Capital Region Business Journal

Joanne Johnson distinctly remembers the e-mail she received shortly after Frank Byrne started his new job as president of St. Mary's Hospital during the summer of 2004.

"He sent out this announcement that said, 'Please call me Frank,'" laughed Johnson, the director of St. Mary's volunteer services. "We weren't accustomed to that form of addressing a president, but he wanted to be considered more of a peer. ... It made people feel right off the bat that he was more of an equal."

Johnson, who has worked at St. Mary's for more than 30 years in jobs ranging from cafeteria cashier to hospital fundraiser, said Byrne is invigorating � not that past president Gerald Lefert wasn't. But Byrne, Johnson said, has done a commendable job transitioning himself into the key position that keeps the Madison hospital a competitive and bustling success.

Byrne, a 53-year-old pulmonary critical care doctor who now runs one of the region's largest health-care centers � it is currently undergoing a $174 million, 10-year renovation � gets excited when talking about his job: "I can tell you I'm absolutely passionate about health care and the people we serve."

In the same breath, Byrne is humble: "Our purpose is to serve others. ... I don't do the work of St. Mary's. ... It's the nurses, the therapists, the doctors."

He might be on to something. According to area experts, Byrne's humility and enthusiasm are two traits that chief executive officers or company presidents need to succeed in the capital region's competitive business environment.

The face of the traditional CEO and his or her role are changing. Not only are CEOs getting younger nationwide � the median age is about 55 � but they're more visible, they're more accountable and they're dealing with more challenges than ever before.

Roger Formisano, director of the UW-Madison Center for Leadership and Applied Business, said he's found that a successful CEO exhibits five key capabilities.

First, a great CEO needs to possess strategic thinking and good business judgment. "A CEO needs to paint a picture of what the organization is going to look like in the future that he or she is committed to and one they can clearly point to as achievable," Formisano said.

Second, a CEO needs to make sure he or she is engaging people regularly. It's important to create a work environment where people are passionate and committed.

Third, a good CEO needs to know how to execute plans. "When I say execute, I mean set their path. ... They have to find optimal ways to operate and make sure (the business) operates that way to achieve goals," he said. "They need to get their hands dirty. ... They need to get barriers out of the way to achieve things."

Fourth, CEOs need to discuss what Formisano called "change" leadership. Leaders need to make sure that when times are tough, they have a plan and a direction for change. They need to be competent enough to lead an organization through potentially rough times.

And last, a great CEO needs to continually educate and assess himself or herself. "Leaders and CEOs need to continue to learn, to keep their eye on the future and actually lead their organization with the information that they get," he said.

"I was in Minneapolis last week and while taking a tour around a company's offices, I was fascinated by the fact that in the CEO, the CFO and the COO's offices were a few stacks of books that were the most current (business leadership) books."

Formisano said there are some significant reasons CEOs or company presidents need to be at the top of their game to compete in the business world.

"In general, most corporations are facing much more competitive markets � there's much more globalization going on and that invites more outsourcing, more trouble in generating sales, finding markets is becoming more competitive," Formisano said. "There are (also) the cost factors. Right now we're facing this tremendous oil price increase and energy price increase and health-care costs.

"The challenge is to create a sustainable organization in an environment where revenues and sales are more difficult to acquire and costs are increasing. ... It puts a lot of pressure on an organization to find strategies and business processes that will lead to a sustainable future," he said. "And it's the CEO's role that's responsible for finding those strategies and business processes. Their job is to maintain the organization, to keep the public and the shareholders happy."

Ray Aldag, a professor at the UW-Madison School of Busi-ness who teaches organizational behavior and decision-making, said it's difficult to firmly define what makes a great CEO.

"I think in general it's hard to make any flat statements ... but there are certainly things that make bad CEOs - like dishonesty or bad political behavior," Aldag said.

What might be more important, he said, is that certain people make great CEOs during certain periods of time. He compared it to having a U.S. president who may function better in a time of war than during a time of peace.

"There's a lot of literature that looks at things like how leaders behave in a time of crisis," he said.

Competent CEOs, he said, stay calm in the midst of tough times. Research also shows that strong CEOs engage in inspirational leadership. They appeal to employee values and help employees understand why their work is

"They might do that through symbolic actions, like the things they do are symbolic. Do they eat with their employees or separately? Do they involve employees in the things they do? I think good CEOs spend a lot of time on rites and ceremonies. ... They work on ways to bring people together."

Viasys NeuroCare group president Lori Cross has worked over the past two years to help turn around the struggling neurological, vascular and audio diagnostic company, which has its headquarters in Madison and branches in Colorado, New York, Iceland and London.

Cross took over in 2003 after the company experienced a critical restructuring, and her efforts have begun to pay off. Viasys NeuroCare has re-established its global leadership position with primary diagnostic tools that help monitor and treat epilepsy, carpal tunnel syndrome, Alzheimer's, stroke, hearing loss and multiple sclerosis.

Cross also helped to turn around Ohmeda, another area health-care technology company that was eventually purchased by Datex and then by General Electric.

Cross said that she has a knack for crisis or "change" leadership and that it has been her calling card, particularly at Viasys.

"We started focusing back on the customer," she said. "We're really redefining ourselves with what the company is."

The perfect CEO may not exist, but Cross believes there are critical traits a person needs to be an influential business leader in today's marketplace.

"The most important thing is character," she said. "If people are going to follow a leader, then they need to have consistent character. ... The person needs to have a lot of passion for the business. ... They need to have emotional intelligence.

"The CEOs of the past were very much focused on management of the business," she said. "Increasingly it's about leadership and change. ... You've got to keep moving. It's not about keeping things stable. It's about bringing dynamism to the organization ... and you've got to be adaptive and collaborative."

For Byrne, running St. Mary's is second nature. He brought his family to Madison after 22 years in various clinical and administrative positions at Parkview Hospital in Fort Wayne, Ind. And he said the move was an easy one to make.

"I think it was in (the movie) 'Jerry Maguire' where Renee Zellweger said, 'You had me at hello,'" he said. "When I stepped onto the campus, I could just feel there was something special going on here."

Byrne said he spent his earliest weeks fiercely getting to know the entire staff at the hospital � right down to their first names. He makes an effort to talk in a down-to-earth way with his employees, he listens hard and he throws himself into his job with abandon.

He also deals with his share of problems. Byrne said he's had to work through contract negotiations, problems with staff members and physician colleagues, and even some critical concerns that have come along with the hospital's renovation project. He said he's learned to handle important issues with a mix of emotion and objectivity.

"There are a lot of situations in any leadership role that can be a cause for significant anxiety and concern," he said. "It's a mistake not to acknowledge there's always an emotional component. You can't let your decision-making process be impaired. You need to use the facts to make decisions ... but I'm trying to say it's important not to ignore the emotional component."

Peggy Weber, a St. Mary's resource specialist and parish nurse coordinator who has been at the hospital for almost 40 years, said Byrne's leadership has been nothing less than spectacular.

"I was very concerned about having a new president come in. ... I've put my life into St. Mary's, and our president is one of the most important people here," she said. "But he really gets it - he gets our mission, our vision. He not only serves our patients, but he serves our staff. ... I trust him and if you trust your leader, you want to continue to do your best job."

Secrets of highly successful CEOs

By Amanda Kramer

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