Bob Honest [Photo Credit: AdventHealth]
Throughout childhood, I lost many family members to cancer and other illnesses, causing me to spend a lot of time in hospitals. During those long days and nights, I found a love for the healing ministry. My family and I were treated with such respect and love it made me realize I wanted to make others feel the same way. At a young age, I knew I would pursue a career in health care. I even dreamed of helping create one of the greatest health systems that could serve everyone in need through affordable, accessible and quality care.
After finishing high school, I attended Burman University, where I received a Bachelor of Business Administration in management, then completed a Master of Business Administration with a focus on health care administration at La Sierra University. Currently, I’m pursuing a Doctor of Health Care Administration at Walden University.
My journey with AdventHealth began as a management resident in May 2022 and my experience was exceptional. As a resident, I learned about all areas of hospital operations from key senior executives and subject matter professionals. Now, I can translate that learning into my finance role.
Here are five key lessons and values I learned from my mentors and organizational leaders.
It can be daunting not knowing what will come next. It’s easy to worry when financial, career, relational or spiritual milestones you’ve set have not yet been reached. Take a deep breath. Remember that God brought you this far, and He will take you to where He needs you. Enjoy the journey!
Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Understand the myriad domino effects stemming from decisions you make before making them. Always involve and effectively communicate with key stakeholders who will be affected along the way.
It is about creating a culture where all who enter it feel loved, valued, cared about and inspired. When you have a workforce invested in your mission, you can shoot beyond the stars and key performance indicators will fall in line. Embrace change!
Leverage your team's experience — involve them and understand they want to make a difference too. At the same time, nothing good comes easy. Diamonds are made under pressure and similarly, developing as leaders requires pressure to bring forth the best versions of ourselves. Challenge yourself to be better than the person you were yesterday.
We tend to blame the things outside of our control for missed opportunities or a failure to reach objectives. Sometimes, however, we need to take a step back, understand how we got to our current situation and ensure we create action plans that mitigate repeating the same issues in the future.
I look forward to continuing to Extend the Healing Ministry of Christ and dedicating myself to lifelong learning as I grow and develop as a leader within AdventHealth.
Bob Honest is finance manager at UChicago Medicine AdventHealth.
