Becker's Hospital Review

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP 78 What is one piece of advice you remember most clearly? ere are two. e first is to never ask someone to do something that you wouldn't do yourself. I am very mindful of that. Much of my career has been about transformations, so frequently I've had to make tough decisions about downsizing. You sit across the table from someone and what you say will change their lives. It's painful and it's hard. Delivering bad news, whether to an individual about a job loss or to a community about a failed transaction — these are not tasks you can give to someone else to do for you. As a leader you must be engaged and personally involved. e other piece of advice is to never lose your own moral compass. ere are times when the decision-making we do in healthcare is in a gray area. A great example is inheriting promises made by others. You have to weigh honoring a promise made to the situation you are currently in. A contract is a contract, and a promise is promise. ese can be tough situations, and they happen more oen than you'd think. It could be about something small or something substantial. But in each case, you have to demonstrate to your organization that although you don't play favorites, there may be times when someone deserves special consideration. As the CEO, your perspective needs to be broader than others', and you need to trust your own decision-making process. What do you consider your greatest achievement at Greater Waterbury Health Network/Waterbury Hospital so far? As of July 1st, I have been here for five years. It's been five years of tremendous distractions, trials and tribulations. We've had several years of financial challenges, two failed acquisition transactions, and we have also negotiated several union contracts during what has been a very tumultuous time. Mergers and acquisitions are enormously challenging in themselves, but especially so in a highly regulated environment, while transitioning from nonprofit to for-profit. It has also been a very public process; it is not unusual for us to be on the front page of the local newspaper. When I first got here, I talked candidly to our employees and physicians about these distractions and the need to continue to work effectively despite them. We have one promise and that is to our patients: We will keep them at the center of everything we do. We refer to it as "Our Promise." I believe we've kept that. Our patients trust us. at focus has strengthened our culture. Asking ourselves if we are living up to that promise helps guide everyone in the work that they do. It doesn't cost anything to be nice to people, to keep our organization clean and to not tolerate clutter. Everyone has the opportunity to make positive changes and contribute to improving how we do our work every day. I'm very proud of the culture of this organization. I'm very proud of our employees and physicians — and they know it. Our industry is going through so much change, and navigating these changes requires a certain level of courage and trust in yourself and your experience to guide your organization forward. I don't think there has been a more meaningful time to be in healthcare than right now. n Becker's 5 th Annual 59 Hospital & Health System CEOs, 27 Hospital & Health System CFOs and 103 Hospital Executives Speaking KEYNOTES BY DR. RONALD DEPINHO, DR. CHARLES W. SORENSON, DR. RICHARD GILFILLAN, CATHERINE JACOBSON, WARNER THOMAS & JONATHAN BUSH November 7-9, 2016 l Swissotel, Chicago To learn more & register, visit www.BeckersHospitalReview.com/conference or call 800-417-2035 CEO + CFO Roundtable

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