During a keynote interview at the Becker’s Hospital Review CEO + CFO Roundtable in Chicago on Nov. 12, Mr. Couris shared why much of his time is spent spearheading cultural change, and the four distinct ways he engages with Tampa General’s thousands of staff members.
“If you take care of your people, the people take care of the rest. It’s very, very simple,” he said. “And then, ultimately, the patient is first, because they’re the beneficiary of the people that are engaged and have the right tools, the right processes and the right systems in place.”
To better understand the hospital’s employees and improve their experience — which, in turn, improves the patient experience — Mr. Couris hosts biannual forums with every team member in attendance; works alongside frontline staff two to four times per month; offers workers the chance to anonymously “Ask John” any questions or offer suggestions; and posts regular blogs and social media posts to keep the team updated on his plans for Tampa General’s future.
Mr. Couris shared how one of his stints working alongside nursing staff led him to replace troublesome fitted sheets on all of the facility’s 1,010 beds. “Some of you might think it is trivial and a little thing — it is absolutely not. If it’s important to your people, it needs to be important to you as leaders,” he said, adding, “I am very passionate about this.”
He also reiterated why it is crucial that leaders involve themselves so deeply in their organization’s culture: “You’ve got to be in the flow, in the mix, in the narrative and part of the conversation with everybody. Because if you’re not curating the narrative, someone is doing it for you. Why not be in the mix?”
More articles on leadership and management:
Safety as a core value: Memorial Hermann CEO on how to become a high reliability health system
How to compete against Amazon, Apple & Google? 3 healthcare CEOs on how to compete against the industry’s most disruptive forces
Stanford Health Care CEO: My time as a trauma patient taught me this about hospitals
At Becker's 4th Annual CEO + CFO Roundtable, taking place November 2–5 in Chicago, more than 1,500 hospital and health system executives tackle decisions that determine whether organizations thrive or merely survive: protecting margins under cost pressure, choosing where to grow, renegotiating payer relationships, stabilizing the workforce and proving real ROI on technology. This is where leaders work through them together, face-to-face. Apply for complimentary registration now.
