Learning to Lead with Heart and Adaptability Through Daniels Exec Ed
Sharif Abdelhamid (Photo by Steve Peterson)
When Sharif Abdelhamid joined the Denver Leadership Experience (DLX) in December 2019, he was already an accomplished health care leader with extensive experience in operations, process improvement and patient-centered care.
As chief patient experience officer at Denver Health, he oversees teams responsible for patient advocacy, service excellence, volunteer services, spiritual care and language access—areas that require equal parts operational discipline and human connection.
Yet, even with a strong foundation in both people and process, DLX taught Abdelhamid something profound about leadership.
“I came to a new and real understanding of what leadership is—that it starts with yourself,” Abdelhamid reflected. “DLX was truly transformative.”
Redefining leadership: From managing systems to leading people
The Denver Leadership Experience is an immersive, multi-day leadership development program, offered through the University of Denver’s Daniels College of Business and its Executive Education department. Designed for experienced professionals and senior leaders, DLX blends self-discovery, experiential learning and executive coaching to help leaders expand their impact and lead with authenticity, within their roles and their lives.
Before DLX, Abdelhamid’s strong foundation in lean management—a strategy built around maximizing customer value while eliminating waste—had shaped much of his operational philosophy. Yet, he found himself seeking a deeper understanding of the people side of leadership: how to inspire, influence, and connect beyond process and performance metrics.
The tools and insights I gained at Daniels continue to shape how I show up as a leader every day.
At Daniels, he began shifting his mindset from doing to leading. DLX faculty Scott McLagan and Ali Boyd introduced powerful frameworks and practices that still guide him today, including the “doorframe exercise,” a mindful pause he uses to reset before entering a new space or meeting.
“Every time I walk through a doorframe, I think about how I need to show up in this next space,” he said. “I already had the management background because of ‘lean,’ but DLX helped me understand what it means to truly lead.”
Abdelhamid credits these practices with helping him embrace “conscious leadership,” a mindset centered on self-awareness, accountability and intentional presence. In this approach, leaders continually examine whether they’re operating “above the line” (open, curious and committed to learning) or “below the line” (defensive, reactive or closed off).
For Abdelhamid, this framework became a daily touchpoint, prompting questions like: Am I above or below the line right now? How do I want to show up? How can I help others rise with me? It’s a simple practice, but one that has profoundly shaped the way he leads, communicates and supports his teams.
Building resilience and adaptability through uncertain times
Only months after completing DLX, Sharif faced one of modern health care’s most turbulent moments: the COVID-19 pandemic. The program’s focus on leading in a volatile, uncertain, complex, ambiguous (VUCA) world suddenly became a lived reality.
Abdelhamid found himself drawing on lessons from DLX to lead his teams with clarity and calm amid uncertainty. Through tools like Insights Discovery—a psychological framework focused on how you operate in the workplace and how you prefer to communicate—he developed greater self-awareness.
“When I took the Insights assessment, Scott and Ali told me, ‘You’re a chameleon,’” he said with a smile. “I realized that flexibility is one of my greatest strengths—and that it’s essential for leading through change.”
Applying Daniels leadership principles in everyday life
Years later, Abdelhamid still keeps his DLX notebook at his desk, within arm’s reach. It serves as a daily reminder of the principles that continue to shape his leadership style: authenticity, empathy and intentional presence.
The coaching mindset he developed at Daniels now informs how he mentors his team and navigates organizational change. Whether in a meeting, a patient interaction or a systemwide initiative, he strives to lead with awareness and purpose.
DLX didn’t just influence my leadership, it reshaped how I understand it. It connected purpose, people, and presence in every part of my life.
“My job title is chief patient experience officer, but what I really do is lead,” he explained. “DLX helped me see that distinction clearly. The tools and insights I gained at Daniels continue to shape how I show up as a leader every day.”
Sharif Abdelhamid has served Special Olympics Colorado as a tennis coach, board member and teacher.
Leading with purpose beyond the workplace
Abdelhamid’s DLX experience exemplifies the Daniels approach to leadership development, connecting self-awareness, purpose and impact. The lessons he learned have not only shaped his career but continue to ripple outward through the people and communities he serves.
That includes Special Olympics Colorado, where he has served as a tennis coach and board member for years. Next summer, he’ll coach Team Colorado at the USA Games, continuing his mission to champion inclusion and empowerment for athletes of all abilities. He also teaches in the Special Olympics Athlete Leadership University Program, helping athletes build confidence and leadership skills that extend beyond sports.
“True leadership is measured by the impact we create in others, especially when we help people find their voice and purpose,” Abdelhamid said. “DLX didn’t just influence my leadership, it reshaped how I understand it. It connected purpose, people, and presence in every part of my life.”