Becker's Hospital Review

Special Section: Leadership & Development Q: Gary, did you have a mentor when you started in healthcare, and if you did, did that relationship inspire you to mentor others? GM: I spent the summer of 1969 with Gail Warden, who was the executive vice president at Presbyterian St. Luke's, now Rush University Medical Center. At a young age, Gail was a highly successful executive. He had five yearlong fellows and two summer interns, which is a remarkable commitment to young talent. Just as Larry described how his fellowship at Northwestern was important to him, my summer at Presbyterian St. Luke's with Gail helped define my career, for a few reasons. First, I spent a significant amount of time with Gail that summer, just talking about management and leadership, strategy and decision-making. As a role model, Gail had a big influence on my management style. Second, there was no part of the organization that we weren't exposed to. As students, we were allowed to sit in on board meetings and strategy sessions. That's where the concept of context developed. As I pursued my career, I already understood how large complicated organizations work and what my role was in it. 31 Third, Gail felt strongly that all leaders, not just in healthcare, have a responsibility to develop the next generation of talent in their profession. If you have success in your career, it is likely that someone has helped you along the way and you have the responsibility to help the next generation in a similar way. To the extent that I have served as a mentor in one generation, I benefited in having a role model in Gail Warden. Gail was always there for me in my career. Hopefully, Larry will serve as a mentor and develop management talent for the healthcare field. LG: When I went to Vanderbilt to serve as CEO, one of the things that Gary asked of me was to invest time in the next generation of leaders. That is something that I have honored and felt good about. At Vanderbilt and Loyola, we have a fellowship program similar to the fellowship that Gary developed. I feel it is important to invest time developing leaders. As part of a senior management team, we're not only running an organization, we are also teaching. By developing people, in mentorship or elsewhere, I have learned to lead. Q: In your years of experience, what are some traits you have found it important for healthcare leaders to have that withstand the test of time? GM: If I look at leaders I respect, their personalities and management styles may be very different. What is most important is that a leader should have a strong set of values. Values need not be identical. There is not one set that will make you successful. But it is important to be grounded in a belief system that is consistent with the organization's values and traditions and that provides context for making decisions. The CEO must be a role model and teacher in this regard. When I was at Northwestern, we not only recruited people with talent who could contribute, but also candidates who were grounded in their personal values. Annually, we evaluated all members of the management team both on their performance and on their commitment to the organizations values. It was important to the strength and success of our organization. LG: Along with those, it is also important for leaders to know themselves and their organization. They should have the ability to know what they need to do and what can be done in an organization. n Hospital Review HalfPage Chef v Surgeon Ad:Layout 1 6/4/2010 9:24 AM Page 1 Both are experts with sharp instruments... One is focused exclusively on healthcare. HealthCare Appraisers provides a full spectrum of valuation services and Fair Market Value ("FMV") solutions exclusively for the healthcare industry: Compensation & Service Arrangements • Employment Arrangements • On-Call Arrangements • Medical Directorships • Co-Management Arrangements • Collections Guarantees for Hospital-based Physicians • Joint Venture Relationships • Affiliations Business Valuation Many consulting firms offer FMV analysis... We are focused exclusively on healthcare. Experts in Healthcare FMV www.HealthCareAppraisers.com | info@hcfmv.com Delray Beach | Denver | Dallas | | Chicago (561) 330-3488 | Philadelphia Consulting & Advisory Services Litigation Support

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