Effective leadership is more crucial now than ever before in healthcare. Each leader has a different style, often influenced by the leaders they learned from.
Becker’s asked 12 healthcare strategic leaders about the best leadership advice they’ve ever received.
If you are a COO or strategic leader in healthcare and are interested in joining Becker’s Healthcare COO + Strategic Leader virtual community, please contact Scott King at sking@beckershealthcare.com.
Editor’s note: Responses have been lightly edited for length and clarity.
Question: What is the best piece of leadership advice you’ve ever received?
Bryan Croft. Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center (Los Angeles, CA): The best piece of leadership advice I ever received came from one of my mentors, who reminded me to always be humble and to never forget the paths and the people who helped you get where you are today. Always treat people as peers—with respect, authenticity and appreciation. That’s the best way to motivate people across the organization.
Alen Voskanian, MD. Chief Operating Officer, Cedars-Sinai Medical Network (Los Angeles, CA): The most transformational leadership advice I’ve ever received comes from the Outward Mindset: see people as people, not as the stories you’ve already written about them. As a physician and an executive, I’ve learned that culture changes the moment we stop asking, “Why is this person being difficult?” and start asking, “What might this human be carrying?”
I still remember a team member who kept missing deadlines. My first reaction — the MBA side of me — wanted to “optimize the workflow.” But when I paused and connected, the physician in me discovered a human navigating a sick parent, unpredictable shifts, and the kind of exhaustion you can’t track in a dashboard. With that understanding, accountability didn’t disappear — it became possible. And the turnaround that followed had less to do with performance management and more to do with compassion unlocked.
In healthcare, our greatest breakthrough is still the simplest one — it’s the courage to see each other fully. When we assume positive intent and lead with humanity, teams don’t just perform better… they heal better.
David Sylvan. Chief Strategy, Innovation and Marketing Officer, University Hospitals; President, UH Ventures (Cleveland, OH): One of my closest friends was in hospice care, and his condition was rapidly robbing him of the ability to speak. As a leader and orator, this was especially cruel, and yet he never lost his dignity nor poise, even in the face of his rapid decline and ultimate passing.
Near the end, he asked me to lean in to hear him, and he whispered, “I think I understand why I am losing my ability to speak. I am supposed to listen more…”. A powerful and poignant lesson that I heed to this day.
Doug McGill. Vice President of Quality Strategy and Operations, Emory Healthcare (Atlanta, GA): The best leadership advice I’ve received recently is from Emory Healthcare’s CEO, Joon Lee: Purpose, Perspective, and Gratitude. Starting each day with these three words is both a challenge and a gift. For me, it’s a moment to pause and ask, ‘How am I showing up today?’ That question invites reflection and intentionality – choosing responses rather than reactions. Purpose keeps me aligned with why we do this work, perspective helps me stay grounded amid complexity, and gratitude reminds me of the privilege of leading others and serving our communities. These principles resonate deeply with my own spiritual practice and connect beautifully to creating psychological safety and fostering continuous improvement. These principles create the conditions for trust, humility, clarity, inclusion, and respect which are the cornerstones of high-performing teams.
Kerry Mackey. Vice President of Hospital Operations, Women and Children’s Services, NYU Langone Hospital (Long Island, NY): The best piece of leadership advice I’ve ever received is this: “Great leaders help people connect their work to a larger purpose.” When individuals, especially early-career team members or mentees, understand why their role matters, everything changes. Their work stops feeling like a checklist of tasks and starts becoming a mission. And mission-driven people don’t just complete assignments, they innovate, advocate, and accelerate progress. Purpose creates ownership, and ownership creates momentum!
Vicente Resto, MD, PhD. Chief Operating Officer of Faculty Group Practice and Senior Vice President, Heath System Ambulatory and Procedural Areas, UTMB Health (Galveston, TX): Managing our rapidly evolving healthcare environment requires creative solutions along many dimensions of our organizations. These include developing strategic and tactical management of new programs and models of care, contracting activities, and labor management amongst others. Amongst these people management represents the linchpin to delivering effective care. Understanding organizational culture remains a prerequisite to drafting effective implementation. A strong plan will often prove ineffective if deployment is too swift or too slow. Correct timing is essential to support our people through change.
Chad M. Collins. Vice President of Operations, Texas Health (Arlington, TX): Healthcare leadership is 80% interpersonal and 20% technical. Everything we do in this industry has people connected to it, whether it is a patient or team member. It is important to build relationships with those we are fortunate to lead and ensure we create a culture of respect, authenticity, and accountability.
Cara Koch. Assistant Vice President of Indigo Operations, MultiCare Health System (Tacoma, WA): The best leadership advice I’ve received is: “Think big, start small, act fast.”
This came from my current President at Indigo Urgent Care and continues to shape how I lead. In healthcare and particularly urgent care, we face dynamic challenges that demand bold vision, smooth execution, and urgency. This mindset helps us move quickly from problem identification to meaningful progress that improves both community health and organizational outcomes.
Christopher M. Kane. Chief Strategy Officer and Senior Vice President, Phoebe Health (Albany, GA): Define the goal in detail to everyone involved, accept alternate paths to achieving the goal, and acknowledge each person’s contributions.
Numan Ejaz. Regional Vice President of Support Services, RWJBarnabas Health (West Orange, NJ): Stay focused, committed and true to the purpose and the why.
Joshua H. Lahav. Vice President, Cancer Center Operations, Fox Chase Cancer Center (Philadelphia, PA): The best leadership advice I ever received came early in my career from someone I still look to as a role model. She taught me that leaders are effective not because of the nature of the position, but through their character, their support, and their knowledge. These attributes must work in concert to build trust and confidence within a team so that you can empower them to own and achieve their goals and those of the organization.
Shaker M. Eid, MD. Associate Vice-President of Medical Operations, Memorial Hermann Health System (Houston, TX): Best piece of leadership advice I’ve received would be “Lead with clarity; ambiguity is the enemy of performance“. People don’t fail because they’re incapable; they fail because expectations, priorities, and success metrics are unclear. Great leaders make the invisible visible.
Bonnie Thompson. Chief Operating Officer, Forest Family Dentistry (Austin, TX): The most valuable leadership advice I’ve received is that leadership starts with trust and respect. I lead by example. I show up and support my team to create an environment where people feel valued. I’m honest about what I know and what I don’t. Authenticity builds stronger connections. When trust is the foundation, communication is easier, people gain confidence, and the team succeeds.
