5 Skills Every Hospital Administrator Needs

1. Exemplifying Trustworthiness

To be effective, leaders must establish and maintain trust. Addison says, "Being trustworthy [is essential] to build a good team who will support each other and the goals set forth by the leader." She notes that trust is also crucial to "gaining buy-in and engagement from your team."

A trustworthy leader is transparent, authentic, and reliable. In healthcare, Addison says that leaders can build trust by showing a genuine passion for improving healthcare outcomes and addressing healthcare disparities. Addison elaborates that "this can be demonstrated through volunteer work, involvement in healthcare advocacy groups, or participation in initiatives aimed at improving access to care."

Consistency between your actions and your words is critical. If you talk about improving outcomes and addressing disparities, but do not prioritize them in your actions, you lose trust.

2. Effective Communication

Effective communication requires understanding what others say and making yourself understood. Addison explains the implications for hospital administrators. "If [you] can listen and articulate expectations well, then your team understands what the expectations are. [They] can meet the desired targets to achieve positive patient outcomes and a positive working environment."

Effective communication also requires cultural competence. For Addison, this means that you and your staff are trained to understand and respect the cultural beliefs and practices of diverse populations. 'This training can help to eliminate biases and improve communication between healthcare providers and patients," she says.

One of the most important skills needed for hospital administration is understanding your different audiences and communicating effectively with each. Clinicians, patients, funders, fellow administrators, support staff, and volunteers, to name just some stakeholders, all have different perspectives and terminology. Communicating effectively requires understanding each group and how those groups see the hospital and its work.

3. Proficiency in Financial Analysis and Cost Management

Different organizational roles call for different levels of involvement. Whether it means overseeing the work of a chief financial officer or running your department's monthly budget, ensuring financial stability is one of the key skills needed for hospital administration.

Addison explains that healthcare administrators must understand budgets, returns on investment, cost centers, and the like. As Addison notes, "Hospitals have the responsibility to develop and implement strategies that address the social, economic, and cultural factors that contribute to disparities."

Understanding what functions provide a surplus helps hospitals to fund functions that do not immediately pay for themselves, or services that are vital to the hospital's mission.

Relevant skills include accounting, forecasting, ratio analysis, credit management, investing, and budgeting. Even if you do not perform these functions yourself, you can learn more about how these functions work so that you can ask the right questions of your team.

4. Familiarity with Healthcare Laws and Regulations

One of the most demanding skills needed for hospital administration is maintaining your familiarity with healthcare laws and regulations, especially in a time of rapid change. Hospital administrators must be familiar enough with laws and regulations both to ensure that their teams follow them and to advocate for change as appropriate.

As Addison points out, "Overall, hospital administrators have a vital role in reducing healthcare disparities and ensuring equitable access to care." These goals demand the ability to create change at the community, state, or federal level, as well as within your hospital or department.

You can maintain your familiarity with the laws and regulations by reading newsletters and other summaries of legislation or proposed legislation. You can also follow organizations that track legislation and potential change, such as state or national associations. Addison recommends: "Stay informed about the latest developments by regularly reading industry publications, attending conferences, and engaging in professional development opportunities."

5. Strong Problem-Solving Skills

In healthcare, especially, many problems are deep-rooted and require extraordinary problem-solving skills to address the clinical, systemic, and human aspects of the problem.

Sometimes the human aspects of the problem include yourself. Addison emphasizes that "emotional intelligence and self-awareness are key to being able to manage oneself when leading others." Self-management is one of the most crucial skills needed for hospital administration, especially when dealing with emotionally-charged topics and issues.