Women in HIT Leadership, Part 1: Identifying the Core Leadership Skills

Women and men are inherently different.

Men are better negotiators, more confident, and more likely to take risks. Women, on the other hand, are better team players and are more mission-driven.

We’ve heard these sentiments so many times — and for so long — that they’ve become widely accepted as facts. The reality, according to a Harvard Business Review, is that there are differences between men and women. “But they’re not rooted in fixed gender traits,” it states. “Rather, they stem from organizational structures, company practices, and patterns of interaction that position men and women differently, creating systematically different experiences for them.”

In other words, the reason women occupy fewer leadership roles in fields like healthcare IT is more about nurture, and less about nature. It can be a very discouraging thing to hear. But it also can be inspiring, according to Women in Health IT Leadership panelists, who believe it’s time to move past the (justified) anger many women feel and work to forge change.

Recently we spoke with three influential women about the challenges they’ve faced in their careers, what they consider to be core competencies for female leaders, and why diverse representation is so critical in today’s environment. The panelists — Sarah Richardson, California Market CIO, Healthcare Partners; Julie Bonello, CIO, Rush Health; and Tressa Springmann, CIO, LifeBridge Health — also share their thoughts on how to encourage a healthy work/life balance, how to build a safe culture, why mentoring matters so much, and the discussion that needs to happen on a wider scale.

Chapter 1



* Meet the panelists: Sarah Richardson, Tressa Springmann & Julie Bonello

* Early experiences in leadership

* “Clarification of responsibility is important.”

* Core leadership competency: “Managing awkward situations”

* Transparency in decision-making

* Taking family leave – “It made me a better leader.”

* Encouraging work/life balance

* Family leave policies: “We’ve come a long way.”



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Bold Statements

Developing a sense of humor and learning ways to take the tension out of the situation or out of the room and put others at comfort sadly has become really a valued leadership competency for female leaders.

Make the decision process transparent, because inevitably, you’re going to alienate someone. Somebody will perceive to be losing, so I think having thick skin comes along with the leadership journey.

I know I would never hesitate to walk away from my career to go take care of my family. And I’m grateful that other people appreciate that perspective, because sometimes that’s the role we have. And when we’re honest about it, we get a lot of respect.

We’re continually trying to juggle the work that needs to get done with the work-life balance we need to ensure that our associates have. It’s critical that they have that safety and that ability, when they’re taking care of other things, to not have to worry about the security of their job.

There are life changes that people go through, and I think the more you go through as you progress through your adult life, the more humble you are.

Kate Gamble:  Thanks so much to all of you for taking the time to speak with us today for this panel on women in IT leadership. I think we’ll get some really interesting perspectives. Let’s start with introductions — your name, your organization, how long you’ve been there, things like that.

Sarah Richardson:  I’m a California market CIO for HealthCare Partners. We are currently a DaVita Medical Group and in the p...