At Providence St. Joseph Health, we aren’t looking to cultivate and hire managers. We're interested in people who have the courage to be leaders. That’s why we’ve tried to expunge the word “manager” from our lexicon. Instead, we refer to the more than 7,200 individuals who lead teams across our organization as “core leaders.”

If you haven’t read the Forbes article, “What Makes a Good Leader,” I encourage you to do so. It lists 15 insights on the key differences between a manager and leader. These three resonated the most with me:

1.  Managers micromanage, leaders inspire – Leaders inspire others to bring their best selves to the job instead of telling them exactly how everything needs to be done. They engage teams and bring out the best in them.
2. Leaders have the courage to face what others fear – This is a challenging time in health care, which is at the center of many heated debates in D.C. and our state capitols. Part of the job of leaders today is to help our teams see the path forward, to help ease their anxiety and understand the part they play in shaping a positive future.
3. Leaders give their power away – To be an effective leader, you can’t hold onto power for yourself. You need to empower others, and in doing so, you unleash the creativity, expertise and grit of your teams. The older I get, the more I realize how much I don't know, and that by empowering others you bring much more knowledge and fresh thinking to the table.

At Providence St. Joseph Health, we are blessed to have so many gifted core leaders who demonstrate these qualities every day and, in turn, inspire our 111,000 caregivers to bring our mission to life in the communities we serve. Thank you to all of our leaders for all you do for our organization.

You can find the full list of 15 leadership attributes here.