Robert Hill needs help running Bethesda Memorial Hospital, and he’s not afraid to admit it.
“It’s difficult for some leaders to think they don’t have all the answers,” says Hill, the hospital’s president and CEO. “I’ve never understood that. I think every leader right up to the president of our country needs a lot of help making decisions. It’s not just a one-man show.”
While he is not the leader of the free world, Hill says running a2,325-employee hospital presents its own set of challenges. Convincing employees that he both wants and needs their help to keep the hospital running smoothly is near the top of the list.
“I don’t want people to be so concerned about my position and the chair that I sit in that they won’t tell me their true feelings,” Hill says. “That’s up to me to make those people that report to me feel comfortable enough that they can really talk to me and provide their full input and not be chopped off at the knees or disrespected for whatever idea they come up with.”
It comes down to leading by example both in good times and in bad.
“If I’m not living it every day and I’m so aloof and removed from the organization that people don’t see me around, you become such a stranger,” Hill says. “It’s very hard to follow somebody you don’t even know.”
With 500 physicians in more than 40 areas of specialty, plus nurses, specialists and a multitude of other personnel to oversee, Hill faces a daunting task to get everyone moving in the same direction.
“The best thing to do is, ‘Keep it simple, stupid,’” Hill says. “You can’t overwhelm people with formal communication. You can’t have it too long. That’s just my personality.”
Here’s how Hill engages employees in what’s happening at Bethesda Memorial Hospital so they can help fulfill its mission.
