During her 19 years serving Spectrum Health in various strategic and operational roles, Tina Freese Decker has developed a track record for cultivating culture and driving strategy. She is committed to building a health system that celebrates and reinforces diversity, equity and inclusion for team members, patients, families and health plan members. Named president/CEO in 2018, Freese Decker has successfully implemented a new mission, vision and statement of values. This foundational strategic work has been instrumental to improving health and access, lowering costs and reducing health inequities.
Courage to Take the Next Step
During Freese Decker’s tenure as executive vice president and COO of Spectrum Health, the position of president and CEO became available when longtime CEO Richard Breon announced he would be retiring in 2017. She was 15 years into her healthcare career, having started as an administrative fellow in 2002, and less than a year into serving as system COO.
Freese Decker had a decision to make, the most important one of her relatively young career as an executive: Should she, an internal candidate, apply for the position that, at the time, provided leadership to more than 25,400 team members, some 3,300 physicians and advanced practice providers, 12 hospitals, 180 ambulatory sites and a health plan serving 794,000 members? Although she had already been recognized as an accomplished healthcare professional, having been the recipient of ACHE’s top award for early careerists—the Robert S. Hudgens Memorial Award—it had only been four years since she was honored.
This decision to apply for the position turned out to be a breakthrough leadership moment for this emerging executive, one that would drive her to cultivate a deeper understanding of herself.
To prepare herself for “taking that next step” in her career, she sat down at her kitchen table and put pen to paper. She wrote down what she stood for, what her skill sets were and why she would be a good leader. She didn’t want to apply just because it was the next thing to do. She wanted to apply because it was the right thing to do. “When I made the decision to apply, I promised myself that I would have no regrets,” says Freese Decker.
This exercise revealed her leadership brand and style. “When I was done, I saw on that piece of paper what my true vision would be. This energized me to think about who I am as a leader and launched me and my passion to focus on my purpose.” The following year, she was named president and CEO—the first woman to hold that title at Spectrum Health.
First Day on the Job
On Freese Decker’s first day as CEO, she wanted to set a clear example of the organization’s leadership culture of being open and collaborative, supporting a true “open door policy.” Though this culture was already in place at Spectrum Health, there was an immediate contradiction just outside her office: an actual door that divided the executive suite from the rest of the team. “I asked to remove it.” While waiting for maintenance, Freese Decker got a head start and unscrewed the hinges herself, even attempting to move the door. “I nudged it about an inch.” This symbolic barrier was a formidable one, but with the help of the maintenance team, the door was removed.
“We removed this physical door and also metaphorical doors. This became my brand as a CEO: someone who can reach out, collaborate and eliminate barriers to solve the challenging issues we all face. Even in these divisive times, we can join forces, we can find common ground—but only if our paths to each other are clear. Removing the door made a clear, heartfelt statement, and it was well-received.”
The Pandemic
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Freese Decker knew her skills as the leader of Spectrum Health would be put to the test. In a very short span of time, the organization made major modifications to its operations. In collaboration with the Spectrum Health leadership team, she crafted an overall strategic plan that addressed the moment at hand but allowed the organization to pivot in response to the changing situation. This additional flexibility notwithstanding, Freese Decker knew that the brand she developed as a leader had to remain steadfast.
“In this situation, a leader has to be authentic and vulnerable. I told the team, ‘This is what we know and what we don’t know.’ But, however great the problems we faced, it was vital that I made clear there was hope that things would change for the better.”
Freese Decker says she prides herself on being transparent. She knew she could only offer hope if she offered honesty. While there was uncertainty as the organization battled COVID-19, there was no ambiguity in who she was as a leader. “I am clear on who I am. My team knows what I expect and the direction I want to go. I am always building on that; it’s the lane I stay in.”
“You Can Do It”
Reflecting further on her defining moment as a leader, Freese Decker pointed to a time prior to taking the helm of Spectrum Health. She was informing her superior of a challenging situation that she thought he needed to act on. He gave her one simple piece of advice: “All he said was, ‘You can do it.’ At that moment, I was transported out of my limiting mental box as I reframed my thinking about my role and impact with a broader perspective. It was so simple, yet so powerful. Oftentimes, we confine ourselves to a mental framework that is smaller than it needs to be. And it can be quite self-limiting. This was a big ‘aha!’ moment that empowered me, and I have tried to use it to empower others.”
As she has thought about the pandemic and lessons learned in navigating the challenges, she has identified several paradoxical skills that leaders must balance to be effective:
- Leaders must think big and also small. A global pandemic is a big issue that requires a tremendous shifting of resources, yet it also demands attention to details, such as securing the right PPE for each team member.
- Leaders must be decisive yet collaborative—resistant to the ready-aim-aim-aim syndrome but able to invite a range of people to the table.
- Leaders must be comfortable with sitting at the head of the table and taking a seat at the table … and know which one to choose.
- Leaders must overcommunicate and over-listen; COVID-19 demonstrates the crucial importance of communication, as leaders provided their teams and communities with vital information to keep them safe and listened to people’s anxieties and concerns, making adjustments to decisions as necessary.
“Knowing my brand, while understanding and fine-tuning these paradoxes of leadership, has helped me navigate the complexities of my job,” Freese Decker adds. “And, despite the unending challenges—especially in the ever-changing field of healthcare—there are two personal takeaways that make it all worth it: Pride and joy. Pride in the people I work with, who are making such a positive difference in the lives of so many others. And joy in seeing how, every day, we are fulfilling our mission to improve health, inspire hope and save lives.”
Biography
Tina Freese Decker, FACHE, is the president and CEO of Spectrum Health System, an $8 billion integrated health system with a medical group, health plan and 14 hospitals, employing 31,000 individuals in Michigan. She has spent her entire career with the health system. Her previous senior positions with Spectrum Health were executive vice president and COO from 2017 to 2018; president, Spectrum Health Hospital Group from 2014 to 2017; and senior vice president/chief strategy officer from 2013 to 2014.
Freese Decker has won several awards, including Modern Healthcare’s 2021 “Top 25 Women Leaders in Healthcare”; Grand Rapids Business Journal’s “50 Most Influential Women in West Michigan” in 2020; Crain’s Detroit Business’ 2019 Health Care Heroes Award and “2018 Most Notable Women in Health Care”; Managed Healthcare Executive’s “10 Emerging Healthcare Industry Leaders 2018”; and ACHE’s 2013 Robert S. Hudgens Memorial Award for Young Healthcare Executive of the Year.
She was an ACHE Regent for Michigan & Northwest Ohio from 2014 to 2017. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in finance from Iowa State University and graduated with a Master of Health Administration degree and a Master of Science degree in industrial engineering from the University of Iowa.