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Before comedy specials, streaming platforms, or social media clips, stand-up comedians faced a single, unforgiving test: whether the audience stayed engaged. There were no edits or second chances.
If a joke went too far or the timing was off, the reaction was immediate. Comedians learned quickly that success wasn’t about saying more, but about saying the right thing at the right time.
Those same dynamics still show up today, even outside of comedy. In boardrooms, negotiations and high-pressure conversations, leaders are judged not just on their words, but on timing, tone and context.
Few people understand that connection as instinctively as Elliot Maza, whose perspective was shaped in part by growing up around his uncle, Jackie Mason.
Mason’s career depended on his ability to read people in real time. He had to know how far to push an idea, when to pause and when silence would say more than another joke ever could.
Maza has carried that same way of thinking into his professional life. The settings are different and the stakes are higher, but the skills are the same.
Formative Years in Law and Finance
Maza is a life science entrepreneur and co-founder of several biotechnology companies. He currently serves as a senior adviser to a pharmaceutical and med-tech company, advising its CEO on corporate growth, investor relations, mergers and acquisitions, and licensing transactions.
After earning a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Touro College in New York and a law degree from the University of Pennsylvania Law School, Maza began his career as an attorney at Sullivan & Cromwell LLP.
He later worked in investment banking at Goldman Sachs & Co. and J.P. Morgan Securities, Inc., focusing on structured finance and derivative-based transactions.
Eventually, he transitioned into executive leadership within biotechnology companies, including Intellect Neurosciences, Inc., Biozone Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Emisphere Technologies Inc.
He also became a partner in Transaction Advisory Services at Ernst & Young LLP and served on boards of OTC- and NASDAQ-traded biotech companies, including as chairman of audit committees.
In 2015, Maza joined the board of Immune Pharmaceuticals, Inc., later serving as interim CEO in 2017 and continuing as CEO until 2018.
Rethinking Responsibility
Early in Maza’s career, leadership felt straightforward. Decisions came from the top, and people were expected to follow them. Confidence meant having an answer ready, even when information was incomplete.
“I associated leadership with power and control and the ability to make decisions with little or no input from junior team members,” he shared.
As his responsibilities expanded, that way of thinking started to feel limiting. Decisions reached further and the cost of misjudgment grew. Outcomes depended less on decisiveness alone and more on collaboration, communication and restraint.
With time and experience, Maza’s view of leadership evolved. Instead of trying to control every decision, he began to care more about understanding different perspectives and building environments based on trust and respect.
“True leaders are able to recognize and develop their own strengths, as well as those of others, in order to reach their personal goals and motivate others to reach theirs,” he said.
That change did not mean giving up authority, but using it more deliberately. In the same way a skilled comedian adjusts based on subtle feedback from the audience, effective leaders learn to do the same.
The Limits of Rhetoric
Today, Elliot Maza describes leadership as staying optimistic in the face of adversity, setting a positive example and inspiring others to follow his lead.
“Leadership means persuading others through actions, rather than through words,” he said.
In his experience, motivation is strongest when people see personal benefit, not when it is driven by speeches or forceful language.
Leadership, then, depends less on what is said and more on what is done. Just as a comedian cannot reason an audience into laughter, a leader cannot reason a group into trust.
Still, trust is fragile, especially in leadership roles. When someone in a position of authority is trying to rebuild their public reputation, even routine decisions tend to draw extra attention and are often judged without full context.
In those situations, Maza recommends acknowledging past mistakes, clearly explaining what happened and sharing what steps are being taken to correct them. Rebuilding credibility, in his view, means creating a personal story of redemption and reinforcing it through consistent behavior.
Comedians of an earlier era faced a similar reality. After a misstep, the only way back into a room was to earn it.
Teaching Through Experience
Mentorship has become one of the most meaningful parts of Maza’s life.
“I am privileged to have the opportunity to mentor several young professionals working their way up the management ranks in the pharmaceutical industry, as well as several recent college graduates entering the professional work force,” he said.
People often equate leadership with being the loudest voice in the room, but mentoring is a more subtle form of influence. For Maza, it provides a sense of purpose and offers insight into how younger professionals think, communicate and solve problems.
The relationship works both ways. While Maza supports others as they build their careers, he also learns from their perspectives and expectations.
Earlier in his own career, he experienced that kind of guidance firsthand. As a young attorney, a senior partner helped him clarify his goals and better understand his professional path, serving as a sounding board through challenges and offering encouragement.
More than advice, the mentorship gave him confidence, and for that alone Maza remains grateful.
Charity That Changes Outcomes
As a teenager, Elliot Maza studied the writings of Maimonides with his father. Maimonides, a 12th-century Jewish philosopher, jurist and physician, taught that charity was more than an act of kindness. True help, he argued, required thinking carefully about how support would affect someone’s life in the long run.
Maimonides outlined different levels of giving and taught that the highest form was not short-term relief, but helping someone become self-sufficient.
That idea stayed with Maza. It taught him that good intentions are not enough, and that help only matters if it has a lasting impact.
Personally, he supports organizations that provide counseling and life-skills training, helping individuals and families find work, manage money and build financial stability. Professionally, he favors solutions built around structure, stability and long-term independence rather than quick fixes.
Meaning Found Through Perspective
One book that left a lasting impression on Maza is “Man’s Search for Meaning” by Viktor Frankl, written after Frankl survived imprisonment in Nazi concentration camps during World War II.
In the book, Frankl writes about enduring suffering without the promise of escape, and about the discipline required to choose one’s response when circumstances cannot be changed.
From it, Maza learned that while much in life remains outside of a person’s control, the ability to decide how to respond never disappears. That belief shows up in small, everyday habits. Each morning, Maza spends about five minutes reflecting on what he is grateful for.
“I find this simple exercise improves my mental health by shifting my focus to positive aspects of life, thereby allowing me to feel happy and content,” he explained.
He recalls learning that gratitude can trigger “feel-good” chemicals that improve mood, and says the practice has helped him manage stress more effectively.
Setting boundaries became another important tool. As a young professional, Maza often struggled to say no, worried that turning down opportunities would disappoint others.
Over time, and influenced by lessons he drew from Warren Buffett, he realized that protecting his time and energy was sometimes necessary to stay focused on his goals.
“Buffett has stated that one of the keys to his success is his ability to prioritize and use his time wisely,” Maza said. “He often says ‘no’ to people and opportunities that don’t directly benefit his personal or professional growth.”
Proof Over Promises
Comedy’s golden era was built on authenticity. Onstage, there was little separation between who a comedian was and how they performed, and audiences recognized that immediately.
Leaders face the same level of scrutiny. People watch closely to see whether decisions, behavior and values actually line up, especially under pressure. When they do not, even the most carefully chosen words feel hollow.
For Elliot Maza, authenticity is what preserves that alignment.
“I define authenticity as acting in accordance with my true self and aligning my behavior with my core values and beliefs,” he shared.
When everything aligns, there is no need for performance. Confidence follows naturally, communication becomes clearer and trust builds without explanation.
The comedians who thrived in the golden era understood this. They did not try to manage perception. They earned credibility through consistency.
Leadership credibility works the same way. It is built by showing up the same way, over time, in front of people who are always paying attention.
