Dennis Pullin‘s healthcare career has taken him across the U.S. — from Texas to the helm of Marlton, N.J.-based Virtua Health — forming a unique perspective on the essence of leadership.
Mr. Pullin is now sharing guidance for emerging and established leaders across industries, based on these experiences. He has written a book titled “Suited for Leadership: How to Show Up with Purpose to Have Lasting Impact,” published by Brave Healer Publishing.
“[The book addresses], how do we, as leaders, position ourselves such that we can have an impact, yet be purposeful and do things that matter? Investing in people, investing in communities, and trying to be positive change agents,” Mr. Pullin told Becker’s.
Mr. Pullin joined Virtua as president and CEO in 2017. Prior to that, he held roles in the Washington, D.C./Baltimore area, as president of MedStar Harbor Hospital and senior vice president of MedStar Health.
His other previous roles include senior vice president and COO at MedStar Washington Hospital Center in Washington, D.C.; vice president of operations and business development at St. Luke’s Episcopal Health System in Houston; and vice president of acquisitions and development at Symbion Healthcare.
In “Suited for Leadership,” he discusses the lessons he’s learned through his professional experiences.
Proceeds from book sales will support Virtua’s food access programs, including the Eat Well Mobile Grocery Store and Eat Well Mobile Farmers Market. Following its April 8 release, the book reached the No. 1 spot on Amazon’s Hot New Releases list for the Leadership Training and Workplace Culture categories.
Mr. Pullin shared some of the leadership themes he hits on in the book.
Editor’s note: Responses were lightly edited for length and clarity.
Question: How has your approach to purpose-driven leadership translated into system-wide strategy at Virtua, especially during times of operational or financial pressure?
Dennis Pullin: I’ve often said that as a leader, we have two imperatives. One is to do good, and the other is to do well. And doing good means being committed to providing quality care. Making sure that our outcomes are as good as they can possibly be. Making sure we take care of everybody, always, and not leave anybody out.
And then the other imperative — doing well — that means being a good steward of our financial resources. Are we creating enough of a margin such that we can reinvest into our organization, thereby reinvesting into the communities in which we serve?
And from a system strategic approach, these two things aren’t necessarily contradictory. You can find a way to strike a balance. That requires discipline and skill, such that you can accomplish both of those things. So, if you use this sort of as your North Star, it will see you through, even in the most difficult times.
Q: When building an executive team, what qualities do you prioritize to ensure you’re surrounded by impactful leaders in today’s healthcare environment?
DP: One of the first things that I look for would be critical thinking. I don’t always focus on the content expert, because if you are a critical thinker as a leader, you find a way to bring in the necessary resources, the necessary expertise. I want to make sure I have someone that can sit next to me and think through a particular problem, and think about a particular strategy. And so that critical thinking is very important to me.
Soft skills are also extremely important to me. If I have a critical thinker, I have someone that has soft skills, then I start thinking about assembling a team — somewhat like the superhero movies do it. They bring in different superheroes with different superpowers and create a collective force. And so, for me, we start to build a team and bring unique talent. I don’t need everybody to be the exact same. It’s great to have people who bring different things to the table.
And one of the qualities that I love is having a team and an individual on their team that is willing to speak up and, when needed, disagree. I realize that can be difficult, because more often than not, it’s easiest for someone to sort of nod and agree with the CEO. But for me, I think the courage of having folks on your team that are willing to challenge things, to ask the tough questions — that’s the ingredient for building a solid team and leading through this current environment.
Q: How does emotional intelligence shape your approach to leading through change or navigating high-stakes situations like workforce challenges or strategic partnerships?
DP: Emotional intelligence speaks to the fact that you need more than just knowledge to be an impactful leader. It’s that intersection of leading with your head and your heart. As leaders, especially in times of change, there is benefit to being vulnerable. I like to say, I always want to make sure that I’m viewed as someone who is transparent and approachable. And that supports not only displaying emotional intelligence, but also building a leadership team.
For example, at the beginning of the year, I pulled together about 90 of our most senior leaders in a technology-free environment, in our horseshoe-shaped seating with one seat in the middle, in the front — not on stage, but at the same level. And this meeting — I took a very different approach — and it was billed as an intimate, authentic conversation.
I felt it was important to talk with our leaders about how we were going to show up as leaders in 2025. And it came about as a result — I was in a meeting, a different meeting once with a group of CEOs, and someone commented, “Every caregiver deserves a great leader.” And that stuck with me.
And I pulled together the group, and I started out by saying, “What do I need to do? Or what do I need to do more of? Or what do I need to do less of, such that I can help you be the best version of yourself as a leader?” That’s how I started the conversation. And it lasted for about two hours. It was a safe space. We talked about the things that kept them up at night — things that they were fearful of, as we are faced with these tremendous headwinds — and it gave everybody a chance, starting with me, to be vulnerable, to be transparent, and to have a discussion that sometimes people were afraid to have.
I know it was received very well because of the feedback that I got. And, quite frankly, I plan on doing it again.
