Brent Johnson, Vice President of Supply Chain & Imaging Services and the Chief Purchasing Officer for Intermountain Healthcare, has achieved and experienced significant success during his 25 years in senior management and consulting. To cite just one example, in the six years that he has been with Intermountain Healthcare, Johnson has helped achieve approximately $220 million in savings!
Obviously, Johnson must be doing something right. So what can we learn from his leadership and success? While innovative strategies and good business sense will serve anyone well, when it comes to the greatest successes, everything hinges on leadership excellence – the ultimate strategy for success!
During a recent interview with Johnson, I picked up on six key components of his leadership style that I believe are key to his success:
1. He sets a focused vision for his team, then he aligns that vision with aggressive goals and holds his people accountable to those goals.
2. He strives to create an atmosphere of “can do” and encourages his team to look for what they can learn from others, always asking, “how good can we be?”
3. He doesn’t claim credit for his success – he is quick to attribute it to the combined effort of his team; “I am so proud of [my] team at Intermountain Healthcare. They accepted my early passion and vision and have taken it further, with more accomplishments, than I ever dreamed of. I look at them in awe. I am just a small part of their success.”
4. He believes in the critical importance of maintaining a healthy work/life balance, stating “My wife of 38 years and my family are my true love and passion, followed closely by my passion for supply chain. However, my faith is an underlying foundation for everything.”
5. He’s not afraid to admit he could improve in some areas; Johnson shared one of his challenges as a leader, “There is always a lack of time to focus on everything. Prioritization is my biggest challenge. This along with when to delegate and when to do it myself.”
6. He gladly accepts opportunities to share advice with others. When asked what advice he had for other healthcare executives in similar positions, he openly shared his candid insights and very relevant and applicable advice.
Six great leadership strategies taken from the life and leadership of Brent Johnson – a truly successful senior executive! I encourage you to study and apply these strategies and principles that reflect leadership excellence – the ultimate strategy for success!
To read about the insights that Johnson shared during the interview, please click here.
