On Thursday, November 21st, our colleagues Tori Anderson, Dave Reiff, and Eric Gonzalez attended The National Association of Health Services Executives (NAHSE) C-Suite Roundtable, held at Northwestern Memorial Hospital – Feinberg Pavilion. NAHSE is a non-profit association of black healthcare executives. It was founded in 1968 for the purpose of promoting the advancement and development of black healthcare leaders in addition to elevating the quality of healthcare services rendered to minority and underserved communities.

The three panelists included George Miller, CEO of Loretto Hospital, Dr. Lakshmi Emory, CMO of IlliniCare Health, and Jacqueline Burgess-Bishop, CEO of the National Kidney Foundation of Illinois. The event was moderated by Philip Burton, President of NAHSE Chicago. The roundtable was a combination of questions about each individual’s role as a leader in the complex healthcare industry today, stories about their past, and how each person obtained his or her position today. The three panelists were asked to share the first word that came to mind when Philip said, “Healthcare.” Their answers varied, but they all agreed with one common theme – servant leadership.

The three panelists were asked what they are still working on and learning today to make them better leaders. Mr. Miller explained that he continues to be the best servant leader and pushes himself to do things that others would not. He has his cell phone number posted to every floor in Loretto Hospital and is available to anyone 24/7. This is one example of what he believes sets himself apart from other leaders. Dr. Emory is working to engage more with data analysis and finance. She is learning how to use data to make educated decisions and analysis to determine trends in the healthcare industry to make better judgements for IlliniCare’s members. Jacqueline maintains her goal is to be an impactful listener and always works to understand what someone is saying. She is also working to become a more effective delegator, which prompted the other panelists to chime in on trust and delegation. All three agreed with this point because at a very high level, they can’t do everything themselves and have to entrust those around them to carry out the mission of each organization. George emphasized that it is important to hire good, smart people because 80% of the decisions he makes are made at the direction or originate from his team.

Finally, Philip Burton asked the panelists any must-reads they have for people looking to enhance their leadership skills or who are working to take their career to the next level. Their recommends included Extreme Teams (Robert Bruce Shaw), Executive Presence (Sylvia Ann Hewlett), The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (Stephen Covey), and Tribal Leadership (Dave Logan, John King, & Halee Fischer-Wright).