Cleveland Clinic's Toby Cosgrove on critical skills and traits for healthcare leaders

Hospital executives must have certain skills to successfully lead healthcare organizations today, writes Cleveland Clinic CEO Toby Cosgrove in a post for LinkedIn.

Amid the shift to value-based care models, healthcare leaders must be well-equipped to steer their organizations through uncertainty and rapid cultural shifts, Cosgrove writes. For example, team-based care is increasingly standard procedure within healthcare, and experts believe success will require team-building across disciplines and specialties. It's incumbent on leaders, Cosgrove writes, to create a culture that enables such teamwork by communicating the organization's core values.

Similarly, part of leadership, according to Cosgrove, is developing a workplace that encourages continual learning and professional growth. "We set the example for lifelong learning by continuing to grow into our own leadership roles," he writes.

Although knowledge and expertise are important, demonstrating honesty and mutual respect are also vital aspects of healthcare leadership, according to Cosgrov. Leaders earn the credibility their jobs require by showing rather than telling on this front. For the same reason, humility is an important characteristic for leaders, including willingness to share credit, accept responsibility for mistakes and listen to subordinates' advice, according to FierceHealthcare.

Such principles, Cosgrove writes, factor into Cleveland Clinic's "Power of Every One" principle, which emphasizes every staff member's capacity to heal and improve care.  

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