Northwell Health President and CEO Michael Dowling has been no stranger to the Becker’s Healthcare community.
We have been proud to play a part in elevating his words — spoken and written — spanning topics from the economics of healthcare delivery to the urgent need for role models in society. For more than 10 years, Mr. Dowling has penned a regular column with Becker’s, sharing values, ideas, and reflections he finds most relevant in the moment.
As powerful as his written words are, there’s something especially remarkable about seeing him in action. Mr. Dowling’s ability to command a room and connect authentically with an audience has always stood out. (See for yourself in his April 30 fireside chat at the Becker’s Annual Meeting — part of our Highlights program airing this week — where several of the quotes below were shared live.)
To reflect on more than 23 years at the helm of Northwell Health and his extraordinarily engaged role in our national healthcare community, here are 35 Dowling-isms we won’t forget — each candid, authentic and timeless.
On Investing in People
“For the executive who doesn’t think they have enough time to invest in their people, I have two questions. 1) What are you really doing with your time? And 2) What could possibly be more important than your people? If we can’t find time to be with employees who do all the work and deliver the care, then what the hell are we doing as leaders?” Read more
“Wherever I travel across the region, I routinely run into staff who recognize me — I would never be able to slip into the rank-and-file as an ‘Undercover Boss.'” Read more
“I take 35 front-line employees out to dinner every month from various different facilities. Why? They get to know one another. They get to relate. They get to ask any question they want to ask. It’s an educational forum. There’s really no agenda, other than the relationship.” – Becker’s Annual Meeting 2025
“We are all busy, but if we don’t take the time to listen to people’s ideas, we will miss out on great opportunities. I make it clear to my employees — old and new — that they should not hesitate to contribute ideas for how the business could run better. I never turn down a meeting with an employee, and people certainly take me up on this.” Read more
“Some CEOs like to hide in their offices, or they feel they must always be on their computers, but it’s important to be as visible as possible. Ask yourself occasionally whether you’re spending enough time talking to the frontline employees and mid-level managers. Abraham Lincoln advocated for ‘managing by wandering around.’ That’s what healthcare CEOs should be doing: wandering around and talking to people face-to-face as much as possible, despite how busy you may be.” Read more
“I spent a lot of time with employees, walking the floor, in the maintenance shop, with valets. For example, you show up at one of our facilities. Who makes the first impression? The valet who takes the car. Put yourself in the position of being an 80-year-old person with your elderly husband or wife. You show up with your car and meet the valet and the valet has a bad attitude. Straight away, the organization is not represented well.” – Becker’s Annual Meeting 2025
“I meet with physicians every morning at 6 a.m. in local diners, not my office. If anybody comes to New York, I know all the diners in New York that open at 6 a.m. I meet them in diners because you get to understand people better, you get to know them. And if you know people and understand where they come from and what interests them, then you can work with them. It doesn’t happen by sending a text. You have to meet people. It takes time, but it is the most important thing that you do.” – Becker’s Annual Meeting 2025
On Succession and Leadership
“All people in our senior team have succession behind them. Now we are building the people coming up behind to continue and improve what we did. It’s like the relay race — you run as fast as you can and try to get the lead, then hand off the baton to the next leader who will run faster than you did so you win the race.” Read more
“Being a leader requires putting yourself under a microscope, which can be difficult and uncomfortable for many people. The worst way to react is by surrounding yourself with sycophants. Some leaders would rather create a circle of unqualified ‘yes-men’ than team players who have the courage to disagree. Don’t demonize those who challenge you.” Read more
“When you get into leadership positions, you have a tendency to look down. That gives you one perspective. But you have to come at it as a leader from looking up. How does the organization look from the person on the front line? It’s a different view from the C-level office. Which view is most important? Not the one from the C-office. It’s the one from the floor. If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.” – Becker’s Annual Meeting 2025
“The role of leadership is to put people around you who look at everything creatively and do not put forward knee-jerk reactions. None of my people would run up to me and say, “We need to cut costs!” Instead, they’d approach me and say, ‘Here are my ideas on how we can become more productive and more efficient.'” Read more
On Culture and Innovation
“The culture and DNA of an organization has to be one of innovation and transformation. Innovation isn’t a one-off project for a small group. It must be a fundamental component of the organization’s strategy, where all employees play a vital role.” Read more
“It takes strong leaders and a strong culture to take a chance on a new idea, as well as the flexibility to course correct when something doesn’t go right. The path to the future isn’t straight.” Read more
“We’ve been down this road before, with politicians, bureaucrats, academics and other outsiders who have rarely set foot in a hospital or health facility claiming that they have the solutions to fixing what they perceive as a broken system. The reality is that providers have been adapting and innovating for years, whether it’s transforming the model of care, expanding ambulatory facilities, supporting technological advancements in telemedicine and artificial intelligence, or promoting customer engagement.” Read more
“I get letters consistently now about the food. I get letters asking when we’re opening up a restaurant! It changes the perception. It changes the way employees think about the importance of food when you make it a priority.” – Becker’s Annual Meeting 2025, remarking on the success of Northwell’s food program transformation
On Challenges and Optimism
“I’m an eternal optimist. What’s the alternative? I want to be a pessimist? I want to be a skeptic? I want to believe there’s no potential in the future? Who wants to follow that? People want to follow people who believe tomorrow can always be better than today.” – Becker’s Annual Meeting 2025
“Every meeting I have, I talk about optimism. I’ve probably given four talks on that theme in the last two days — including one with my physician leadership team just 15 minutes ago.” Read more
“If there is a recession, we will deal with it. It’s just one of those things that happens, and we will respond in as comprehensive a way as we can. I can’t control it, but I can control our response. Leadership to me is about having a positive disposition; basically saying that whatever happens to you, you’re going to win.” Read more
“Keep your head up. Look forward. You have the ability to do something special. You have influence. You can inspire. You can go to work today and either inspire people or deflate people. If you don’t get anything wrong, you’ll never get anything right. Manage toughness today and deal optimism for tomorrow.” Read more
“It’s important for us all to ask the question: What motivates us? Status, position, title, going to meetings like this? Or is what motivates us the ability — in the fortunate positions we’ve been put in — to make a positive difference in the world that we live in? The only way you can do that is to have an underground commitment to optimism and positivity. Tomorrow will be better.” – Becker’s Annual Meeting 2025
On the Workforce and Education
“People talk about the workforce shortage of the future. There’s only a workforce shortage of the future if you don’t do anything today.” Read more
“I’m a big believer in apprenticeship. You learn by doing.” Read more
“I’ve been in these classrooms. I’ve spoken to kids at high school graduations. I grew up as a poor kid myself, never knowing what possibilities were out there. Over time I found out. But once I found out the possibilities that existed, I was elevated. It changed my perception of life. It changed the way I thought, what I should think about, about a future you can look forward to. That’s what we try to do with these kids.” – Becker’s Annual Meeting 2025 on Northwell School of Health Sciences, set to open in September
“Usually, medical students sit through two years of classroom instruction before they engage in clinical work. We found this model counterproductive. To better prepare physicians, students at our medical school become EMTs within the first nine weeks. They ride in ambulances and help patients in their homes, developing a holistic understanding of health beyond hospital walls.” Read more
“Though physicians are among the most highly educated professionals in the world, the most important lessons of their careers come from day-to-day experience. Even if providers are not affiliated with a formal medical school, hospitals and health systems are always in the business of education.” Read more
On Moral Courage and Advocacy
“In speaking to my peers across the country, I know many are apprehensive about taking a firm stand on this issue, particularly in this politically toxic environment. Some are concerned about offending their board members, donors, elected officials and other constituents, including patients. I’m not oblivious to those considerations, but leadership doesn’t hide. True leadership means having the personal courage to speak out and take the heat, particularly on issues that are affecting the health and wellness of our communities. If there was a disease that was killing as many people as guns in this country, we would be mobilizing a national response effort. It’s inexcusable for us to remain silent.” Read more
“We are in the healthcare business. We are in the human care business. If we don’t stand up and talk about what’s important, who does?” – Becker’s Annual Meeting 2025
Taking Care of Those Who Serve
“What Northwell can give our veterans will never exceed what they have given us. But it’s my duty to try, and the same holds true for leaders at every health system.” Read more
“I remember getting a phone call from the wife of an employee who had been deployed overseas. She called to ask for an accommodation on benefits. As I spoke with her, I realized they were struggling financially because her husband’s military income was significantly less than what he was earning with the health system before he was deployed. I called our head of HR and said, ‘There has to be something we can do. This is ridiculous.’ Northwell’s pay differential program was born from that conversation.” Read more
On Staying Grounded
“I like to do manual labor. I like to get blisters on my hands. For example, I love to cut my own hedges. If you hire someone, you can go out and see it’s been done. If you do it yourself, you can look back and know you did a good job.” Read more
“A model of the house I grew up in sits in my home today, because I like to look at it and remember how fortunate I am. It’s important to stay grounded, be a decent person, treat people well, and remind yourself that everybody, whether rich or poor, puts their pants on the same way every morning.” Read more
“Humility is an important part of leadership — you must understand you’re not the most important person in the organization. Unfortunately, I often see leaders looking down on others when really they should be recognizing, encouraging and empowering them. Many good ideas come from the bottom, so give everyone in the organization the attention and respect they deserve.” Read more
On Resilience and His Personal Journey
“I’ve never been shy talking about my past or embarrassed by having grown up in poverty. … Growing up the way I did has made me passionate about what I do. If someone tells me they don’t know where the money for their next meal will come from, I know what that’s like.” Read more
“People have often asked me, ‘Why did you decide to work in health and human services?’ Well, it directly emanates from my past. My mother was deaf and my father was very ill. I’ve always had a direct personal interest in those issues, and I’ve always tried to figure out how I can have some kind of a role in making things better for people who suffer from those concerns.” Read more
“The issue of immigration is central to my personal experience. Though I now have the privilege of serving as president and CEO of Northwell Health, I was born in southwest Ireland to a family of very modest means. Like so many other ‘dreamers’ before me, I moved to America in search of a better life.” Read more
