Dr. Gartland also believes in the importance of mentorship in developing future leaders and in seeking and engaging mentors from other disciplines outside of one’s own specialty. “I’ve been fortunate to have a number of mentors who saw something in me and supported investment in my personal and professional development. I am now fortunate to be in the position to give back by mentoring a number of younger hospitalists who are interested in growing their nonclinical roles.”
“One bit of advice from a mentor that really resonated with me was: Don’t let the urgent get in the way of the important,” Dr. Gartland said. “Life is busy and full of urgent day-to-day fires. It’s important to take the time to pause and consider where you are going and what you are doing to enhance your career development. Are you getting the right kinds of feedback?” He explained that a coach or mentor who can provide constructive feedback is important and is something he has relied upon throughout his own professional development.
Different paths to learning business
Dr. Gartland did not pursue formal business training before the administrative opportunities started to multiply for him at Emory, although in college he had a strong interest in both business and medicine and at one time contemplated going into either.
“Over the years, my mentors have given me a lot of advice, one of which was that a medical degree can be a passport to a lot of different career paths, with real opportunities for merging business and medicine,” he said.
He has since intentionally pursued business training opportunities wherever they came up, such as courses offered by the American College of Physician Executives (now the American Association for Physician Leadership). “At one point, I considered going back to college in an MBA program, but that’s when John Fox – then Emory Healthcare’s CEO – called and said he wanted to send me to the Harvard Business School’s Managing Health Care Delivery executive education program, with an Emory team comprising the chief nurse executive, chief of human resources, and CEO for one of our hospitals.” Harvard’s roughly 9-month program involves 3 weeks on campus with assignments between the on-campus visits.
“In my current role as hospital group president, I have direct responsibility for our hospitals’ and system’s clinically essential services such as radiology, laboratory, pharmacy, and perioperative medicine. I also still serve as CEO for Emory University Hospital while we recruit my replacement,” Dr. Gartland said. “Overall, my work time breaks down roughly into thirds. One-third is spent on strategy and strategic initiatives – such as organizational and program design. Our system recently acquired a large community health system whose strategic and operational integration I am actively leading.”
Another third of his time is focused on operations, and the final third is focused on talent management and development. “People are truly the most valuable asset any organization has, particularly in health care,” he noted. “Being intentional about organizational design, coaching, and supporting the development and deployment of talent at all levels of the organization helps everyone achieve their full potential. It is one of the most important roles a leader can play.”
Dr. Gartland said that Emory is committed to Lean-based management systems, using both horizontal and vertical strategies for process improvement and waste reduction, with implementation beginning in urology, transplant, and heart and vascular services. Experts say Lean success starts at the very top, and Emory and Dr. Gartland are all in.
“These types of changes are measured in 5- to 7-year increments or more, not in months. We believe this is key to creating the best workplace to support the highest quality, experience, and value in health care delivery. It creates and supports the right culture within an organization, and we have made the commitment to following that path,” he said.