HL20: Nancy M. Schlichting—Leadership for the Organization and the Community

The third leg of her leadership is definitely one that fits the time and the city's history: solid results.

"The third in my three buckets is operating performance. You have got to get results. You can have the smartest strategy and a great team that all love one another, but if you don't create results you are not going to be around for very long. You have to create outcomes that are effective, appropriate, and something that is sustainable. And that is tough in today's environment. There is a lot of pressure on all aspects of operations."

Schlichting does not get too caught up in fads or leadership tricks. She lets people use a variety of tools that work toward the desired goal. In addition to her reliance on leadership, strategy, and performance, she attributes her success as CEO to something she kept as a personal trait when she started in healthcare leadership: openness.

"I didn't start my career thinking I was going to hire a chief wellness officer," she says. "I didn't start my career knowing I would hire someone from the Ritz-Carlton to run a new hospital and redefine the way we deliver healthcare. But I did start my career knowing that I was going to be open all the time to new ideas and new thinking and people who could bring their gifts to the organization. That is the thing that doesn't change. It's really your own inward makeup of who you are."