In late October, 100+ senior HR, nursing, and operations executives representing more than 30 health systems gathered in Boston for the 2025 Leadership Innovation Exchange (LINE), hosted by Laudio. The event brought together a mix of C-suite executives, clinicians, and technology leaders in an intimate setting to explore a shared question: how can health systems most effectively lead their organizations through healthcare’s increasingly rapid pace of change?
Throughout the event, this year’s theme – Leading Through Change: From the C-Suite to the Frontline – stayed in focus through compelling stories, engaging discussions, and real-life examples. The conversations made it clear that while the pace of change in healthcare has never been faster, fundamentals of leadership like clarity, collaboration, and compassion are more critical than ever to maintaining a healthy workforce and delivering excellent patient care.
Staying Adaptable Amid Constant Change
In his opening remarks, Laudio’s CEO Russ Richmond, MD emphasized how change is the only constant in today’s healthcare system and that the pace of transformation shows no signs of slowing down. Covering key concurrent trends, such as rising financial constraints, the evolving impact of AI, and emerging changes in organizational design, Russ stressed the importance of human connection and the role of leaders at all levels in successfully navigating change. This theme re-appeared in various discussions throughout the event.
Speakers and presenters echoed the need for agility amid constant change. Christopher Kerns, CEO of Union Healthcare Insight, shared a detailed, data-rich overview of the current state of healthcare in 2025 covering everything from systemic financial pressures, policy shifts, and the growing role of AI. Against the backdrop of real industry challenges, he also highlighted opportunity areas for health systems – a common thread throughout LINE.
Leveraging insights from the book, “Change: How Organizations Achieve Hard-to-Imagine Results in Uncertain and Volatile Times,” keynote speakers Gaurav Gupta and Vanessa Akhtar of Kotter International challenged attendees to rethink traditional management approaches in today’s times, unlocking agility by avoiding hierarchy getting in the way of impactful ideas and feedback. They also described the ‘survive and thrive’ responses people have to change, illuminating how leaders can best both understand their own reactions to change and guide their teams through it, finding ways to reframe challenges into opportunities.
Speaking from his unique health system perspective, Michael Dowling, CEO emeritus of Northwell Health, similarly conveyed the importance of embracing change as a catalyst for growth and innovation. Drawing from his incredible personal and professional story, spanning his humble beginnings in rural Ireland to navigating Northwell through the COVID-19 pandemic and overseeing 20 acquisitions and mergers in 30 years at the system, he underscored that leaders must view change as an opportunity to evolve both themselves and their organizations. Having the confidence to think differently, try new approaches, and take action – even in the face of uncertainty – is essential to leading through change and enhancing service to the community. Right before a standing ovation, Dowling left the audience with a quote – and perhaps a challenge to attendees – from Ralph Waldo Emerson: "Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.”
Leading Through Change Requires Clarity of Purpose
Cross-functional leaders agreed that, in times of uncertainty, clarity of purpose is the north star that can keep teams aligned. Effective leadership begins with clearly defining and communicating “the why” before “the what.” When team members understand the reasoning behind strategic changes and how these ultimately tie back to mission and purpose, they are more likely to engage, adapt, and support with confidence.
Leaders across multiple sessions emphasized how clarity comes through communication that is concise, consistent, and two-way. Long messages and memos are being replaced by purposeful storytelling, consumable digital updates (in various formats), and frequent pulse checks that ensure messages resonate across large systems. Equally important, if not more, for the workforce are leader 1:1s, where managers translate vision into context and connect key messages to the individual “whys” that inspire their team members. Panelists agreed that these individual conversations are where strategy turns into meaning and action.
Conversations also underscored the importance of maintaining a strong, consistent culture to navigate change effectively. On the panel “Back to Basics: Maintaining a Strong Core Culture Amid Change,” Shaun Smith, Chief People & Culture Officer at NewYork-Presbyterian and Heather Brace, Chief People Officer of Intermountain Health, emphasized how conveying a clear mission, “leading with love,” and building a culture of belonging can often outweigh more surface-level benefits when it comes to employee engagement and retention.
Speakers at various points also noted that leading through change requires not only thinking about communication from the C-suite down, but also from the frontline up; it must be two-way. The most effective health systems value frontline to C-suite feedback loops, ensuring that insights from all levels and “edges” of the organization inform decisions at the top. This kind of two-way communication builds trust, strengthens psychological safety, and helps leaders anticipate challenges before they become systemic.
Executive Collaboration is More Essential than Ever
One of the defining aspects of LINE is its ability to bring together nursing and HR leaders to collaborate on workforce strategies and solutions that bolster support for frontline leaders in particular. The dialogue underscored a growing truth: meaningful workforce transformation depends on close partnerships between people and clinical leadership. When executives align on needs, strategies, and solutions, they can alleviate strain on frontline managers and free up their capacity to focus on the human connections that drive system goals and catalyze change.
Throughout the sessions, executives shared how their organizations are breaking down silos to create this kind of alignment and drive meaningful improvements for their leaders and workforces. CHROs, CNOs, and COOs described organizational and technological innovations they are putting into practice to ensure consistency in leader best practices across their systems, develop their current and future leaders, and drive accountability for employee engagement, experience, and retention at every level of the health system.
A standout example came from Geisinger Health, which serves 1.2 million people in communities across central and northeastern Pennsylvania. HR, IT, and nursing leaders shared how cross-functional collaboration and new ways of partnering have become central to their operating model. They highlighted their implementation of Laudio for frontline leaders as a key example of how these functions can work together to understand challenges, evaluate solutions, and operationalize impactful change for their leaders and teams.
Technology Will Elevate, Not Replace, Human Leadership
Technology and AI were consistent threads throughout LINE 2025, but participants agreed that in healthcare, technology must help amplify, not replace, the human connection that defines care delivery. The panel “Staying Ahead in a Shifting Landscape” featuring Alastair Bell, President & CEO of Boston Medical Center Health System, Dominica Tallarico, EVP & COO of Allina Health, and Mark Solazzo, President, Strategic Initiatives & COO of Northwell Health reinforced that message, emphasizing the importance of integrating AI thoughtfully to enable clear outcomes, not based on hype. They also tied technology adoption back to the importance of clarity and communication, reminding leaders that the benefits of new technology must be made crystal clear to the people using them every day.
Across the various discussions and a dedicated AI-focused breakout session featuring cross-functional executives from Mass General Brigham, TriHealth, and Ochsner Health, one principle stood out: technology should simplify, not overwhelm. In addition to common use cases on the clinical side, such as ambient documentation, leaders also discussed opportunities for AI to reduce administrative burdens and workflow complexity, particularly for frontline leaders. For these leaders, AI will be most impactful when it frees up their capacity, helping make their increasingly demanding roles more manageable, sustainable, and human-centric.
At the same time, organizations increasingly need scoring rubrics and other decision-making frameworks like Mckinsey’s DARE concept to prioritize which AI investments will truly advance organizational goals and deliver tangible benefits to its users. As the use cases for AI expand exponentially, AI governance and prioritization is yet another area where cross-functional executive collaboration will be increasingly essential - supporting a strategic, structured approach that ties closely to health system objectives and filters through the hype.
A Community of Leaders Moving Forward
LINE served as a reminder that even with the growing adoption, value, and potential of technology and AI, healthcare’s most profound progress happens through people and leaders. Attendees left the event energized by the exchange of ideas and relationships built in a setting intentionally designed for depth over scale. Throughout the event, one theme came up again and again – everything starts with the workforce. There are few system goals that aren’t reliant on a healthy and strong workforce. Leaders must regularly explore new ways to better support, connect with, and empower their teams. Amid rapid change, an enhanced focus on clarity, collaboration, and compassion is shaping a new, exciting model of leadership that can help health systems thrive in the modern era of healthcare delivery.