Healthcare Executive Leadership – Global Career Planning Creates New Opportunities

Healthcare executive leadership has gone global. As a result, a growing number of opportunities are becoming available for individuals whose career planning efforts have prepared them for the extraordinary challenges and the long-term rewards that an international assignment offers. However, the expectations are high when it comes to making Healthcare executive leadership placements into a foreign market, and a prospective executive must be fully prepared to meet those challenges head-on.

“Well done is better than well said!” is a quote from the New England Patriots’ Tom Brady (and Ben Franklin) and it summarizes the mindset of global investors and global operators as they recruit individuals to lead foreign or multinational business entities. In other words, a successful track record delivering superior financial and operational results will help your achieve your international leadership goals far better than merely words and potential. This is why personal global career planning pays off in the long-run.

We recently helped sponsor the “2007 Strategic Investing in Healthcare Forum.” This was an invitation only, one-day conference that brought together members of the Harvard Business School and the Argyle Executive Forum, plus 150 senior operating executives from public and private Healthcare firms, select private equity and hedge funds, prominent research fellows, and key senior advisors. And, as a result of these discussions, I now find myself thinking about ways that up-and-coming Healthcare executives can best prepare themselves to achieve their global career planning ambitions.

I should mention that over the course of this one day event, Healthcare leaders shared their focus and innovative approaches towards booming global markets, the financially-stretched domestic market, and the global demographic trends that will either clobber economies or empower businesses to solve complex issues. Speakers for the event included representatives from Apax Partners, GE Healthcare, GE Healthcare Financial Services, Bain Capital, Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe, The Blackstone Group, CCMP Capital Advisors, Merrill Lynch, GTCR Golder Rauner, Ropes & Gray LLP, Bank of America, and Epstein Becker & Green, P.C.

All of the speakers were extremely candid and informative. However, here are just two examples of the broad array of globally-focused topics that were discussed:

Buddy Gumina, a Partner at US Healthcare – Apax, discussed coverage, consumerism and convergence as it relates to managed care, healthcare services, provider transparency, interactive technology, preventative medicine and outsourced pharma. Apax has a thirty year track-record as a global private equity firm with a strong healthcare presence.

Joe Hogan, President and CEO of GE Healthcare, stated that the company’s basis for growth and the focus of its global-leading $17 billion business is to continue to drive innovation and world-class dominance across IT and diagnostics. The breadth of opportunities for GE Healthcare is tremendous as a result of the exploding second and third world markets where infrastructure and utilization are the focus for the design and development of full-scale digital hospitals.

Other speakers focused on the current strategies that healthcare investors and operators are pursuing as providers, payers, investors, patients and technology converge. And, through this convergence, I am fortunate to play an active role in finding the outstanding Healthcare executive leadership talent that international Healthcare organizations will require to achieve their aggressive business goals.

As a result of my ongoing involvement in the Healthcare leadership arena, I have three career planning suggestions that aspiring international executives would be wise to adopt as they strive to develop the knowledge and skills to lead a global Healthcare business.

Use Coaches and Mentors. Tiger Woods has used multiple coaches over the years to help improve his game. Similarly, you need to identify two or three senior individuals who are interested in taking an active role in your executive leadership development. Whether as coaches or mentors, these individuals can provide you with invaluable insight and global career planning guidance. In addition, you can select your own informal mentors by watching Healthcare executive leaders who are currently successful in the roles you are striving to achieve. Study their successes and their mistakes. In completing more than 225 Healthcare retained searches, those who have achieved the greatest corporate success have aggressively pursued mentoring relationships throughout their career.
Be Seen and Be Known. Financial investors and operators who are deploying tens and hundreds of millions of dollars in new capital are consistently looking to hedge their bets through the recruitment of experienced, well-referenced and well-known executives. Show a keen interest in your industry, in your businesses fundamentals, and in your opportunities and obstacles in order to deliver stellar results and develop relationships with influencers. Through your efforts and success you will find interest from those within your industry to invite you to speak, present or join an industry panel on key issues and trends. The value of your business success can lead you to exceptional personal contacts, which in turn can significantly improve future business opportunities. Your business acumen and success can take you to the door of a global Healthcare executive leadership opportunity. Having strong industry relationships can be what actually opens that door and allows you to enter.
Do your Best Work Today. Without a doubt, ambition is required for the level of success you desire. However, focusing too early on your next opportunity can cause you to lose sight of your current business goals and responsibilities. This can negatively impact your trajectory. Outstanding performance is recognized and should always be your primary objective.
Establishing yourself as the winning executive for a global Healthcare executive leadership opportunity requires strong foundational skills, a successful track-record, solid relationships, keen industry insights, and much more. Global career planning presents new opportunities. Therefore, keep pushing yourself forward in your professional growth and remember, “Well done is better than well said.”

Benefits of Working For a Healthcare Staffing Agency

Are you a healthcare professional seeking the opportunity to find great assignments in your area of expertise, but are not sure where to start? Why not consider working for a healthcare staffing agency? These are staffing firms that are geared specially towards helping healthcare professionals, like nurses, physicians, x-ray techs or medical assistants; find the kinds of assignments that are both professionally and personally rewarding. If you are a recent graduate of a medical program or are just looking for a change of pace, then a healthcare staffing agency may be perfect for you. Read on for some great benefits of working for a healthcare staffing agency.

Immediate access to the best opportunities. You know already that there are many wonderful opportunities in healthcare and that’s one of the reasons why you chose this career path. However, do you know where to look for the best opportunities for you? A healthcare staffing agency will be able to locate and find the best assignment for you. Your skills and interests will be assessed by the staffing agency and they will be able to closely match these up with assignments that will meet your needs. This is in contrast to trying to do this on your own and experiencing negative results. Many healthcare facilities are trying to keep administrative costs down so they can focus on quality of care for patients, so they turn to healthcare staffing agencies to seek out qualified candidates for their open positions. This means, many top healthcare providers are looking for you and the only way you will ever hear about their job openings is through healthcare staffing agencies. Be the first to know about great opportunities by registering with healthcare staffing agencies.

Access to career tools and support. When you register with a healthcare staffing agency, you can take advantage of all the career tools they offer. Need help with brushing up your resume or interviewing skills? Then take advantage of the help and resources available to you at a healthcare staffing agency. The recruiters there want you to be successful at getting signed on with one of their healthcare clients so they will do everything they can to help you and support you as you begin this process. You will be more successful by working closely with a staffing firm than by trying to do it on your own. After you get an assignment, the staffing agency will be there to help you with any issues you may encounter and work as a liaison between you and the healthcare administrators to make it a positive experience.

Costs and travel related to job placement. If you are a healthcare professional who is trying to land a job with a healthcare facility that is out of town, or you are a traveling nurse – you can benefit substantially by signing on with a healthcare staffing agency. If you work for them, they will be assisting you with the costs of travel and hotels for job assignments. The staffing agency will make your hotel arrangements, pay you for mileage, meals and other costs associated with your goal of getting on with a great healthcare provider. In many cases, the staffing agency also has opportunities for you to have some or all of your training or educational needs paid for as well.