What changes when a leader stops assuming they already understand people

Bridget Smith has spent more than three decades inside corporate America, building a career in healthcare and pharmaceuticals while paying close attention to something many leaders overlook: the lasting effect of their words. That observation became the foundation of her book, Why Did You Say That? Five Things Managers Say That Stifle Creativity, a work shaped by what she has heard in boardrooms, field teams, and everyday workplace conversations, and by what she has lived herself.

Over the years, Bridget has moved between sales leadership, market access, coaching, and governance, building a career that has asked her to influence people in very different ways. She has helped healthcare providers navigate complex systems, trained teams, served as Chair of the Board of Trustees for a Los Angeles charter school during the construction of a $14 million facility in the middle of the pandemic, and now coaches college students as they prepare to enter the working world. What ties those chapters together is her attention to the moments that shape people more quietly: a manager who shuts down an idea, a leader who folds their arms and closes off a conversation, a young professional who starts to question whether they are allowed to fully be themselves.