As hospital and health system C-suites navigate new and recurring challenges — from policy changes to workforce shortages — collaboration among executives is essential for success.
A successful team dynamic starts with the CEO understanding each executive’s subject-matter expertise and how those strengths can complement the broader leadership team, Ashley Vertuno, CEO of HCA Florida JFK North Hospital in West Palm Beach, Fla., told Becker’s.
“You can’t win with talented individuals rowing in different directions,” Ms. Vertuno said. “You win when every leader is moving with purpose, in sync, and committed to the same goals. Different skill sets, yes, but united in direction. That’s how you build a team for long-term success.”
Bob Adams, president of Atlantic Health Hackettstown (N.J.) Medical Center and Atlantic Health Newton (N.J.) Medical Center, and senior vice president of Morristown, N.J.-based Atlantic Health, prioritizes aligned goals and transparency.
“I believe in fostering collaboration through aligning goals around priority organizational objectives, leading with transparency, and building a supportive and inclusive environment,” Mr. Adams told Becker’s. “Teams are most effective when they have a common goal and everyone is incentivized to work together.”
The senior leadership team meets weekly to discuss organizational priorities, with all leaders encouraged to provide input, Mr. Adams said.
“We are a team, and I believe members of the team will participate in the conversation when they feel safe to do so,” he said. “It’s important in building a team dynamic that every member of the team feels they have a voice, even if their idea is not something that will be immediately implemented. I believe transparency and consistency in leadership help build a trusting environment and effective team culture.”
For Travis Andersen, CEO of UW Health in northern Illinois, collaboration across the executive team started with culture, a shared set of tools and a team approach to setting expectations, he told Becker’s.
“Once the full executive team agreed to the roadmap, we strengthen collaboration and ensure alignment through a disciplined, multifaceted approach, inclusive of weekly senior leadership meetings, quarterly retreats to review key performance indicators and set strategic priorities using the X-Matrix, and real-time alignment reinforced through daily huddles and our monthly Leadership Operating Review,” Mr. Andersen said.
At Munster, Ind.-based Powers Health, data drives collaborative decision-making, COO Alan Kumar, MD, told Becker’s.
“Our senior executives discuss daily and meet monthly to review financial, quality, IT and operational dashboards,” Dr. Kumar said. “We focus on strategic planning for the healthcare system to keep our priorities aligned with the organization’s mission.”
The glue for the C-suite is culture, operations and strategy, according to Gil Peri, president and CEO of Milwaukee-based Children’s Wisconsin.
“Culture is such a critical glue for the senior team,” Mr. Peri told Becker’s. “I have expectations on rounding, visibility, communication and timeliness. We need all of us to understand how we create streamlined operations. And then strategy: we build our roadmap for the future together.”
“The last part is our ability to really know each other outside of work. We have quarterly connections where all of us get together and really get to know each other beyond what we do every day, because when things get really tough, those relationships are critical for us to be able to know each other and support each other in that manner.”
In collaborating across the executive team, it is also important to have a systemwide approach to decision-making, he said.
“When you’re at the C-suite level, you take off your individual hat,” Mr. Peri said. “You’re not the chief medical officer anymore, or the CFO; you’re an executive that needs to make decisions for the organization, and not your individual hat.”
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