Feb 14 2019
Doreen Samelson: Becoming the Leader You Were Meant to Be

With more than two decades of experience in healthcare, Doreen Samelson, EdD, MSCP, is skilled in leading change, championing patient access to care and developing high-quality clinical programs. Much of her career was spent at Kaiser Permanente, where she managed a team of more than 100 psychologists, therapists and support staff as the Director of Mental Health and Chemical Dependency Services. Since 2017, she has served as Senior Vice President for Clinical Excellence for Easterseals Bay Area, based in…



Jan 23 2019
The Provost’s Role in the Presidential Search

As the chief academic officer and often the chief budget officer, the provost plays a critical role during a presidential search and transition. The following is a conversation with Witt/Kieffer’s Concetta Stewart and Philip Tang about key challenges and best practices.

[This interview is also available in PDF format. It is included in the new Third Edition of our guidebook, Best Practices…



Jan 18 2019
The Impact of Burnout on Healthcare Executives: A Witt/Kieffer Study

What causes burnout among healthcare executives? Are employers offering programs to address the phenomenon, and is it enough? What do some individuals do at work and on their own in an effort to address burnout? Does job burnout have the ability to drive top healthcare executives from their jobs, perhaps even into non-healthcare related fields?

In an attempt to better understand the impact of burnout on retaining…



Nov 29 2018
Interim Leaders as a Strategic Necessity in Healthcare

By Brian Krehbiel

Interim executives have long played a role in successful leadership teams. If a CEO or CFO or COO leaves, an interim keeps things running and helps an organization to maintain business as usual or as close to it as possible. But the interim as a “stand in” is a limited view. This is rarely what organizations actually want—rather, in hiring an…



Nov 05 2018
The Unique Challenge of Physician Burnout in Academic Medicine

 

By Christopher Colenda, MD, MPH, DLFAPA

On his 55th birthday, Alton went to work as usual. The Chief Medical Officer of a large academic medical center, Alton had led an exceptional life, rising from industrial Midwest origins through college, medical school, residency, fellowship, faculty appointment and a succession of administrative posts. He was an accomplished faculty member and researcher – a sort of Horatio Alger as an academic physician.

On this day he arrived and, instead of going to his…



Oct 08 2018
Serving, Learning and Leading: Lessons from Three Health Plan Foundation Presidents

By Julie Rosen, Witt/Kieffer

The three major not-for-profit health plan foundations in the state of Massachusetts are led by dynamic women. In addition to being mission-driven executives, the three – Nora Moreno Cargie, Karen Voci, and Audrey Shelto – are friends who champion each other’s careers. They are servant leaders who listen, learn and truly engage with constituents – who see leadership as a privilege. To achieve their goals as leaders of their foundations, they engage with stakeholders across the…



Oct 03 2018
In Healthcare, Interim Executives Fill a Strategic Leadership Need

The following is a conversation between Witt/Kieffer president and CEO Andrew Chastain and Brian Krehbiel, leader of the new Witt/Kieffer Interim Leadership practice.

Chastain: Over the past 25 years, I’ve noticed the use of interim executive leadership in healthcare has changed. What’s different?

Krehbiel: It was about 25…



Sep 19 2018
Keeping Enrollment Issues Top of Mind during a Presidential Search and Transition

Enrollment is inextricably linked to a higher education institution’s success and thus it is imperative that a college or university president truly understand and embrace this area. Presidential candidates must ask the right questions around enrollment and admission as they interview, and show a definite commitment to working in partnership with enrollment leaders should they be hired to lead the campus. In the following interview, Amy Crutchfield, principal…



Aug 30 2018
The Fading Line: Insights from Non-Profit and For-Profit Healthcare Leaders

 

By Nelson Mann and Margaret Base

As executive search consultants with extensive experience in both the for-profit and non-profit healthcare sectors, we have witnessed an interesting trend in recent years. The “line in the sand” that previously deterred healthcare executives from moving between the two sectors has significantly blurred. Healthcare organizations are discovering the benefits of hiring leaders from outside their traditional sphere, and executives are enjoying the career growth they experience by “switching sides.”

Given significant and constant disruptions in…



Aug 23 2018
2018 AHA Leadership Summit: Up Close and Personal with Real Issues

By Dilpreet Lidhar

This year’s annual American Hospital Association (AHA) Leadership Summit, which was held in sunny San Diego, focused on advancing affordable care and promoting value. Senior executives, physician leaders and trustees from the nation’s leading hospitals and health systems were able to discuss the critical challenges facing their organizations. It was…



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