Best-selling author, healthcare leadership expert shares advice with MHA students
U.S. businessman, entrepreneur, author and leadership consultant Quint Studer told a group of School of Public Health students that finding the right fit and being committed to their own personal and professional development are keys to a successful career.
Eighty percent of failure in a job has to do with clarity, said Studer, who has authored seven leadership-based books both inside and outside the healthcare industry.
“Share your priorities with your boss and others in leadership, so your list matches theirs,” he said. “Ask for feedback on what you’re doing well and what you could do better, and let them know you can take the feedback.”
Studer spoke with the SPH Master of Health Administration students after Dr. Stephan Davis, MHA Program Director, reached out to the management icon through LinkedIn and asked if he would be interested in sharing perspectives on healthcare with students preparing to embark on their own careers at a critical time for the industry.
Studer, whose books have ranked on Wall Street Journal and Business Week bestseller lists, emphasized the importance of mid-managers, noting that with 94-98 percent of healthcare employees reporting to a middle manager, the organizations with the best people in those positions “will win.”
Some key takeaways for students were questions to ask as a healthcare leader: Am I hiring right, am I developing right, am I getting engagement, are we achieving outcomes and meeting our goals and mission?
Being self-aware, coachable, flexible and open to change are also important, especially now as the healthcare industry responds to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Studer was optimistic about the future.
“The best part about the future of healthcare is you, your diversity, your energy and your passion,” he told the students.
Dr. Arthur Mora, HSC Chair of Health Behavior and Health Systems, said the students “really connected with his message and the examples he shared from his 30-plus years in the industry.”
We hope to have more opportunities moving forward, as our classes continue online in response to COVID-19 social distancing, to engage with other healthcare experts in this way as well,” Dr. Mora said.
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