Ben Scharfe, CPA, is the executive vice president of artificial intelligence at Altera Digital Health, which provides digital services to healthcare clients. As one of this year’s Managing Healthcare Executive Emerging Leaders in Healthcare, he recently sat down with us to discuss a turning point in his career, what he would change about U.S. healthcare and his personal goal for this year.

Scharfe said his career reached a turning point in 2019, when he participated in a leadership development program. He had been told previously by mentors that he was “too nice” and “too trusting” to be a senior leader. As part of the program, he got to interview more potential mentors.

“I was eager to talk to one executive who's known for being very kind, because I figured he could help me with how to adapt, but I had some real reservations about meeting a different executive who was a potential mentor, because he had a reputation for being extremely intense and demanding,” Scharfe said in his video interview. “I posed my question about overcoming this too-nice critique, and he was immediately dismissive, stating bluntly, ‘Anyone who tells you you're too nice is an idiot; you can never be too nice. I’d be nicer if I could, but it's just not me,” and so Steve has been my mentor ever since.”

Scharfe believes advancing value-based care and accelerating the adoption of artificial intelligence would be beneficial to the U.S. healthcare system.

“Economic benefit isn't the only thing that motivates people, but at scale, it does emerge as this major driver of decision-making, and value-based care better aligns the financial interests so that providers, care organizations, and payers all benefit directly from the improved health and well-being of patients as measured through their health outcomes,” Scharfe said.

As for his personal goals this year, Scharfe would like to develop software, specifically a video game he could enjoy with his children and write the first draft of a book.