Featuring CAR Vice President, Dr. Ania Kielar
Exhibiting confidence in areas of expertise while actively finding support for gaps in knowledge are important qualities to possess as a leader, believes CAR Vice President Dr. Ania Kielar.
“Being self-aware and asking for support, information, or help is critical in leadership,” says Dr. Kielar. “No one can know everything. Having a team approach rather than a top-down command can lead to more diverse and effective solutions for any challenge that presents itself.”
The team approach is one Dr. Kielar has crafted throughout her extensive and stellar career in medicine and leadership. She continues to be actively engaged in leadership positions for a number of reputable organizations outside of the CAR Board of Directors. Some of Dr. Kielar’ s roles include member of the American College of Radiology Board of Chancellors, Vice Chair at Large for Radiology at the University of Toronto, Planning and Wellness Committees for the Society of Abdominal Radiology, and many more.
“Leading from a place of openness and curiosity seems to work for me,” she explains. “For the types of leadership positions in which I have served, I have noted that a team approach and the ability to laugh at myself go a long way. Life is short. Even though there is a lot of work to do, having a sense of humor makes everything more fun.”
Dr. Kielar credits her supportive husband and decades long friendships for reminding her of the importance of maintaining healthy relationships in life regardless of their context. In her leadership roles, she prioritizes building and maintaining communicative relationships with those around her so everyone can work toward a common goal together.
But professional settings are not the only spaces where Dr. Kielar has found influential guidance on being a self-aware leader. She says playing sports has been indelibly impactful throughout her life. “From the first time I stepped on the court to try out for the basketball team in grade 7 – as the shortest player with zero prior experience – I realized that being part of a team, trying to achieve something together was exhilarating and brought me so much energy.”
In adulthood, Dr. Kielar says she picked up a key leadership insight from a famous Canadian astronaut.
“I learned about the concept of striving to become a 0 when reading Chris Hadfield’s An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth. To paraphrase, being a 1 is equivalent to being a show-off and taking accolades for yourself; no one likes that kind of person around. Being a -1 means you are not pulling your weight and the team suffers. Striving to be a 0 means working as hard possible to help the entire team move forward and succeed (as is crucial on a space mission). So, I try to follow the concept of being a 0, given my lifelong love of participating in team sports and team activities.”
With a keen sense of self-awareness and an empathetic, team driven approach to leadership, Dr. Kielar continues to be an exemplary leader in all her roles, and the CAR is proud to have her as a distinguished representative.