Interviewer: You mentioned leadership a couple of times,Ron. How do you define and recognize leadership in somebody that’s either interviewing with you, or that you’ve heard of through networking? What are the traits that you look for?
Ron: Well, you know, I can hire managers and very good managers. But leaders, particularly physician leaders, what I’m looking for is somebody who will help try to build consensus. Somebody who’s not satisfied with the status quo, where they wanna see change and they’re willing actually to create radical change, if need be. I want somebody I call a “servant leader” who’s trying to make it better for the people who work with them, so at the end of the day, their careers are enhanced. I want them to be collaborative. I want them to be the people who listen deeply, who communicate well, and have good interpersonal skills.
But I also want people who will hold folks accountable. You know, servant leadership sounds warm and fuzzy. It’s anything but that. I mean, at Southwest Airlines, the container store, there are a number of major businesses that use that technique but they also put the discipline with it. So, I have to have the discipline to delegate responsibility and hold people accountable. That’s a most important thing. A lot of people have good ideas and good vision but, you know, implementing, execution is the key. And so, you know, you want folks who can actually get the vision, build a plan around that vision, and execute it.