I was privileged to recently interview Maynard Oliverius, who has been President and CEO of Stormont-Vail Healthcare in Topeka, Kansas for 16 years. Oliverius, who has been with Stormont-Vail for 43 years, is set to retire in June. Before being promoted to CEO, Oliverius served successfully as COO of Stormont-Vail for many years.
At my request, Oliverius shared some advice for current and future healthcare leaders. In typical succinct Oliverius style, he shared six simple but very impactful points of advice for current and future healthcare leaders:
- Never forget who you are and where you came from.
- Have values and know where true North is.
- Never compromise your integrity.
- Remain optimistic.
- Have energy.
- Listen.
At first read, these six points of advice may seem overly simplistic or idealistic, but if you stop to consider and truly reflect on each one, you’ll realize how essential and meaningful each of these important points of advice are to successful leadership.
Don’t take this excellent advice for granted – imagine a leader (or anyone) who neglects this valuable advice, or worse, does the opposite. A person with no roots or values, untrustworthy, pessimistic, lazy, and no good at listening – does that sound like someone you want to be or want to work for? Of course not!
We should all strive to remain true to who we are and where we come from, to maintain strong values and integrity, remain optimistic and energetic, and to always be a good listener.
Now that’s the kind of leader I want to be – and would want to work for! How about you?
To read more about Maynard Oliverius and his impressive experience in healthcare leadership, please check out additional articles featured on AmericasHealthcareLeaders.com.
