Inspiring Leaders: A Conversation with Rishi Tripathi

“Leadership is not about authority. It’s about doing the things other people are either not doing or don’t know they should be doing.” — Rishi Tripathi

I recently had the privilege of sitting down to chat with Rishi Tripathi, CTO & CISO of Mount Sinai Health System. Rishi was one of my first leaders when I started out as a cybersecurity practitioner, and what struck me then still stands out today: his calm. In the midst of high-stakes, high-pressure moments, he brought a steadiness and clarity that I wanted to emulate.

Our conversation was full of wisdom. A few highlights that stayed with me:

👣 Servant leadership before it had a name. Rishi's first boss on a construction site always took the hardest job for himself. That example stuck, real leaders clear the path and lead from the front.

🧭 A leader knows where the North Star is. Leadership shows up in every part of life, sports, community, family, work. He even pointed to a 12-year-old guiding camels through the Sahara as a model of knowing your destination, your crew, and your responsibility.

✨ Collective brilliance is where magic happens. The best work is never demanded, it comes organically. When you get the team chemistry right, people produce 150% and solve problems you never imagined possible.

🪨 Your job is to remove the boulders. Get the right people, give them a purpose bigger than the work, provide air cover, and then let the team do its thing.

💡 Leadership isn't about authority. "Leadership is doing the things other people are either not doing or don't know they should be doing." Don't wait for a title, titles are made up, but the work is real.

⚽ Make work more like play. Kids playing soccer are candid, push each other, and call each other out, then have fun doing it. Bring that spirit to work and people thrive. "People like playing for 12 hours a day. People don't like working for 12 hours a day."

Take your work seriously, but not yourself. Keep a low ego. Your team should never feel afraid to tell you you're wrong.

His advice for the next generation of leaders? Make your work feel like play, and get really, really good at whatever you do. Don't worry about your title or the size of your team, everything else follows.

Rishi, thank you for the steady example you set early in my career and for the wisdom you shared here. The lessons continue to resonate.