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For the last nine years, Cristi Rigazio, MSA, BS, HT(ASCP) has been motivating her employees at Sentara Healthcare in both good times and bad—most notably when the COVID-19 pandemic hit and threw the healthcare industry into its biggest challenge in recent years. The veteran histologist, who is currently the company’s Anatomic Pathology System Lab Manager/Clinical Specialist, has learned a lot about what it takes to effectively manage a lab, and thanks to her dedication, Sentara recently recognized her with an award for employee engagement. We caught up with Rigazio to learn what she thinks about leadership and how she keeps her employees motivated.
What do you think makes a leader effective when managing a lot of people in a lab environment?
My personal philosophy is that if anybody on my team is not succeeding, then there's probably a tool or a resource that I haven't provided and we need to figure out what we can do to make sure that it's there. Whenever there's an issue, we always look at a process, not a person. I don't think people want to come to work to do a bad job. The assumption is always that we have an opportunity to improve our process, and that as long as you're given the tools and the resources you need to succeed, you're going to be successful.
As a leader, what do you do when things are challenging?
The number one thing I say to myself in my head every day, or in any rough time, is to take a pause. You don't have to solve the problem in this moment. Let's go investigate what's going on. A good example is, if one of my supervisors or senior techs comes to me and says, “This happened and so-and-so did this,” I'll immediately start looking at the other side. Well, were they given this? Did they have this? Did they have that before? Why don't we go look into it?
I’ve learned the hard way that there’s generally at least three sides to every story. I think I try and really just logic through it. Let’s imagine how that could happen. What could we have been doing or what could have changed? Is that okay? You said that person said something, but what did they mean by that? Did you ask them what they meant by that? So I think there's a lot of that involved.
What do you do to make sure that your employees are engaged?
One thing I recognize is not every employee wants to drive the bus, which is not a bad thing. I just need to make sure that they all want to be on the bus. One of the things that we try to do is, when we get a new piece of equipment, we have our team members go to training sessions to learn and bring us back their ideas.
I think one of the best ways that we've really seen a high level of engagement more recently is taking employee feedback and actually doing something. It can be silly things like when we wanted to change the cassette color and we did a whole poll asking if they would prefer brown or blue. We're constantly trying to keep them involved in the decision making process wherever we can. I think that's really been helpful. And I also think it helps to give people a little bit of freedom to be creative. There's always more than one way to do things.
What advice would you give a histologist who is thinking about possibly moving into a leadership position?
Be humble. You're going to get promoted and you are going to need your team to be your wing people. You're going to need people to be your champions and to help you, because—unless you're doing 50 blocks a day by yourself and you're your own supervisor because you’re the only one there—you can't do this by yourself. I think it's important to always remember that and to always, always treat people with dignity, compassion, and respect and to value their opinion and their time.
What are your plans for the future?
I'm actually kind of riding this right now. I'm just so relaxed in the fact that, after nine years, I know this system. I have a really great team that we've built. I'm really trying to enjoy it. It has been really enjoyable. I think hopefully someday I'll be a director, but honestly, I would be perfectly happy just where I am. I love histology and I'm very comfortable in this world. I'm really proud of what we do. At any scale that you do it on, you're helping somebody feel better, so I don't ever see myself leaving the healthcare realm.
Cristi Rigazio’s approach to leadership is grounded in humility, trust, and a genuine belief in her team. Whether navigating the complexities of lab operations or encouraging team members to grow and contribute, she leads with compassion and clarity. Her story is a reminder that great leadership isn’t about having all the answers—it’s about asking the right questions, listening deeply, and creating a workplace where everyone feels valued. As she continues her journey in histology, Rigazio remains a shining example of how impactful leadership can shape not just results, but people.
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