As Bellaire, Texas-based Harris Health System's first dual physician, president and CEO in the organization's more than 60 years, Esmaeil Porsa, MD, has made it his mission over the last four years in his role to instill something that he says is the largest challenge currently facing the healthcare industry: trust.
"There is so much misinformation about what is real, about science, about the role of health care in our society and the role that the government should play in this dynamic," Dr. Porsa told Becker's. "The politicization of healthcare and science as a whole is a terrible thing to witness."
To combat this challenge, Dr. Porsa began holding quarterly town hall sessions in the county that Harris Health serves around a year and a half ago, in an effort to provide the community with healthcare updates and to listen to any concerns they might have.
"I conduct the town halls myself; I attend every one of the town halls," Dr. Porsa said. "We hear from [the community] about their hopes, their expectations, what matters to them, and how we can better serve in our community."
Dr. Porsa also started an initiative he calls "leading with love" a few years ago to improve trust with employees.
The initiative began with Dr. Porsa's direct reports and system leaders, but has since expanded to quarterly meetings wherein Dr. Porsa leads sessions for the health system's leaders to gather and talk about implementing love into the workplace.
"I'm talking about love in terms of vulnerability, empowerment, inclusion, things of that nature," he said. "Through that, I'm hoping that we can expand the psychological safety and trust within the organization."
Apart from the initiatives, Dr. Porsa's innate and dual understanding of what it means to be both an organizational leader and a practicing provider since 1993 has helped him connect with employees on a more personal level.
It's also been useful when connecting with leaders at the two medical schools that Harris Health partners with, Houston-based Baylor College of Medicine and McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston.
"The conversations are just so much easier because they know that I understand what they are telling me, not just at the level of a hospital operator, but at the level of a physician," he said.
When asked what three qualities a health system CEO should possess to be a strong leader, Dr. Porsa said humility, commitment to excellence and celebrating failures, and loving what you do and why you do it.
"Empowering others to do what they have been entrusted to doing is of the utmost importance," he said. "Without this quality, a system may succeed for a time, but systems that are led by less than humble leaders will inevitably stumble when warnings are not articulated and ideas remain dormant when a leader sucks the air out of the room."