The story
Within a few months of joining Modern Health, Dr. Jessica Watrous was quietly Googling the vocabulary around her.
A clinical psychologist, she had left academia after an NIH award went unscored. The science was familiar. The business language was not.
She worked out what she was missing
Jessica had come from a Naval research center, where the acronyms were military. Now she was surrounded by OKRs and KPIs. She had also left behind an academic network built over years. She no longer knew whom to ask a factual question or where to turn when someone on her team needed mentorship.
She did not want to learn the new language one search at a time. She wanted to be told what she needed to know, in a clear and limited stretch of time.
She asked colleagues what mattered to them
The WELL Career Accelerator appeared on her LinkedIn, and a colleague confirmed it was reputable. Early in the program, she interviewed people in other functions about their priorities. She described the effect this way: “that question, what is important to you, the idea that that would be different than what was important to me, even that is very world-opening.”
She also learned to ask what her own leaders needed from her. In academia she had been trained to run her own lab, so managing up was new.
Her clinical training turned out to travel. Motivational interviewing was the first method she was ever taught, and she now uses it in sales calls. When a prospect asks a question, she asks where it comes from. Sometimes the answer uncovers something important.
“What do I have in my toolbox already that's relevant here that may need a little bit of a twist?”
The shift was not about learning a ton of new skills. It was about taking stock of the ones she already had.
She led specialists instead of becoming one
Her scope grew in steps. She became director of clinical research when a colleague left, then added health economics, and was named Chief Clinical Officer, which she said became official the day before the interview.
Her team now includes experts who lead work she has never done herself, such as health economics and AI in clinical products. The role, she says, required her to build “core leadership skills versus become an expert in each of those technical skills.” She also asks account executives for feedback after sales calls, so she can explain research accurately and simply.
What's next
As Chief Clinical Officer, Jessica is watching two shifts. The first is consolidation in digital health, and whether it can finally deliver integrated care across mental and physical health. The second is AI. She wants evidence on how AI compares with traditional care and how to use it safely. She does not expect it to replace clinicians or coaches, but she expects it to change how they work.
About Modern Health
A mental health benefit that employers offer their employees, spanning digital content, group programs, coaching, therapy, psychiatry and a 24/7 clinician line.