In this special edition of Visionary Voices, brought to you by Alcon, Carla Mack, OD, MBA, FAAO, FBCLA, and Kristin Anderson, OD, FNAP, FAAO, discuss how mentors can help your journey of lifelong learning. Both share the experiences of how they’ve leaned on mentors and also become mentors to others in turn. Surrounding themselves with people who complement their skills and strengths has allowed them to become stronger leaders.
They also discuss the challenges, such as learning to say no so that they can focus on the essentials.
The Leadership of Showing Up
Leadership is less about performing a role perfectly and more about showing up as yourself, building the right team around you and ruthlessly prioritizing what matters. In a conversation about mentoring, authenticity and focus, Carla Mack, OD, MBA, FAAO, FBCLA, head, global and US professional education and development at Alcon, and Kristin Anderson, OD, FNAP, FAAO, director of professional education and development, US Vision Care, return to practical lessons that shape how they lead and develop others.
Both leaders describe mentorship as a two-way, growth-minded exchange. Dr. Anderson says she looks for mentors who will “be honest, invested in my success and challenge me both personally and professionally.” She explains that strong mentors fill gaps and push past blind spots rather than merely comfort you. For her, mentorship is also a natural draw. She connects with mentees who show “a genuine desire for improvement.” People whose curiosity about themselves and their future signals they are ready to be coached.
Dr. Mack echoes this emphasis on candor and growth in leadership. “I really like a mentor who is direct. So, they give you feedback. They do it in a way that’s extremely clear and concise,” she says. Direct feedback helps identify the concrete skills and behaviors a leader can develop. Both highlight that effective mentorship requires mentees to be intentional, reflective and willing to act on feedback.
Authenticity emerges as a central leadership principle. Dr. Mack recounts moving from impostor feelings to a steadier professional presence by tending to personal issues and intentionally “being present and engaged in every encounter at work.” She frames authenticity as consistent behavior across contexts. “The true value is sounding like me,” she says, and insists that bringing your whole self to work deepens relationships and drives collaboration.
Team composition and personal networks are equally strategic. Dr. Mack stresses the long-term influence of the people you keep close: “The people you choose to have around you, they will help make you and build you up or they will help you break down.” Dr. Anderson offers a practical metaphor for curating that circle: “If you look at yourself as your own corporation, you build your board of trustees.” She encourages this deliberate way to assemble advisors who amplify strengths and call out growth areas.
When it comes to doing the work, both leaders champion disciplined prioritization. Dr. Mack adopts a guiding principle adapted from Essentialism: “do less and do it better.” She also appreciates the framework of simplify, clarify and magnify to decide what merits attention and when to scale effort. That ethic pushes leaders to minimize noise and dedicate time to projects with real impact.
Saying no becomes a leadership tool, not a failure. Dr. Anderson says her instincts often push her to say yes, so learning to say no has been a learning process. She reframes refusal productively. “No just means not now.” That perspective helps preserve bandwidth for high-impact work and life priorities. She also shares a line of pragmatic encouragement she gives to emerging professionals. “You can have it all. You just can’t have it all at once,” a reminder that wise sequencing and focus are themselves leadership skills.
Together, Dr. Mack and Dr. Anderson model a leadership rooted in authenticity, clear feedback, curated relationships and disciplined focus. Lead by being yourself, investing in the right people and protecting the time and energy needed to do the work that truly matters.
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