An Interview with Keynote Speaker Becky Sheetz

How Female Medical Practice Administrators Can Optimize Their Leadership Presence Using a Bold Spin on Sun Tzu’s The Art of War

Introduction

Ready to tap into your inner strategist? Becky takes a bold and brilliant spin on ancient wisdom with her book Sun Tzu for Women: The Art of War for Winning in Business. She brings Sun Tzu’s classic tactics into the modern workplace—showing how women can use their natural strengths in connection, collaboration, and strategy to lead and win.  

With real stories from powerhouse women across industries, Becky shares practical, empowering advice to help you navigate challenges, build allies, and come out on top—without ever compromising who you are. 

We interviewed Becky in advance of our Women in Medical Practice Management Conference, taking place November 4-5, 2025, in Philadelphia, PA. Registration is limited to the first 72 women who register, so act quickly to reserve your spot!

AAOE: Why the Art of War? How does Sun Tzu for Women help women leaders of medical practices?

Becky: Based on the responses I get when I ask the question, most women have never read The Art of War. It probably never appealed to them and may even seem contradictory. Why should we adapt the wisdom of a Chinese military strategist from 500 B.C. to daily business and career challenges?

The answer is time-tested, innovative, and proven. Sun Tzu’s classic has had a profound influence on the world over, from East to West, from business to battlefields. 

Some of us have strong, dominant personalities. Others are more diplomatic and more collaborative. We cannot and should not try to be someone else. 

I’m excited by the opportunity to help women seize the advantage in all battles, including those they choose not to fight. While The Art of War is about warfare, it is also about peace. One of my favorite tenets from The Art of War is “He who knows when to fight and when not to fight will win.” 

The Art of War can be employed to mobilize ourselves or our teams to win a big contract, seize a market opportunity, dominate an industry, reposition a company, or win negotiations. There is little that this cannot be applied to when we understand it and leverage it. 

AAOE: Are any of the tenets from the Art of War helpful to 1) establish a personal brand, 2) lead with strength as a woman, and 3) give you courage and tools to speak up when you need to?

Becky: Absolutely. The idea of developing a personal brand for women in business is a persistent question. I am asked some version of this question all the time. At your Conference, I will talk about authenticity and overcoming Imposter Syndrome. These are concepts that have a great deal of impact on the women I speak with. 

The idea of leading with strength is also critical. It means different things to different women, which is why knowing your attributes and pitfalls is so essential. Some of us have strong, dominant personalities. Others are more diplomatic and more collaborative. We cannot and should not try to be someone else. The better we know and deploy our success attributes, the more successful we will be and the more satisfied we will be with our work.

The courage and tools to speak up…that is a huge question. Whether we are speaking up about negotiating a salary or a promotion, requesting increased responsibility, or sharing a concern or problem with a supervisor or peer, courage and confidence are paramount. But we can acknowledge that these attributes are not always easy to access. Sun Tzu has a great deal to say about the characteristics required for victory. He demands that you understand yourself, your adversary, and the conditions of the battlefield, however you define that field.

AAOE: You’ll be talking about pitfalls that have been holding you back in your career and practice. Can you discuss one of them? 

Becky: Talking about pitfalls, or places where we fall short, is not anyone’s favorite topic, but it is critical. We have to do it. One of the ones that seems to impact audiences the most is not asking for what we want. I’ve done this in my career. I’ve hinted at wanting larger contracts, or a pay increase—any number of things—but failed to directly ask for what I wanted. I see women do that a lot, and when I talk about it, they tell me they can identify. We need to be direct, clear, and confident. Failure to ask for what we want and to open up for negotiations can be attributed to women earning less and achieving less, as compared with their peers. Over the course of a career, this can have a very significant impact. 

AAOE: What is some practical, empowering advice to help the woman medical practice leader navigate challenges and build allies? 

Becky: One of the things that is often said about women is that we don’t always work well together and may even undermine one another. I don’t think that is as common as it is said to be. A great example of building alliances is Meg Whitman when she ran eBay. She built a robust network of partners and allies because of her collaborative management style. She was also known among her teams for her exceptional ability to lift people up by empowering them to be better. This is a counter to a dominant, typically masculine leadership style. 

Conclusion

While it may not seem like Sun Tzu’s philosophy works in all settings, Becky will be providing insights and real-world examples of how women in medical practice management can optimize their career, build professional presence, and ask for – and get – what they want using the tenets from her book.

"The author takes Sun Tzu's strategies and tweaks them so they are more female-friendly. While that may sound sexist, it's actually the opposite. The result is a book that provides dozens of straightforward tips on how to be more successful in business, and to understand more completely what your competition is doing and -- best of all -- how to beat them at their own game." -Times Union 

Register now for this Conference. The first 50 registrants will receive a free copy of her book.