A modern hospital is not just about technology and procedures – above all, it is about people: patients and healthcare professionals. Prof. Jarosław J. Fedorowski, President of the Polish Hospital Federation, discusses how the role of a hospital director is changing, what good leadership really means, and why artificial intelligence does not absolve us from thinking.
Leadership in a World of Pressure and Change
Weronika Kolczyńska: Professor, what competencies will be crucial for hospital directors in the next 5-10 years?
Jarosław J. Fedorowski: Competencies that until recently were described as “soft skills” are now becoming the foundation of management. Emotional intelligence, empathy, the ability to build relationships, communicate during crises, and motivate teams under constant pressure.
Data analysis will become increasingly automated, but hospitals will remain places where people work and where people are treated. A director must be able to connect the world of technology with the real needs of staff and patients.
Monika Dobrzeniecka: So, could we risk saying that today a hospital director should manage emotions more than procedures?
JJF: Procedures are, of course, essential – without them, it is impossible to ensure patient safety or organizational stability. However, I have the impression that for years healthcare systems have overestimated the importance of structure itself while underestimating the importance of people and relationships.
A hospital director must know how to talk to people, understand the emotions of teams, build trust, and create a sense of purpose. They must also be able to communicate difficult decisions in a responsible and honest way.
MD: A sense of purpose is extremely important, but paradoxically it is often put to the test when we encounter the absurdities of the system. Perhaps it is time to change the model and focus on cooperation between institutions instead of competition?
JJF: The lack of coordinated action is one of the greatest problems in healthcare. Hospitals in Poland still too often operate like separate islands, competing for contracts, staff, and procedures instead of functioning as elements of a larger healthcare ecosystem.
In a modern healthcare model, the success of one institution depends on the quality of its cooperation with others: primary care, outpatient specialist care, rehabilitation, and long-term care facilities. Patients do not think in terms of levels of care or organizational structures. They expect continuity of treatment and the reassurance that the system functions as a whole.
Managers Without Motivation?
WK: Does the system support the development of leaders in healthcare?
JJF: Unfortunately, it does not. In recent years, physicians’ and nurses’ salaries have increased, but hospital managers have found themselves stuck in the middle of pay scales, often earning salaries disproportionate to the level of responsibility they carry.
This is demotivating not only for them, but for entire organizations. Without a conscious policy for developing and properly rewarding management staff, we will not build modern hospitals.
MD: So how should difficult decisions concerning staff be made in a world of permanent crisis?
JJF: It is very easy to fall into the trap of managing only through crisis response: constantly putting out fires, reacting to staffing shortages, financial pressures, or staff overload.
Today, difficult decisions require above all honest communication and trust-building. Medical personnel are willing to accept even very demanding conditions if they feel that decisions are rational, transparent, and made with respect for people.
The role of a leader is not to avoid difficult decisions, but to guide the organization through change in a responsible way that is as minimally destructive to the team as possible.
MD: You often mention the untapped potential of people within the system. What currently makes it most difficult to fully utilize staff experience? And where does the 50+ workforce fit into all this?
JJF: I believe one of the biggest problems is that we still too often view healthcare personnel solely through the lens of numbers and positions, and too rarely through the lens of people’s actual competencies and experience. Simply increasing employment will not solve problems if the system cannot properly organize work and utilize the potential of those already within it.
This applies especially to the 50+ workforce. They represent an enormous reserve of practical knowledge and resilience in crisis situations that cannot be quickly replaced. Yet we still too rarely create conditions that would allow these individuals to work effectively and comfortably – including with the support of modern technologies.
We also underestimate the digital maturity of society. The issue is often not a lack of people’s competencies, but poorly designed systems and insufficient support during the implementation of change. If we want to build modern healthcare, we must learn to make better use of the experience of the people who have been shaping this system for decades.
Artificial Intelligence: An Assistant, Not a Judge
WK: Let’s move on to the use of modern solutions. How do you see the role of AI in management – support tool or control mechanism?
JJF: Artificial intelligence should be a tool that supports thinking, not replaces it.
It works extremely well in data analysis, resource planning, workflow optimization, and identifying bottlenecks. But we must be careful not to hand over responsibility for decisions to machines. AI should be an assistant, not a supervisor.
If we stop thinking independently, we will pay for it with the loss of competencies and the ability to respond to non-standard situations.
MD: Now a provocative question: in a world of AI and automation, is there a risk that leaders will start managing exclusively through data and indicators?
JJF: We can already partly see this risk today. Data is incredibly important because it helps us make better decisions and identify problems more quickly. However, no indicator can show the level of team exhaustion, loss of motivation, or the atmosphere within a hospital.
Healthcare is not a factory nor merely a financial system. A hospital remains a place where people work under enormous pressure and where patients expect not only effective treatment, but also a sense of safety and understanding.
That is why a good leader must be able to combine analytical competencies with emotional intelligence. Spreadsheets and algorithms can support management, but they cannot replace responsibility, empathy, and the ability to understand context.
The Patient at the Center – True Leadership
WK: What does it mean today to be a leader in healthcare?
JJF: It means being able to see the system through the patient’s eyes. Patients do not want ten consultations and seven specialists. They want health – achieved in the simplest possible way, with as little pain and stress as possible.
A leader of the future is someone who can build an organization around value for the patient, rather than around structures and procedures.
MD: One final question: in the hospital of the future, will innovation primarily mean new technologies, or rather a change in the way we think about hospitals and manage them?
JJF: Technology is very important, but by itself it does not solve the problems of the healthcare system. True innovation increasingly lies in the ability to organize care around the patient, build cooperation between teams, and create a work environment that enables people to perform their tasks well.
You can have highly modern equipment and advanced IT systems while still operating within a silo-based model that is inefficient for both patients and staff.
The hospital of the future will be innovative not only technologically, but also organizationally and culturally. And that is precisely why leadership competencies are becoming so important today: the ability to build trust, cooperation, and responsibility for the entire patient treatment process.
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The future of hospitals is being shaped today not only through new technologies, but above all through collaboration between healthcare leaders, innovators, and teams capable of translating the real needs of patients and staff into concrete organizational and technological solutions.
This is precisely the purpose of MCSC Hospital Leadership Innovation – an ecosystem connecting hospitals, startups, experts, and technology partners focused on the practical implementation of innovation in healthcare.
This year’s edition of MCSC focuses on both clinical and organizational challenges. Application form: https://app.mcsc.pl/pl
We invite startups, innovators, research teams, and companies developing solutions that can genuinely support the transformation of modern hospitals to participate.
Interview Participants
Prof. Jarosław J. Fedorowski – specialist in internal medicine, cardiology, and integrated healthcare management; President of the Polish Hospital Federation. Graduate of the Faculty of Medicine at the Silesian Medical Academy. He worked in cardiology centers in Zabrze and Katowice, as well as in university hospitals in the United States, where he also ran his own medical practice and academic activities. He has international experience as a healthcare consultant and manager. He completed an MBA in healthcare management as well as postgraduate programs, including at Harvard Medical School. He earned doctoral degrees in both the United States and Poland, and in 2003 was awarded the title of Professor of Clinical Medicine at the University of Vermont College of Medicine.
Weronika Kolczyńska – Innovation Manager at the Institute of Mother and Child. She specializes in the development and implementation of innovations in healthcare, combining experience in MedTech, AI, and the public sector.
Monika Dobrzeniecka – communications and marketing expert at the Institute of Mother and Child. She specializes in building visibility for projects and brands, as well as translating medical technologies and innovations into clear and accessible communication.