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Welcome to The Human CEO, where we explore the critical role that leadership plays in creating a positive and healthy culture in organisations. At Human, we believe that the culture of an organisation starts with its leaders, and that creating a healthy culture starts with strong, empathetic leadership. Through engaging interviews and thought-provoking discussions, we aim to inspire and equip current and aspiring leaders with the tools and insights they need to cultivate a culture of trust, collaboration, and innovation. Our guests are CEOs and business leaders who have successfully navigated the challenges of leadership and created thriving, healthy cultures. Subscribe and stay up-to-date with our interviews, and don’t forget to share your own insights and perspectives on leadership and organisational culture. Thanks for joining us on this journey to create healthier, more positive, and more successful organisations.
Episodes
Tuesday Mar 04, 2025
Tuesday Mar 04, 2025
Episode Summary
In this conversation, Amy interviews Penny McCormick, CEO of MyHealthChecked. Penny shares her journey from marketing to leading a healthcare PLC, navigating through the COVID-19 pandemic, and her philosophy on leadership, change management, and personal health empowerment.
About My Health Check
Founded in November 2019, MyHealthChecked is a PLC headquartered in Cardiff that delivers at-home wellness tests to consumers primarily through retail partnerships. The company started with COVID PCR testing (becoming the first over-the-counter COVID PCR test available in Boots) and has since expanded to offer over 30 different tests ranging from lateral flow wellness tests to DNA and blood tests. With a small executive team of nine members and a strong, diverse board, MyHealthChecked has successfully navigated significant market changes.
Leadership During COVID-19
Penny describes the whirlwind of leading during the pandemic, when she had to:
- Completely pivot the business direction from female health to broader wellness testing
- Build a supply chain and operational infrastructure at breakneck speed
- Manage remote working while still enabling critical in-person collaboration
- Handle unprecedented customer service demands during travel testing surges
She emphasizes the importance of embracing ambiguity, making decisions with limited information, and maintaining open communication with the team when everything is being done "for the first time."
On Leadership Philosophy
Penny's leadership approach centers on:
- Creating psychological safety for team members to ask questions and challenge ideas
- Understanding that resistance to change isn't binary—people process change differently
- Looking beyond the questions being asked to understand the underlying concerns
- Empowering teams while maintaining clear direction
- Learning continuously and improving through self-reflection
Career Journey
Rather than following a predetermined career path, Penny describes making intentional decisions at key moments that led to her current role. Starting in journalism and PR, she moved into marketing where she discovered her passion for the commercial side of business. Her time at BBI International (now BBI Group) was formative, where she worked with entrepreneurial leaders who instilled a commercial mindset and eventually rose to become a managing director.
Mentors and Influences
Penny credits several key influences:
- Previous leaders who demonstrated transparent communication and empowerment
- Amber Rudigal (board member and creator of Pregnancy Plus app), who demonstrated lean business operations, creative problem-solving, and generosity in supporting others, particularly women
Recommended Reading
While cautioning against putting too much pressure on oneself from leadership books, Penny highly recommends "The Chimp Paradox" by Steve Peters as a simple, accessible framework for understanding behavior and managing anxiety, especially useful in helping team members during uncertain times.
The Future of Healthcare
Penny sees healthcare evolving toward:
- More accessible services outside traditional healthcare settings
- Greater consumer choice and autonomy in health management
- Initiatives like Pharmacy First that distribute healthcare delivery
- Retail partnerships leveraging trust and accessibility (noting that 80% of UK residents live within 10 minutes of a Boots store)
Personal Philosophy on Health
Penny emphasizes:
- Making intentional choices every day for long-term independence and quality of life
- Prevention rather than reaction to health issues
- Living fully while maintaining independence for as long as possible
The Human CEO Podcast explores leadership journeys and philosophies of remarkable executives across industries.
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