Hospital and health system CEOs are building new leadership skills — many of which were not viewed as a priority earlier in their careers.
While health systems continue to focus on workforce-wide skills development, such as leadership skills for succession planning, today’s executives are zeroing in on new capabilities to meet evolving demands.
Becker’s connected with four hospital and health system CEOs to learn which skills they are actively working on in 2025.
Leading with storytelling and collaboration
Michelle Fuentes, president and CEO of AdventHealth Castle Rock (Colo.), is focused on building stronger storytelling skills, both for herself and her team.
“In this day and age, it’s really important for us as leaders to be able to captivate an audience and communicate our message in an effective and memorable way,” Ms. Fuentes said. “That’s something I’ve been working on throughout my career, but it’s also something I’m now taking my leadership team through classes on so that they’re equally capable of engaging an audience.”
Although often considered a “soft” skill, storytelling is a difficult yet essential leadership tool to master, she said. It is particularly valuable when speaking with physicians, leadership teams or community groups.
Ms. Fuentes is also emphasizing collaboration, especially around aligning strategy across a growing campus.
“A space that leaders in healthcare need to be focused on right now is around looking at and considering the larger strategy for the system, how we align ourselves between our sister hospitals and organizations, because all boats rise as the tides rise together,” she said. “We need to make sure we’re playing an aggregate team sport rather than individual ones, where we are a part of a group but not thinking like a group.”
Building cohesion and accountability
At Encompass Health Rehabilitation Hospital of Tinton Falls (N.J.), CEO Beth Sarfaty is focused on strengthening team collaboration and cohesion, especially amid hospital growth.
“Every time a new team member joins, it can change all the dynamics of the group and is an opportunity to build the relationships and reset expectations,” she said.
Ms. Sarfaty is also sharpening her approach to strategic decisionmaking and accountability, noting that she used to undervalue holding team members accountable.
“I have recognized that accountability is closely associated with encouraging feedback from all team members,” she said. “Along with holding staff accountable, working through failure encourages a growth mindset, professional development and feeling support from leadership.”
Soft skills in the era of digital change
Chantal Volel-Torres, chief administrative officer and senior vice president of ambulatory operations at Palo Alto, Calif.-based Stanford Medicine Children’s Health and CEO of Packard Children’s Health Alliance, said relationship-building is central to leading through digital transformation.
“Technology is leapfrogging itself in such a rapid pace with AI and other advancements,” she said. “But, if you look deeper at what the common threads of success are in such changes, it’s the ‘soft’ yet critical skills of building trust, facilitating open communication and promoting collaboration that are paramount for navigating such organizational transformations.”
With digital transformation at the forefront of Stanford, her focus in 2025 is on supporting change management initiatives. This involves coordinating digital health initiatives across ambulatory operational teams at more than 65 locations in Northern California with the system’s digital health team, she said.
“Creating seamless digital changes that marry well with our operational excellence ultimately allows our care teams to provide the best possible service to our patients and families,” she said. “By leading change successfully, the evolutions occur without any disruptions in service or experience. In fact, digital transformation enhances the care we provide and ensures higher levels of quality outcomes and service excellence.”
From operations to outward-facing leadership
As the new president and CEO of Springfield, Ill.-based Memorial Health, Mandy Eaton, PhD, said she is quickly learning the importance of building relationships with external stakeholders, including donors, community leaders, healthcare partners and government agencies.
“Transitioning from a background heavily focused on internal operations, I’m embracing the challenge of being the public face of our organization — an important skillset to develop,” she said. “I’m fortunate to have the guidance of my predecessor, who still resides in Springfield, to help me make the right connections and establish these key relationships. His support has been invaluable as I navigate this new aspect of leadership.”
Dr. Eaton is also dedicating time to Memorial Health’s board of directors, building personal and professional connections to foster trust and transparency in communication.
“This is my first opportunity to work so closely with a board, and I want to ensure we form a collaborative and cohesive partnership,” she said. “I view our board as an essential extension of our leadership team, whose governance is critical to our success. That’s why I’m focused on providing them with the tools and information they need to fulfill their responsibilities effectively.”
