People of PointClickCare: B.J. Boyle

B.J. Boyle, SVP, Product Management, has spent almost his entire career in healthcare technology, with his first job at a software company working in long-term post-acute care (LTPAC).

Learn how his early experience in this industry fueled his passion for helping vulnerable populations, and how he found his way to PointClickCare.

Rapid Fire 🔥 

Describe yourself in 3 words:  Passionate, Thoughtful, and Confident

Coffee or tea?  Coffee, all day every day. In fact, l like coffee so much my Peloton Name is CoffeeCrazy!

What is your favorite movie genre and why? Action, more specifically, I love Marvel Movies. Mostly because it has become a thing my whole family enjoys doing together, and, as my kids get older, I appreciate it even more!

Who is your hero? I have been fortunate to be surrounded by role models I could look up to and try to make proud, like my grandfather and my dad—hard to get better heroes than that. 

Would you ever appear on a reality show, and if so, which one? Oh, good question. Do they have a Real Housewives franchise for Geeky Product People? If that wasn’t available, I always thought the Amazing Race would be so much fun. 

What are some of your interests outside of work? I love spending time with my family and that keeps my pretty busy—travel, visiting great restaurants, and Pittsburgh Sports!

Building a Foundation in Healthcare Technology

 “I started off as an implementer, travelling across the country to various skilled nursing facilities (SNFs), implementing the software, training the staff, and working with the teams at facilities and large organizations.”

 B.J. says that this early start is the foundation of what drives his connection to healthcare and to building products that add value. “Looking back, that was an invaluable time for me.” From there, B.J. took on a product role and spent time leading product and strategy efforts at Cerner, a position he says offered outstanding learning opportunities for him as a leader. “Cerner is where I really started to understand the importance of having a vision that can be bold and ambitious, but yet still incredibly important to articulate in simple, digestible ways.”

What is Product Management?

While he knew what industry he wanted to be in, B.J. told us that product management wasn’t even on his radar at first. “I may be dating myself, but I don’t think I even knew what product management was when I started my career, or maybe it wasn’t even a thing yet. But what I did know is that I love solving problems, and more specifically, problems that are meaningful.”  

During his early years in product management, B.J. learned two big lessons that made him realize this is where he was meant to be. “The first was learning that to truly deliver value; we can’t focus on building features, but instead we should shift our focus to solving meaningful problems and relentlessly going after that problem. The second was, if you are going to spend so much of your life on something, make sure it is a problem area that you are passionate about. Those things are still true for me today, and now I have the privilege of leading a team of likeminded individuals.”

Joining PointClickCare

What originally brought B.J. to PointClickCare was his shared passion around the mission and purpose of the company and our customers. “What keeps me excited to come to work every day is the great people we get to work with and serve every day, and that we have the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of people who need it most.”

B.J. also mentioned PointClickCare’s mission was also evident through our continued reaction to the global pandemic. “First and foremost, our goal is to help others and throughout the last two years, living and working during a global pandemic, we’ve continued to do that, even putting it above our business goals.  We put people first and we stay true to our mission and that makes me proud to come to work every day.”

Creating Your own Leadership Style

One of B.J.’s favorite things about his job is seeing his colleagues achieve greatness. “Watching people grow in their roles and in the company is so rewarding and important to me.” In his career, B.J. mentioned that he’s been fortunate enough to have been given many opportunities, each one allowing him to learn by trial and error.

He says over time, he has found four key beliefs that he has evolved and formed into his leadership style today. “1) There is such power in diversity. Diversity in thought, experience, background, race, ethnicity, gender, etc.  As a leader we need to be intentional in how we build teams and embrace that diversity—we are all better off because of it. 2) Try to learn something from everyone you can: People above you, below you, and beside you. Ideas and inspiration don’t always come from where you expect. 3) You can be a strong leader and be kind at the same time. Own it and practice it. 4) Be passionate—it is contagious. Pass it on!”

Curiosity is a Superpower

When it comes to leadership, B.J. believes there are many great characteristics that can contribute to a strong leader, but for him curiosity and vulnerability are critical to effective leadership. “Being curious is critical to understanding how your team can succeed, how you can find a common ground to grow, how you can unlock an answer that may have been blocked, and much more. Curiosity is a superpower that we all should embrace!”

Lastly, he said it is important to remember that leaders are not perfect, and like many of us, they are still learning and growing. “Nobody is perfect, and believe it or not, leaders don’t have all the answers. I think the ability and confidence to demonstrate vulnerability to one’s peers or teams is critical to building trust and a sense of team. Being able to stand up and saying “I was wrong,” or “That’s a way better idea,” or “Tell me more, maybe I missed something,” is such an important trait to model as a leader. It sends a great message to our teams and peers, and it sets the stage for achieving more together than individually.”

Thanks for sharing, B.J.!