I have been tasked with writing my company’s first blog, which I found to be a little daunting as my blogging experience has been limited to chronicling the adoption of my two sweet children. As I considered what topics I might like to write about, my mind kept going back to one: What makes a great leader? As a recruiter, I’ve had the opportunity to dive deep with thousands of candidates over the years. I’ve also had the pleasure of working solely in healthcare, an industry that has produced and attracted the type of people who have made my job a truly enjoyable experience.
No matter what level of candidate I’m talking to, I always start the conversation with the same question: Why did you choose to get into healthcare? At times, this question is met with a long pause but a great story always follows. What I love is the answer is never, “I wanted to make loads of money.” And trust me, with the stories I’ve heard, people tend to be honest. The money might come later, which is great, but it usually starts with wanting to help people. This brings me back to my company’s commitment to ourselves and our clients to improve healthcare one placement at a time. Over the years, I have been fortunate enough to build relationships with both established leaders and those with all the potential in the world to make a significant contribution to this complex and ever-changing industry. The ability to identify the right leader for your organization or a department is more critical than ever but seems more elusive than in years past. As I really thought about it, I narrowed down the list of what I really look for in a leader. Below are my top 8.
Integrity: The commitment to doing the right thing is always first on my list. Everyone makes mistakes but trust is not often lost when a decision is made from a place of integrity.
Visionary: The ability to create a clear vision is a given but the strongest leaders can translate it into a shared vision and maintain buy in from all levels.
Resilient: If we’ve learned anything over the last few years, it’s the importance of remaining calm and continuing to push forward even in the most uncertain times.
Humility: The most effective leaders never lose the drive to keep learning. Recognizing when you’ve made a mistake and valuing the input of your team empowers individuals and strengthens your organization.
Inspiring: There is nothing better than hearing from a candidate that he or she was just blown away by a leader and would run through walls for this person if given the opportunity. Inspired leaders breed loyal employees.
Confident: There is nothing worse than an insecure leader who is too weak to surround himself/herself with bright people. A true leader has the confidence to hire individuals with the potential to outshine him or her at times.
Intuitive: The ability to make the best possible decision with the information at hand is a skill that is developed over time but especially critical in the current healthcare environment.
Emotional intelligence: Many people would agree there is a strong connection between leaders with a healthy EQ (Emotional Quotient) and highly engaged employees, client loyalty and the overall success of an organization.
Sense of Humor: I can’t say it any better than Mary Pettibone Poole – “He who laughs, lasts!”
These are my top 8. We’d love to hear from you – what is your number 1?
Lisa Coyne is a long-time Principal & Recruiter at Morgan Consulting Resources, a healthcare executive search firm celebrating 20 successful years in business.
