The Healthcare Manager's Playbook

It can be tough to know where to start as a new manager, particularly in healthcare, where onboarding and training are often deficient. One day you are caring for patients, and the next you are responsible for leading a department. Knowing where to begin can be challenging. This post discusses the merits of starting your managerial journey by focusing on getting to know your team first.

In The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, John C. Maxwell teaches the Law of Connection: leaders must touch a heart before they ask for a hand. Said another way, people do not care how much you know until they know how much you care. If you want to be successful in fix-it mode, you must first be successful in relationship-building mode.

When time is invested in building communication and trust, clinicians engage differently. They are more open to feedback. They persevere through challenges more willingly. They become more engaged in change efforts. You cannot correct performance without connection.

I learned this lesson through a difficult experience early in my leadership journey. While helping onboard a new director, it became clear that the department he inherited operated very differently from our standard. With enthusiasm, he began making immediate changes, which created resistance and frustration. The team felt pressured rather than understood. Tensions grew, and he ultimately stepped away from the role. I still wonder whether the outcome would have been different had he first invested time in getting to know his team instead of trying to change the system.

That experience reinforced a principle I now strongly believe: when teams know you care, they are far more willing to grow, adapt, and change alongside you. Correction from a connected leader feels like coaching. Correction from a disconnected leader feels like judgment. It is much easier to introduce change and improve processes after relationships have been built and trust has been established.

This journey begins by scheduling check-in meetings with your new team members. Plan to ask thoughtful questions and take notes. Listen more than you talk. Resist the urge to immediately solve problems. Check-ins provide a safe forum; people often share more in private than in public. Through these conversations, you will begin to understand personalities, frustrations, motivations, and strengths.

Example questions to help you get to know your team:

• Where did you go to school? When did you graduate?
• Are you married? What is your spouse’s name? Do you have children or pets? Share only what you are comfortable sharing—there is no pressure.
• How do you prefer to receive feedback?
• What do you like most about your job?
• What do you like least about your job?
• If you were in my position, what is the first thing you would focus on?
• What are your career goals?
• What are your strengths?
• What can I do to help you succeed in your work and career?

These conversations accomplish two things at once: they provide valuable insight and help build trust.

Do not limit check-in meetings to full-time clinicians. Include technicians, front office staff, part-time employees, and PRN team members. Technicians often see workflow issues that clinicians miss. In one example, clinicians were unaware of the labor-intensive checks and rechecks that occurred every morning before schedules were posted. Had technicians not been included in meetings, that frustrating hour of work might have gone unnoticed. Once identified, we were able to address the issue and eliminate it entirely.

Per diem clinicians are also invaluable. Many work at other facilities and can offer fresh perspectives on how processes function elsewhere. Ask about their experiences. Ask what works well in other settings. Ask what makes communication effective for them as non-full-time staff. When you include everyone, you send a powerful message: every role matters.

The mechanics of leadership matter. Systems matter. Metrics matter. But none of them gain traction without first getting to know your team. If you are stepping into a new leadership role and are unsure where to begin, resist the urge to immediately jump into fix-it mode. Start by listening and learning. Focus first on building communication bridges and trust. In the end, change is easier and challenges are less daunting when connections are strong and you truly know your team.

About the Author: Shane Haas serves as the National Director of Outpatient Services at Ernest Health, a leading provider of inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation. He enjoys learning and sharing leadership and management principles. His backgrounds in Physical Therapy (UF ’96) and Industrial Engineering (TTU ’02) provide a balanced heart and head perspective that shapes the Healthcare Managers’ Playbook.

Additional Resources:

1. Maxwell, J. C. (2007). The 21 irrefutable laws of leadership: Follow them and people will follow you (10th anniversary ed.). Thomas Nelson.