Stepping up to the leadership challenge

Not everybody gets the opportunity to be a CEO, but anybody can learn to be an effective and efficient leader.

I never thought of working in the healthcare industry let alone lead one of the country’s premier hospitals. It all began in 2006 when I was invited by Asian Hospital and Medical Center to lead the finance and the materials management team as well as the IT department as CFO and eventually took on the leadership as CEO in May 2008.

Following the untimely resignation of the former CEO due to health reasons, I somehow had inkling on the unfolding changes in the leadership, but, carefully evaluating the challenge of the CEO position. It didn’t take long though before I saw the opportunity for my personal growth and took on the challenge. After all, it is not every day that an opportunity to be at the helm of one of the most respected institutions comes your way.

After graduating with a degree in Commerce from Switzerland, going through the drill to become a CPA and obtaining a post-graduate diploma in business management from Manchester University, I got the first few breaks when I started to work for a big multinational company in the area of Swiss corporate taxes and subsequently, moving into international taxation and building up the tax presence in Hong Kong for the region Asia Pacific. Eager to move out of the “ivory tower” of a holding company and to learn the business in an operational unit, I got a chance to work for a market intelligence company based in Bangkok where I was taking on the responsibility as Commercial Manager.

Now a CEO, my vision for Asian Hospital and Medical Center is to become the best healthcare service provider for our patients in the Philippines, to provide a motivating working environment for our staff, and to offer state-of-the-art but cost-effective equipment to our medical professionals, some of them among the country’s top doctors. 

The transition from CFO to CEO has its own challenges especially with the increased responsibilities, i.e. one will not only be responsible for providing directions but ultimately accountable for results of the whole organization. Even though the shift is within the same organization, it entails a lot of mental and emotional preparation to take on the challenge of running one of the biggest and most respected healthcare institutions in the country. 

In my stint as CEO, allow me to share with you snippets of some key learning:

Give yourself time to learn. It is not an easy task to adjust from one expertise or industry to another. Allow yourself time to learn and to absorb as much as you can. However, time is always of essence and it is important that you can score some points in an early stage and to leave some marks in the organization.

Coming from different industries, I knew that the healthcare industry is quite special. In that sense, I think that being first in the CFO-chair helped me a lot to learn more about the business, to interact with the medical staff and to understand some specific issues related to this industry.

Know your strengths and weaknesses. Knowing your capabilities will help you set realistic, achievable goals and help you focus on how to tackle each and every challenge that comes your way.   

Being a CEO doesn’t mean to be Mr. Know-It-All. So, in the first place I want to understand what the issue is all about. Understanding in that sense means to get involved in the discussion, listening first, understanding and participating should be the next step. For me, this is the easiest way to learn the business, i.e. learn from other professionals on the job. If it comes to the decision making process, I analyze the issue first in terms of a possible financial impact. I am also adopting a democratic leadership style whenever possible, involving others in the evaluation and possibly even in the decision making process. Involving other managers in the decision making process is not a weakness but a strength since you are able to accept another manager’s idea and opinion and to include them in the decision finding process. This will eventually lead to better results.

Be organized. Everything we do is process-driven. A process-driven organization will be very efficient and reduce inefficiencies and therefore (inefficiency) cost, resulting in “smart savings”. In addition, a highly efficient organization will help to avoid unnecessary stress for you and your staff, to get routine work done systematically and swiftly, often for the benefit of your clients and in our case, our patients. Having more time available will also allow you to be more focused on new tasks at hand.

I am a process-driven person and because of that, I am always planning ahead in order to achieve the target with a minimum effort and within the shortest possible time that needs to be invested. With a “smart planning” approach you are getting a lot of work done and nevertheless you might still have enough time to do other things you like.

Be a team player. Today’s way of doing business is way too complex that one manager alone could not claim that the success of an organization was only achieved because of him. Business success is the result of a team effort and you should recognize the contributions of each member of your team and your staff. Doing so will inspire them to work with you to further the success of your organization. 

Continue learning. I keep on telling my staff: education is the key to success! But education is not finished after completing your studies by the age of 21 or so. Studying must become a way of life because constant education helps to keep you sharp. Why? You will learn about new methods that are applied in business and you can adapt yourself and your organization accordingly to remain competitive. It will also allow you to keep an open mind and to look at things from a fresh perspective and this approach will definitely give you an edge in the business world. I went back to university for studies when I was 40.

I’ve always believed in this philosophy and I encourage my staff to do the same. Whether you go back to university or just keep yourself abreast with new information, you should never stop educating yourself. That’s one of the reasons why we established an education fund in our company to provide equal opportunities to our staff to either complete their studies or to go for e.g. a masters degree.

Having said all these, let me just add that there is really no foolproof recipe for success. It is often a combination of hard work and a little luck, being at the right time at the right place and last but not least, having a boss that is supportive and recognizes achievements. In addition, the more you identify yourself with what you are doing, the bigger the chances that your decisions will lead to a successful target. Low motivation does not yield high returns but if you like what you are doing, you are motivated and you will see opportunities and grab them with the result of a successful business. But never forget, a leader should always be honest, neutral and level-headed!