October 28, 2026Articles Rewriting the Rules: Sneha Jain on Credibility, Courage and Human-Centred Change For much of Sneha Jain’s early career, she followed a familiar rule: stay humble, work hard and let the results speak for themselves.As a woman and an immigrant, that expectation felt natural. But as she progressed in her career, she began to notice how successful people around her advanced within their organizations. Strong work mattered, but so did speaking up, sharing opinions and making sure others recognized the value of their contributions.Jain realized her approach was holding her back. She hired a coach and began deliberately building the muscle of self-advocacy.“Unlearning a lifetime of instinct doesn’t happen overnight or by accident,” she says.Today, Jain is a physician executive working in clinical intelligence, innovation and health-system optimization at Fraser Health Authority, where she leads change at the intersection of care, technology and operations. Her leadership and commitment to advancing opportunities for others have earned her Ascend Canada’s Woman of Distinction Award.Throughout her career, Jain has learned the importance of making her contribution visible, building trust and ensuring that the people affected by change have a voice in defining it. Let ambition evolve Early in her career, Jain’s ambition was shaped by what she calls an immigrant mentality. Security, belonging and achievement all carried extra weight. She worked hard to establish herself and build credibility, while sponsors at leading institutions recognized her potential and created opportunities for her to grow.Today, her ambitions have evolved. Jain still wants to pursue new opportunities and enter rooms where immigrant and Pan-Asian women remain underrepresented. But her goals now extend beyond her own advancement. She wants her success to inspire others and demonstrate what’s possible. “I want to be a role model for everyone who’s coming up as an immigrant or as a junior female executive,” she says.That commitment to opening doors for others has become a guiding principle in her work across health systems, technology and community leadership. Join as a member Trust before transformation Leading change in a health care setting can be particularly challenging. Teams are often stretched thin, balancing competing priorities and adapting to new processes they may have had little say in developing. Jain recognizes that a leader’s authority alone is not enough to overcome these concerns.For her, successful change begins with trust.Before asking people to follow her lead, Jain considers whether she has earned their trust and demonstrated the behaviours she expects from them. She takes time to understand what matters to the people doing the work, what concerns they have and where they anticipate challenges.“If we skip past the fear straight to the pitch, you basically teach the room that they cannot be honest with you,” she says.By listening to those concerns, Jain can make better-informed decisions that reflect both operational knowledge and the experiences of the people involved. She recognizes that, particularly under pressure, people want to know their leader understands their challenges and is willing to listen. For Jain, this approach helps build the credibility and trust needed to bring people together and move change forward. Asking who is missing Jain brings the same discipline to artificial intelligence. What excites her most about AI is its potential to reduce the repetitive administrative tasks that consume valuable time in health care – from scheduling and forms to referrals, follow-ups and duplicated processes. By making these activities more efficient, technology could give clinicians more time to spend with patients.But Jain is also mindful of the risks that appear when efficiency is treated as the primary measure of success.She recalls challenging the introduction of a technology because it wasn’t accessible to patients who weren’t fluent in English and assumed a level of comfort with speaking to a robot that many people do not have. Even the most sophisticated tool has limited value if the people it’s intended to serve cannot easily access or use it.That’s why one of Jain’s first questions when considering new technology is: Who is missing from the table?It might be an older adult without a smartphone, someone living in a remote part of British Columbia without reliable internet, a patient whose first language is not English, or someone living alone without a caregiver. Jain believes these perspectives are essential, yet those affected by new technologies are often the last consulted.“Designing cannot be done without the people who are going to be at the receiving end,” she says.For Jain, implementing technology involves much more than choosing the right tools. It also means considering who has access, how information is protected and whose needs and experiences are reflected in the design. From mentorship to sponsorship Outside her formal role, Jain has helped create opportunities through technology events, advisory work and volunteer boards.One such opportunity began when she was helping someone prepare to speak at an event. That connection eventually led her to the Google Developer Groups community, where she became involved in leading and co-leading technology events in Vancouver.Since then, Jain says she has helped more than 50 women step onto a stage for the first time. While she’s proud of that number, what matters most to her is creating opportunities that will continue to benefit others long after her own involvement.Jain describes her approach as “lift as you climb.” By opening doors and creating opportunities for others, she hopes to encourage them to do the same for those who follow.Through this work, Jain has also come to appreciate the important distinction between mentorship and sponsorship.While mentorship provides valuable advice and guidance, she recognizes that capable professionals do not always need another skills session. Rather, they need someone willing to advocate for them and help them access opportunities they might otherwise miss.A mentor can help someone prepare for an opportunity, while a sponsor uses their own influence and personal credibility to advocate for that person, even when they’re not in the room.“A sponsor actually speaks for you,” Jain says.Having benefited from sponsors who recognized her potential and helped her advance, Jain is committed to doing the same for others. Join us at our events Connect the experiences At first glance, Jain’s work in health-system transformation, cybersecurity, AI governance and community leadership might seem like a series of separate careers. But a mentor once helped her see how these different experiences could work together.Each area of her career has helped her develop a broader understanding of how she can make a difference. In a hospital, that might mean improving patient safety. In an AI project, it could involve ensuring that the people affected have a voice in development. And in community leadership, it might mean creating opportunities for others to be heard. For Ascend members navigating workplaces where they may feel underrepresented, Jain emphasizes the importance of making their contributions visible. She encourages professionals to recognize the impact of their work and communicate it clearly, build strong networks, seek out sponsors and create opportunities when they aren’t readily available.Above all, she urges people to recognize the value of unique experiences and perspectives they bring. “No one else is going to bring it for me,” she says of her global perspective and ability to see patterns others may miss.Jain’s career demonstrates how humility and hard work can go hand in hand with self-advocacy and leadership. By learning to speak up, building trust and using her influence to create opportunities for others, she’s helping shape a more inclusive future – both within health care and beyond. Read more FacebookTweetPinLinkedIn
