Most Admired For-Profit CEO: Ashley McClellan
The Houston Business Journal named 48 business leaders as honorees for the 2018 Most Admired CEO Awards. Click here to read more content on the honorees and this year's awards.
Ashley McClellan, CEO, The Woman's Hospital of Texas
Company employees: 1,500
Education: Bachelor’s, Southern Methodist University; master’s, Texas Women’s University
Boards and affiliations: Board member, Southern Methodist University Cox School of Business Alumnae Board; board member, March of Dimes Foundation - Houston Division
How would your employees describe you as a leader in one word? Care
Overheard: “I’ve had the pleasure of working with Ashley for more than seven years at two HCA facilities. I’ve witnessed first-hand her inspirational leadership and ability to motivate her team beyond their perceived limits. She is an inspiring mentor who challenges her employees to push through obstacles to achieve operational success.” — Cece Clemens, director at The Women’s Hospital of Texas
What’s the worst piece of advice you’ve received and why?
“If you build it, they will come.” In a day where we have precise data to know where the markets are growing and what types of services those markets need, we should tailor our approach to build what is needed for a community. If you add an access point for a service that is not needed in that location, then they will NOT come. We are fortunate to know what our patients need and where they need it, and are building our network of care accordingly.
When was a time you had to overcome a huge challenge?
The Woman’s Hospital of Texas has experienced tremendous growth over the past several years, which means integrating many new team members into the workforce and facing the increasing demands of managing a multigenerational workforce. One pressing issue I am facing now is how to maintain a strong, family-centered culture despite experiencing rapid organizational growth. The principles and culture of our organization have not changed, but we have had to be deliberate about spending more time on culture and teaching so that we can maintain what is special about The Woman’s Hospital of Texas and remain the No. 1 choice for women in Texas.
What’s your leadership philosophy?
I am a servant leader at heart, focused on transformational leadership within my organization. “Good people beget good people” are the words of HCA’s founder, Dr. Thomas F. Frist Sr. Those words ring true as HCA celebrates 50 years of caring for our communities and are the reason I was called to serve as a leader in healthcare. We are in the relationship business, and building trusting relationships is essential to success.
What are you most proud of accomplishing as a leader?
In August 2017, I served as commander in chief at The Woman’s Hospital of Texas through Hurricane Harvey, an unprecedented flooding event for the City of Houston. Between hurricanes Harvey and Irma for HCA, we had 80 hospitals in the storms’ paths, six hospitals evacuated, one hospital flooded, 76,000 employees, 12,000 patients, and 45,000 families or others sheltered under our watch. We had 0 patients, 0 employees and 0 visitors harmed during that time. I am proud to be TWHT and HCA.