What’s one insight or lesson you believe healthcare leaders should pay more attention to over the next few years?

“Take care of your people. The environment facing hospitals and healthcare is challenging. It scares our staff and physicians. It does not help that we are still trying to recover from the COVID pandemic, violence - both physical and verbal- against healthcare workers/providers has increased, and staffing in some organizations continues to be a challenge. Yet despite all the technology, introduction of AI, and other innovations, healthcare is still delivered by people.

My advice is to take as much time as you can with your people. Be open, be transparent, explain the “why.”

If you take care of your people, they will take care of you - that’s especially true of healthcare workers in my experience.”

“I believe that now more than ever, healthcare leaders must be clear on their personal mission, vision, and values—and how those align with their organization and the broader profession of healthcare management. In a period of rapid change and increasing complexity, leaders will be tested on questions of ethics, equity, and stewardship. A clear vision serves as a “true north,” while well-defined values function as the compass that guides difficult decisions. At times, that may mean declining certain opportunities or taking positions that are not universally popular—but that is the essence of courageous, values-based leadership.”

“In such a time of ongoing turbulence, uncertainty, and ambiguity in healthcare, effective leadership is essential to drive the outcomes needed for excellent patient care, financial stability, and operational effectiveness. Dyad and triad executive structures are showing great promise in bridging the gaps between leadership domains and aligning expertise around organizational mission and values. When intentionally designed, supported, and empowered, triad leadership models can have a tremendously positive impact on workforce sustainability, patient care delivery, and financial resilience.”

“I believe one of the most important responsibilities of healthcare leaders in the years ahead is to genuinely care for their people. We speak often about this idea when we communicate our mission, vision, and values, but too rarely do we actually pause to ask whether we are living it in practice. Healthcare leadership must be grounded in compassion. This means intentionally fostering psychological safety, investing in early-career professionals through mentorship and sponsorship, and empowering senior leaders to prioritize relationship-building as a core leadership function, not an afterthought. It requires leaders to engage in the deeper work of creating environments where individuals feel seen, supported, and valued.

Healthcare is much more than a job. It is a calling and a passion for many of us. When leaders actively nurture that passion in their teams, the impact is profound: greater fulfillment, reduced burnout and turnover, and ultimately, better care for the patients and communities we serve.”

“One insight healthcare leaders need to pay attention to over the next few years is that burnout is a signal from a system that’s telling us that there is a lack of clarity, misaligned priorities, and cognitive overload. We as leaders will need to listen to that signal and redesign accordingly in order to retain talent, protect performance, and build sustainable organizations.”

“Manager-physician relations in most organizations suffer from lack of trust. Each party assume that the other party has negative intent every time they make a decision that seems to be not geared towards their interests. We recommend that managers change their mindset and assume positive intent towards physicians by giving them the benefit of the doubt. To do that, they need to practice empathy, humility and realistic optimism and engage in shadowing and reality testing. This mindset change can lead to trust, collaboration and exceptional performance.”

“For years, health equity, patient experience, and workforce well-being were framed as “nice-to-haves.” That framing no longer holds. The health care organizations that thrive will be the ones that manage equity and access with the same discipline they apply to revenue cycle and cost control.”

“Coaching skills give healthcare leaders a different way of relating to teams and complexity, building bridges through better questions and deeper listening. The result is less confusion, stronger connection, and greater innovation.”

“In the coming years, I believe healthcare leaders will need to prioritize strong people leadership, with coaching skills as a critical capability. As workforce pressures and complexity continue to rise, leaders who build trust, listen deeply, and intentionally develop their teams’ resilience and judgment will be best positioned to drive and sustain high performance. Ultimately, high quality leadership conversations may offer leaders a meaningful advantage.”

“This may seem a small perhaps ordinary activity that leaders already to and could pay more attention to: As a leader do you pick up the stray trash on the floor? Hold the elevator for everyone? Notice who needs directions? Round daily to rooms and nurses stations? And act as if this was the most important activity in this moment? I recently noticed the CEO of Memorial Hermann/Cypress & Katy, Jerry Ashworth, FACHE go out of his way to pick up the slightest trash, say hello to friends and strangers alike with equal enthusiasm, and round with vitality. As I watched the responses...something very good was happening here that they don't teach us in MBA or MHA school. One physician leader in Chicago rounds to nurses stations weekly and asks:" What do you know that I don't know that a should know?" Two leaders knowing what's really important.”

“Do not push back on resistance, but learn from it. There’s a lot of resistance in today’s environment and the instinct is to push back hard and that will only make it worse. Think of it as an opportunity to surface what is getting in the way of the changes you want to advance.”

“One key insight healthcare leaders should prioritize in the coming years: Embracing servant leadership to build resilient, people-centered teams amid ongoing workforce challenges and rapid change. By focusing on empathy, empowerment, and clear purpose, leaders can drive sustainable performance and innovation in operations and strategy.”

“Leaving a positive legacy at work means making a lasting difference through integrity, kindness, and a genuine commitment to helping others succeed. It is reflected in the people you mentor, the culture you strengthen, and the standards you uphold every day. A meaningful legacy is built not only on accomplishments, but on the positive impact you have on those around you.”

“In healthcare, turnover has hovered around 20% for years, meaning organizations completely turn over their workforce about every five years. That makes it critical to rethink how we develop talent from day one. By diagnosing individual strengths and providing personalized skill and leadership development, we can build stronger leaders and teams. Every leader is different, and the organizations that invest in their people will see the greatest results.”

“One thing I think healthcare leaders should focus on (aside from quality, safety, and financial performance) is convenience. Operational excellence will no longer be enough and "care convenience" is becoming more and more a core clinical competency. This looks like frictionless access (same-day appointments, streamlined scheduling/coordination), location flexibility (we're already seeing the home-based care and virtual programs thrive), and definitely digital ease (asynchronous messaging and remote capabilities). Consumer behavior is pushing for quality AND convenience.”

“One lesson healthcare leaders should focus on is that access is no longer just an operational issue; it’s a system design challenge with direct impact on growth and patient loyalty. Referral friction quietly drives patient leakage, delays care and erodes trust with referring providers. When referral and scheduling workflows are intentionally built into the EHR, supported by real-time data and clear ownership, organizations reduce wait times and deliver a more reliable experience. The next wave of transformation will come from leaders who hardwire access, data, and accountability into the fabric of the organization rather than relying on manual workarounds.”

“Now and in the immediate future, Healthcare leaders should pay more attention to operating discipline — the leadership routines that consistently drive performance especially given our high-change healthcare environments. The next era won’t reward organizations that simply “work harder,” but those that build clear ownership, prioritize work / inventory, and strong actionable habits that empower teams and reduce chaos/clutter. Leaders who can simplify complexity and create consistent execution will stand out.”

“One insight healthcare leaders should pay closer attention to in the near future is that offsite clinical expansion from the mothership is no longer just a growth strategy-it’s a key resilience strategy. Over the next few years, we can expect that health systems that succeed will be those that expand their offsite footprint, while maintaining the same quality of care, rigor, and culture as their mothership. Hospital systems may face many regulatory, payor, staffing, and other operational challenges especially when preparing for out of state expansion.”

“In this volatile industry, we would benefit from radical care model redesign to ensure that we can sustain care delivery at lower cost and high quality. Our patients deserve this and it’s an imperative that we figure it out.”

“In healthcare philanthropy, donors increasingly expect health systems to demonstrate outcomes with the same rigor applied to clinical quality and finances. The best organizations will integrate philanthropy into strategy—rather than treating it as a downstream funding tool.”

“Every healthcare leader, especially execs, should be tuned into the PBM, 340b, Drug companies and drug market ecosystem. Significant shifts are in the process of evolving right now, and the time is right for disruption. This will potentially result in billions shifting in this ecosystem, and it will impact health care and health systems.”

“Here's what I'm thinking: One insight healthcare leaders should pay closer attention to is that AI isn’t a technology project—it’s a leadership and change-management challenge. The organizations that will succeed are the ones that focus less on shiny tools and more on redesigning workflows, supporting their teams through change, and measuring real outcomes. AI works best when it augments people, not when it’s dropped on top of broken processes.”

“Most health systems still build digital experiences around the Electronic Health Record because it’s the operational backbone. But consumers don’t think in terms of systems; they think in terms of their lives, their goals, and their identity as a patient, caregiver, or health-seeker. The organizations that win the next decade will be the ones that shift to identity-centric design with strong personalization.”

“I believe that healthcare leaders must recognize that cybersecurity is no longer a compliance checkbox. It is a patient safety and care delivery.

Particularly the recent 2026 HIPAA Security Rule modernization represents the most significant transformation in healthcare data protection since 2013, shifting from addressable guidelines to mandatory, prescriptive requirements…

Thus, healthcare leaders should act now not only to prepare for the mandatory security rules but also enhance their cybersecurity posture… Waiting is costly. Early adopters can leverage HIPAA Safe Harbor provisions to reduce penalties and audit duration following breaches. More importantly, proactive implementation recognizes what the regulations emphasize: robust cybersecurity directly protects patient health and safety.”

“One insight healthcare leaders should pay closer attention to over the next few years is the convergence of financial pressure, accelerating innovation, and leadership capacity.

Healthcare finance is no longer just about margin management… This is not a temporary cycle. It is a structural shift that requires executives to rethink how care is funded, authorized, and delivered.

Finally, the industry faces a growing gap in executive readiness and succession… As complexity increases, leadership development is no longer optional. It is a strategic imperative.”

“Healthcare leaders must focus on building adaptive leadership capability at every level, not just the C-suite. As healthcare systems continue to face workforce constraints, financial pressure, and constant change, leaders who can translate strategy into execution, develop talent, and creatively leverage technology to redesign work and decision-making will outperform those who rely primarily on structural or financial solutions. Organizations that invest in leadership as a core operational capability will be better positioned to sustain performance, resilience, and culture over time.”

“Our healthcare leadership pipeline will soon be under strain as burnout, workforce shortages, and shifting generational priorities make traditional leadership pathways less reliable. Healthcare organizations can no longer assume that physicians and nurses alone will fill the leadership gaps ahead, especially with the growing physician and nurse shortages. One of our greatest untapped assets, and often most overlooked, is the allied health workforce. These clinicians bring systems thinking, problem-solving, and collaborative communication to their work every day. The next few years must be about intentionally recognizing, investing in, and cultivating this talent so that our leadership pipeline is not only stronger and more inclusive, but more grounded in the realities of care. Investing in these emerging leaders is a very strategic move that organizations can make to help stabilize their future.”

“One insight healthcare leaders should pay closer attention to over the next few years is the intentional development and inclusion of the next generation of nurse leaders. As new leaders enter organizations, their success hinges on whether they feel a sense of belonging within the culture while being supported in their career growth. This generation brings strong fluency in artificial intelligence, data-driven decision making, and innovative care models. When leaders create environments that value diverse perspectives and leverage these strengths, organizations are better positioned to adapt, retain talent, and deliver sustainable, high-quality care.”

“Gen Z employees are expecting personalization in their work - which can be really hard in healthcare, where role optimization is about replicability and scalability across sites. Apprenticeships, career scaffolds, multi-modal work formats, and formal mentorship programs can offer the next generation a more bespoke experience within roles that are harder to customize. Being heard, seen, and understood are priorities for all of us - but especially Gen Z.”

“One insight healthcare leaders should consistently prioritize is that soft skills have been – and will always be – core operational competencies. In an increasingly metrics-driven environment, emotional intelligence, relationship management, and inclusive decision-making directly shape staff retention, patient experience, and organizational resilience. Leaders who intentionally develop these capabilities and align them with clear values will be better positioned to advance their careers. Soft skills are not optional; they are essential for leadership longevity.”

“Pay attention to how we lead together…

My advice is to be intentional about who is at the table. Elevate women’s expertise, engage male allies who are willing to sponsor and share power, and make space for teams to question, refine, and stress‑test new tools. Explain the “why,” be transparent about risks, and build trust before you build anything else.

When women and men lead side‑by‑side, we create diagnostics that are more accurate, data systems that are more responsible, and care models that are safer for everyone. That’s the future worth paying attention to.”

“Healthcare executives and leaders will need to gain business acumen as third party reimbursement will no longer be sufficient to cover the climbing operational costs. Healthcare is moving towards a market-based industry driven by supply and demand global economic principles. Therefore, healthcare executives and leaders will need to add entrepreneurial skills, risk tolerance, and the flexibility to follow market demand wherever and whenever it leads.”

“With the volatility of the healthcare market, it is so important to build and maintain your network. Keep your skills sharp and always be working on a way to make yourself stand out. Additional skills, knowledge, certifications… all of it differentiates you from others. Stand tall and shine bright. I’ve seen so many friends and former coworkers suddenly become “open to work” and it is so hard to find a position when relationships haven’t been nurtured.”

“Healthcare leaders need to strengthen communication across functions within their organization. The most effective way to do this is to focus on active listening via asking clarifying questions to develop greater understanding of the interdependencies across areas. By modeling these communication practices, leaders can more knowledgeably address the organization's systemic, operational and regulatory needs. As cross functional communication improves, the organization can break through silos and collaborate more efficiently and effectively.”