Becker's Hospital Review

43 PRACTICE MANAGEMENT THOUGHT LEADERSHIP Corner Office: Integris CMO Dr. Tommy Ibrahim on how burnout as a young executive made him stronger By Leo Vartorella Y oung physicians across the nation dream of the opportunity to rise to the C-suite as quickly as Tommy Ibrahim, MD. However, his speedy ascent came with a steep learning curve, and it was only aer he discovered the importance of delegation that he came into his own as a leader. Dr. Ibrahim began his administrative career at age 29 as director of hospitalist services and as- sociate medical director at Springfield, Ill.-based Hospital Sisters Health System Medical Group before going on to become chief of staff at Re- habCare and Kindred Hospital Rehabilitiation Services in Louisville, Ky.; chief physician execu- tive of the Central Illinois Division at HSHS St. John's Hospital in Springfield, Ill.; and chief physi- cian officer at Mercy Medical Center Des Moines (Iowa). He took his current position at Oklahoma City-based Integris in December 2017. Dr. Ibrahim earned a bachelor's of medical sci- ence and medical degree at St. Christopher's Col- lege of Medicine in Luton, England, and a mas- ter's in healthcare administration from South Orange, N.J.-based Seton Hall University. Dr. Ibrahim recently spoke with Becker's and an- swered our seven "Corner Office" questions. Responses have been edited for length and style. Question: What's one thing that really piqued your interest in healthcare? Dr. Tommy Ibrahim: I love the opportunity in healthcare today. e landscape is changing and the dynamic front we're currently encountering is quite exciting to be part of. To have the oppor- tunity to shape the future of healthcare and how we drive toward more of a value-based system, engage physicians in clinical transformation and embrace innovation is quite exhilarating. Actually, it was through my own personal health- care experience I identified my interest in pur- suing a career in healthcare. I was 16 and had a pretty significant car accident that was eye open- ing for me. It was one of those experiences that helps you appreciate life a lot more. I've always had a deep connection to helping others, but wasn't quite clear on how I was going to fulfill my passion. I connected with medicine through that experience and decided to go to medical school. Q: What do you enjoy most about Okla- homa City? TI: e healthcare system drew me to this town. Integris has an amazing reputation, a great amount of clinical expertise and breadth of ser- vices. We're doing some fascinating work from the bread and butter of healthcare to cutting-edge research. e culture, the people and being the dominant player in Oklahoma, really pulled me to this organization. I was happy where I was [in Iowa] — at a great healthcare organization with great relationships with people there — but this was an amazing opportunity I couldn't pass up. Oklahoma City is a great, up-and-coming town with a lot of growth. e weather's a lot nicer than where I came from and they have a fun basketball team, so there's a lot going on. Q: If you could eliminate one of the healthcare industry's problems over- night, which would it be? TI: If I could sum it up in one word, it would be the schizophrenia within the system right now. ere are a lot of dynamic moving parts, and it seems like there's a lot of change occurring at multiple levels, whether it's federal or state. ere's some misdirection as well. If I could eliminate the uncertainty and have a clear path forward, we could navigate the system with much more ease. Q: What is your greatest talent or skill outside of the C-suite? TI: e first thing that comes to mind is my abil- ity to develop relationships. I like to think of my- self as an authentic person, and authenticity and the ability to develop personal relationships in and out of the workplace is critically important to leadership. One of the reasons I entered lead- ership is because I love the ability to influence others and guide the ship. Q: How do you revitalize yourself? TI: I have a set structure I try to adhere to in terms of professional wellness and avoiding burnout. ere's a strict morning routine that incorporates an exercise regimen. I also make sure I spend time with my own personal faith and have a lot of time for family and friends. I try to schedule a trip every four or five months to have something to look forward to. It's important I have that time away from work to decompress and rejuvenate. My wife and I took a pretty extensive three-week trip to Europe last summer. We hit about 11 dif- ferent countries; it was incredible. Q: What's one piece of advice you re- member most clearly? TI: One of the most important things for success is having a core group of talented people around you. It's really about building a strong team, and I take a great amount of pride in putting the re- sources in place to support my team members and make sure they have what they need to be successful. I spend an enormous amount of time in one-on-one meetings coaching my team members, being their biggest cheerleader but also their biggest critic when necessary. I think that's an important aspect of being a strong leader. As you move up into an organization, it becomes clear you have to become master delegator at the higher level. Particularly when you hit the C-suite, you have to depend on the people who work with you and for you, and I learned that the hard way because I was a young leader. I became a CMO at age 29, and I always thought I had to do everything on my own to get it right. I tried to take on more and more, and it became quite clear that was a recipe for failure. I burnt myself out significantly, so I had to begin delegat- ing and depending more on my team members, encouraging them to do the work themselves and not micromanaging them. Although I held a master's in health administration, I hadn't learned the skills I needed to be a C-suite executive, so a lot of it was really the school of hard knocks. I'm a better leader for it. Q: What do you consider your greatest achievement at Integris so far? TI: We're moving to implement a robust physi- cian leadership structure across the organization right now. We're focused on clinical transforma- tion and on improving quality, improving the services we provide and aligning incentives and objectives across the system. To be able to do that effectively, provide value and reduce cost, and transform clinically, we have to absolutely have physicians at the table making those decisions. e first phase of the plan is approved and we're moving quickly. e support from the executive leadership team on down has been phenomenal, so I'm excited about it. n

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