By Ivan Bartolome, President and Chief Executive Officer, HealthSearch Partners
In a couple of weeks, we will know the outcome of the U.S. Presidential election. We will also know the results of many equally, if not more important state and local elections. I am glad this political season will close soon. It has been interesting to watch and participate in civil conversations with my family, friends and colleagues. I, like so many, have been careful to keep friends and not lose friends during this political season.
Once again, I have seen the phenomenon of health care and business leaders pausing to make leadership changes in the nine months leading up to the election. One health system Chief Human Resources Officer told me recently that his organization will review how it “manages both inpatient and outpatient (leadership) after the outcome of the election is known.” I have seen this cycle of leadership pause before a national election five times since I began as an executive search consultant in 2008. I call it “waiting to continue.”
Even at the highest levels of leadership, in the smallest and largest health systems in America, it seems we all want to know the national direction of our country before we make substantive changes in our hospitals and health care organizations. Small and large changes in the political landscape can impact how we want to ‘lean into’ the business and practice of medicine.
So, we wait. Sometimes we wait for months to bring clarity to an open executive position. We wait to make a needed change in leadership, even if it means that for a few weeks or months we are just treading water. I have observed that hospital and health system C-suite executives want the clarity of understanding where we are headed as a nation before we change leadership. It almost does not matter if the election outcome advantages the Republicans or the Democrats. We just need that clarity. Then, post-election when it is a clearer where the nation is headed, we start making decisions about our own leadership needs in our organization.
Early in my career as an executive search consultant, this phenomenon was annoying. I would ask myself and my colleagues, “Why are we all waiting to decide about a leadership position in a local hospital? How does a national election impact what we need to do to provide the best patient care to the communities we serve at this moment?” I now recognize the wisdom in waiting. None of us has a crystal ball or infinite intelligence. The waiting helps us collectively understand how best to serve our patients and our community.
The waiting is almost over! Soon we will be continuing. I am expecting our phone to ring. I suspect the phone will also ring for our industry competitors. Once again, we’ll collectively be focused on finding the best new executives to help lead health care in America in 2025. In our focused way, we will impact the health of every community in America. If you’ve been waiting to continue your search for a healthcare executive, keep my number handy and give me call.
Ivan Bartolome, FACHE, is President and CEO of HealthSearch Partners, a national healthcare executive search firm based in Dallas, TX. www.Healthsearchparterns.com.
