Betrayed trust: healing a broken hospital through servant leadership

An investigative reporter with The Washington Post broke the news of a no-confidence vote by the medical staff of a hospital in the suburbs of Washington, District of Columbia. The chaos that followed created a perfect storm for needed change and offered the rare opportunity for unbridled deep and creative collaboration. Issues the hospital faced as a result of this crisis and subsequent events that tested the authenticity of change are summarized. This article focuses on the approach used by the registered nurse chief executive officer (RN-CEO) to humanize the hospital, viewing it as though it were a patient and leading a clinical approach to organizational recovery and health. The relationship that developed between the medical staff leaders and the RN-CEO was pivotal to the hospital's recovery and evolved as a hybrid of servant leadership. Outcomes achieved over a 7-year period and attributable to this relational model are summarized. Finally, the RN-CEO shares lessons learned through experience and reflection and advice for nurses interested in pursuing executive leadership roles.