Stephen Miller began his role as chief of operations at Los Angeles-based University of Southern California Norris Cancer Hospital in mid-December, bringing experience from Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles, where he served as executive director of clinical operations.
The role represents a dual mandate: leading operations at USC Norris while also overseeing Los Angeles-based Keck Medicine of USC’s newly created cancer service line across the enterprise.
Becker’s connected with Mr. Miller to discuss his priorities in the first 90 days, his approach to aligning cancer services across the organization and his goal to create operational value while honoring the culture at USC Norris.
Editor’s note: Responses have been lightly edited for clarity and length.
Q: What are your first financial or operational priorities in the first 90 days? How do you plan to achieve these?
Stephen Miller: I see my position as a split role, each with distinct priorities for the first 90 days.
As the chief of operations for USC Norris Cancer Hospital, I am focused on understanding and embracing the unique culture here so that any initiatives or administrative changes are implemented in a way that affirms that culture. USC Norris is among the original eight National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer centers, and it is important that we recognize and amplify the culture that makes USC Norris a renowned institution for care and research.
We have important work already underway that I am thrilled to jump into and support. This includes improving access for new patients, as well as continuing to focus on developing our advanced cell therapy program — including how we onboard new innovative therapies and maintain high-quality outcomes.
In my role overseeing our cancer service line, which is a new position for the organization, I am focused on engaging key stakeholders and physician leaders to develop the structure, priorities and performance metrics to allow us to deliver high-value care for our cancer patients throughout the enterprise.
Q: Where do you see the biggest opportunity to create operational value quickly?
SM: My priority is creating the best possible experience for patients and ensuring a supportive environment for our caregivers. In doing so, we deliver on our commitment to world-class care and achieve operational value as a byproduct.
My goal is to engage and position our cancer services across all our hospitals and outpatient clinics to create a more consistent experience across the continuum of care, enhancing collaboration and distinctiveness across disciplines and locations. We can leverage value drivers in place at many of our locations and replicate them at other sites or within other service lines rather than starting from scratch. By leveraging our “systemness,” we can also expand access to potentially groundbreaking clinical trials, benefitting patients and researchers.
Artificial intelligence and technological advances are rapidly transforming healthcare. By integrating these advances into our workflows, we can ease the burden of administrative tasks so that our providers and clinicians maximize their focus on patient care. This creates operational value and increases engagement among our caregivers.
Whereas many operational initiatives take time, one of the quickest ways to create value is ensuring that the team feels supported and appreciated for their work, resulting in strong employee engagement. Showing up for the team, being visible and making sure that team members feel heard translates into operational value in numerous facets, including increased productivity, reduced turnover and improved morale.
Q: What leadership approach will you take to align cancer services across the organization early on?
SM: When you visualize the cancer patient journey, it crosses many departments and sites of care. My responsibility is to ensure that our cancer program has that same lens across the patient care continuum so that there are seamless transitions between departments and care sites and a unified experience for patients.
I see my role as facilitator or connector. I want to create forums where oncology leaders with different perspectives rooted in different areas of expertise can learn from each other and jointly prioritize so we can innovate with speed and agility. It’s important that we communicate our vision to faculty and staff so everyone understands the bigger picture. It will take time to establish these working relationships, particularly in such a large, matrixed organization. But in doing so, everyone can have the same focus and share in the success of our oncology program.
Q: What is the best piece of career advice you have ever received? How do you plan to use that advice in your new role?
SM: The best advice I’ve received is to lead with vulnerability and humility. This means being transparent when you don’t understand or need more information and leaning on your team’s expertise.
I have so much respect for my Keck Medicine colleagues, many of whom are renowned experts in their respective fields or have several years, even decades, of institutional knowledge. They take so much pride in caring for patients and driving innovation, and they want to share what they know with me so we can work toward a common goal. By asking questions, relying on my team and celebrating their contributions, we work more efficiently and build stronger relationships along the way.
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