Marc B. Scher: Embracing strategic leadership in the face of intense pressures

One theme I’m hearing coming out of the J.P. Morgan (JPM) Healthcare Conference and recent HFMA chapter conferences is strategic leadership.

It’s a concept that Harvard Business Review describes as understanding yourself, your organization’s goals and the situation at hand, and bringing the appropriate expertise to bear to support success.^a For healthcare finance leaders navigating a dynamic environment, it’s a skill made all the more important given the intense financial pressures their organizations face.

In my experience, strategic leadership is enhanced by the following actions.

Maintain a positive outlook. My friend and former colleague Ashraf Shehata, an executive for KPMG, suggests this is the year for smart optimism. “We’ve obviously gone through some tremendous challenges in the past year — actually, over the last two years,” he shared in a LinkedIn post during JPM’s conference.^b But recent movement related to the economy, an uptick in healthcare transactions and a positive outlook across healthcare sectors open the door to “some really great opportunities this year,” he said.

We should keep in mind that innovation isn’t always easy, and it comes with its own challenges, but we need to stay positive. Be strategic, stay nimble and be willing to evolve, focusing on finding a way forward.

Develop a plan for gaining measurable value from AI. In a panel discussion during JPM’s conference, one healthcare leader predicted this will be the year healthcare organizations use AI to solve challenges, not simply to explore what’s possible. That sentiment was echoed by CFOs at the HFMA Western Region Symposium in January. It’s time to consider: How will your organization strategically deploy AI to capture ROI where it matters most? Critical to this effort: digging into data governance and data mapping to understand where gains are being made and keep the momentum going, as one panelist shared during the symposium.

Take a lead role in building deeper connections with consumers. Building consumer trust remains critical for healthcare. While HFMA’s research indicates four out of five finance leaders believe their organization does a good job explaining financial matters to patient, there’s clearly a disconnect between the level of financial care leaders think their organizations provide and how patients perceive this experience.^c There are also opportunities to better communicate how organizations work to ensure patients get the care they need, when they need it. Strategic leadership will involve sharing an organization’s commitment to its communities more broadly and strengthening financial communications to deepen trust.

Now is the time to identify opportunities with a strategic focus — and provide a vision for forward progress. 

Footnotes

a. Andrews, M., “Why strategic leadership matters,” Harvard Business Review, last updated Nov. 27, 2024.
b. Shehata, A., LinkedIn post, Jan. 13, 2025.
c.Williams, J., Curing payment confusion,”  HFMA, May 1, 2024.