mean Business, the official podcast of the University of Cincinnati’s Carl H. Lindner College of Business, where inspiring career stories, honest lessons and fresh business perspectives from the people building impact in the real world come together.