Three long-tenured hospital and health system CEOs recently shared leadership lessons they've learned over their careers.
Here are four takeaways they offered.
Editor's note: Responses have been lightly edited for clarity and length.
1. Partnerships are vital.
Peter Fine. Former 24-year president and CEO of Banner Health (Phoenix): "One of the most important lessons is to recognize you can't do everything yourself. You may not have the expertise within the organization, you may not have the resources," Mr. Fine told Becker's in June 2024. "And so we began going down various paths to create partnerships with organizations that had expertise that we didn't have or didn't have at the level we thought we needed to be able to provide the services that were out there."
2. Leaders determine culture.
Thomas Priselac. President and CEO of Cedars-Sinai Health System (Los Angeles): "Leaders of the organization play a critical role in determining the culture of the institution, and in that regard, it's critically important that the leaders focus on making sure the values of the institution come to life," Mr. Priselac said. "And they do that by virtue of the decisions they make and the messages and messaging that the organization undertakes." Mr. Priselac will retire in October after 30 years in the leadership role and 45 years total with the system.
3. Discomfort is important.
Mr. Fine: "It's OK to not have all the answers. Vulnerability and openness to learning are strengths that make others trust you more."
4. Life balance is key.
Rod Hochman, MD. President and CEO of Providence (Renton, Wash.): Dr. Hochman gave COO Erik Wexler, his successor, advice on the new role, Mr. Wexler told Becker's.
"He reminded me to enjoy the important work we do and to also find balance in our lives as leaders, so we are renewing ourselves so we can serve those that are depending on us," Mr. Wexler said.
"This is really important advice because we can find ourselves every minute of the day beholden to the important work we do. But if we don't renew and refresh, then we may not be able to serve in the best way possible. So I take that to heart, and I've committed to him that I will do that as effectively as I possibly can."