Finding courage to make the hard decisions | Lessons for Leaders

Good leaders need to have the self-confidence to make the right decision and stick with it, even when the choice won’t lead to cheers, Dr. Dipen Parekh says.

Parekh is the new CEO of the University of Miami Health System, taking the post last month. He’s held a number of leadership posts in UHealth, and he tells Chief Healthcare Executive® that leaders need to possess courage and the ability to be secure in themselves.

“A very select few people have that,” he says. “And I think that, to me, is extremely important, because anyone can make the easy decisions.”

Leaders have to be willing to speak up and offer perspectives that may run counter to the crowd.

“I don't know of any yes man or yes woman who turns out to be a sustainable, incredible leader,” Parekh says. “But it's really when, when you have to make the right call, and that may be unpopular. I think being secure and having the courage to do so is rarer than you think.” (See part of our conversation in this video. The story continues below.)

While Parekh says many are born with a degree of courage and strong will, he says leaders can develop those traits.

“In my experience, I think most of them have an innate courage. But then you can also develop that. For those who don't have that, and as time goes on, you can develop that,” he says.

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Parekh also touts the value of leading by example. Indeed, in his new role, Parekh, a top urologic oncologist, is continuing to see patients.

Leaders, no matter where they serve in the organization, must possess curiosity and the willingness to learn.

“I think there's one thing that helps us, you know, being surgeons and clinicians, is that we are lifelong learners,” Parekh says. “We are curiosity driven, we are mission driven. We are intellectually driven and outcomes driven. We are results driven, and we are discovery driven. So, you know, we have an innate ability to have an open mind and be flexible and to listen to people around us, to make us even better.”

Parekh says it’s important to have a desire to continue learning in healthcare, because even younger physicians can find that within a few years of graduating medical school, some of their knowledge will be out of date.

“If you translate that into leadership, no matter what industry you're a leader in, the world around every industry is changing,” he says. “And I think if you have an open mind and you're flexible … I think it's a huge requirement to be a very effective leader.”

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Parekh is relishing his new role in leading UHealth. He says he wants to utilize artificial intelligence and other new technologies to improve access for patients who want to access services. He also says UHealth is incorporating AI to help ease administrative burdens on clinicians. Parekh wants UHealth to be “the employer of choice” for everyone who wants to treat patients or engage in research.

Mostly, Parekh looks at the growing strength of the academic health system in recent years, and he is looking to make sure that UHealth continues that progress.

“The major part of my focus will be to make sure that we continue our intensity and focus towards that journey,” he says.

• Read more: How the University of Miami Health System is using AI