Challenges such as emerging technology, government regulations, workforce shortages and increasing labor costs have driven a number of health system strategic leaders to pivot their approach for 2026.
Faced with these challenges, leaders are creating new ways to empower frontline staff and upgrade patient care while trying to increase system efficiency and profit margins.
Becker’s asked six health system strategic leaders about the leadership lessons that shaped their operational approach for this year.
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Editor’s note: Responses have been lightly edited for clarity and length.
Question: What leadership lesson has shaped your operational approach for 2026?
Bryan Croft. Executive Vice President and COO, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center (Los Angeles): Given the operational challenges facing healthcare, I would advise leaders to get out of your office and walk the halls. See and talk to patients. See and talk to your people, your caregivers and get to know what motivates them to come in and deliver care, and help your institution put its best foot forward. I think you will find it not only rewarding but it will help ground you in the sacred mission of helping people navigate some of the most trying times of their lives.
Brian Evans. CEO, Optim Health System (Savannah, Ga.): “Control what you can control.” It’s advice I’ve heard time and time again. But with shifting payer mixes and the rising costs of labor and supplies, margin goals are increasingly difficult to reach. In 2026, my focus is sharp: I am prioritizing the variables within my scope to cut costs, maximize efficiency and aggressively drive revenue.
Dawn Thompson. Chief Strategy Officer, Advanced Diagnostics Healthcare System (Houston): Healthcare operations improve when leaders design systems that make the right thing the easy thing to do. Operations must be designed around systems — not individual heroics.
Doug McGill. Vice President of Quality Strategy and Operations, Emory Healthcare (Atlanta): One leadership lesson stands out most for me: strategy only creates value when it shows up reliably at the frontline of care. Emory Healthcare’s new tagline, “The frontline of care. The forefront of discovery,” captures that tension well. Discovery and strategy matter, but they only make a difference when they are translated into consistent, executable practice.
That belief has shaped my operational approach for 2026. Advisory influence alone isn’t sufficient. The work has to be embedded through clear standards, empowered accountability and dependable data so that high performance is designed into everyday operations, not reliant on extraordinary effort to overcome system gaps. That’s how we’ll lead well and transform care delivery – by making excellence reliable at the frontline.
Matthew Timmons. COO, LCMC Health (New Orleans): As our senior leadership team was developing goals and priorities for 2026, a clear theme arose from our discussions: meaningful and intentional prioritization. As we have now moved into the first part of the year, our approach is being driven by a clear, narrowed focus on a smaller number of priorities. Instead of spreading out our effort across a laundry list of organizational needs, we have prioritized our initiatives around patient care, patient and team experience, and long-term access and growth. We are confident this approach will enable us to align our actions and energy, which will ensure we achieve extremely successful and sustainable results.
Kelli Novant. Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer, Novant Health (Winston-Salem, N.C.): My operational approach for 2026 is fundamentally shaped by the understanding that how I engage my team matters as much as the decisions I make. I’m focused on fostering collaborative, candid conversations that build trust and encourage thoughtful dialogue. By modeling openness and inviting feedback, I help create a culture that brings forward multiple perspectives, leading to more well‑rounded recommendations and decisions. Building and maintaining trust – both within my team and across the organization – is essential because investing in people and relationships leads to stronger decision‑making and more sustainable long‑term outcomes.
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