Boards and executives in healthcare and life sciences face a new reality: to support growth, they need governance that enables action, leaders who get things done, and a mindset focused on cutting waste and maximising impact.
In healthcare and life sciences boardrooms around the world, one question is getting louder: How do we support the growth agenda rather than slow it down?
It sounds obvious, but it’s incredibly timely. The environment leaders operate in has shifted dramatically. What once felt manageable now feels pressured from all sides: geopolitical volatility, economic uncertainty, and increasingly tough access and reimbursement dynamics. Everything is changing, from models of care to digital health delivery.
This isn’t about boards or executives getting it wrong. It’s about the world changing faster than the structures built to deal with it.
Or, as a client put it recently: “How do we use our governance model to truly underpin growth?”
The answer lies in how governance is structured. When designed to create the right conditions for scaling it can support expansion rather than hold it back. This means guiding decisions, shaping structures, and streamlining processes. In this way, governance evolves from a defensive, compliance-focused function into a proactive driver of performance and long-term success.
A true mindset shift
What’s needed for this to happen is a mindset shift.
In 2024, McKinsey[1] examined mindset in a survey of more than 500 leaders. On one hand, the survey identified that leaders of outperforming companies ensure growth through five critical mindsets: prioritising growth, acting boldly, maintaining a customer-centric approach, attracting and nurturing talent, and executing with rigor.
However, the survey also uncovered an uncomfortable truth: that while many leaders believe that they’ve adopted mindsets for growth, it doesn’t always translate into actions that really drive growth.
For example, the survey identified that leaders who outperform through economic cycles are ones that prioritise long-term growth. Yet, the survey showed that on average, respondents spend only 22% of this time on long-term growth initiatives. The rest is eaten up on short- and medium-term projects.
So to genuinely support growth in healthcare and life sciences companies, boards, executive teams, and multiple layers of leadership need to embrace this mindset shift.
[1] https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/growth-marketing-and-sales/our-insights/achieving-growth-putting-leadership-mindsets-and-behaviors-into-action
Leakage versus optimisation
There are two main aspects to this mindset shift. The first is reducing wastage, and the second is driving optimisation.
To address the first, organisations need to identify where resources, effort, and capital are being lost and ensure they are deployed where they will have the greatest impact. For example, if an organisation has a revenue gap of $2 million, the source of that leak must be identified and addressed before focusing on growth – even if it means examining operations department by department.
There are plenty of examples of this available publicly, such as Sanofi improving its clinical‑trial drug supply chain and achieving a 25% improvement in distribution efficiency[1], or a US hospital chain that standardised practices and protocols and improve their data exchange across their 46 facilities by upgrading their technology[2].
The second aspect is optimising growth.
First there’s the question of where growth actually comes from. Usually, it’s twofold: expanding existing customers or prospects in the pipeline and diversifying into new markets or products.
The next step is figuring out how to achieve it; an area where technology and AI are playing an increasing role.
Take for example IQVIA’s model for improving patient retention, care quality, and financial performance using Natural Language Processing (NLP) and sentiment analysis to surface additional patient context using the unstructured text in patient records. [3] Or a US-based non-profit healthcare who launched CS Connect, an AI-powered platform for 24/7 healthcare support to reduce wait times and administrative tasks, improving care delivery.[4]
[1] https://www.suvoda.com/hubfs/Sanofi%20Suvoda%20Case%20Study%202025%20web.pdf
[2] https://www.labcorp.com/education-events/articles/improving-hospital-performance-real-time-analytics-labcorp-and-ochsner-health-case-study
[3] https://www.iqvia.com/-/media/iqvia/pdfs/us/fact-sheet/2024/iqvia-nlp-improving-patient-retention-fact-sheet.pdf
[4] https://www.businessinsider.com/cedars-sinai-la-healthcare-organization-ai-platform-patient-care-treatment-2025-7
Finding practical people
But beyond this mindset shift, there’s another factor at play: what brought an organisation to this point is no longer enough in the current environment.
Therefore, alongside a complete mindset shift, boards and leaders need a capability shift. Success now requires people who can execute and deliver results, not just those who are skilled at presenting ideas at the top.
It’s about looking into the detail, not being afraid to get your hands dirty, and asking the right questions. It’s about being close to the business, rather than staying removed and expecting others to do the work for you. In other words, it’s an entrepreneurial mindset applied to leadership: practical, engaged, and outcomes-focused.
One board chair recently captured it perfectly:
“We know we’re supposed to follow the skills matrix and all that, but I just need practical people. I need people who get things done.”
This is a cross-sector shift in leadership skills that has been underway for a while. For example, the practical leader was discussed in a paper published in Humanistic Management Journal a couple of years ago, Narratives as a Tool for Practically Wise Leadership. The authors discuss how in today’s complex and rapidly changing business environment, traditional leadership styles focused on control and consistency are no longer sufficient.
Leaders must balance ethics with effectiveness, combining rational analysis with situational knowledge, and factual information with emotional awareness. This is where practical wisdom comes in, as the ability to make sound, context-sensitive decisions while guiding others to action.[1]
The lesson is clear: organisations need to identify and nurture these practical leaders. When assessing current leadership or hiring new talent, the focus should be on their ability to deliver real results, not just their ability to talk about them.
This is true across sub-sectors; whether in healthcare organisations, charities, or corporate environments, practical, action-oriented leadership is what drives success.
[1] https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s41463-023-00148-6
Visualising the search
As an executive search firm, we’re asked on a daily basis where to find leaders that are both practical and a strong fit for the organisation and individual role.
When selecting leaders, it’s useful to visualise the outcome you want to celebrate in 12 months’ time.
Ask: what will they have done to make you feel proud?
What impact will their actions have had on your team, employees, shareholders, and customers?
From that vision, work backward to determine the kind of leader required to achieve those goals and turn strategy into tangible results. Then, create the conditions for them to thrive.
But it doesn’t stop at hiring. You also need to recognise the flags within your current team. Who is genuinely optimising and driving growth, and who is contributing to wastage or leakage? Understanding where value is being lost is critical to building an organisation that performs at its best. As mentioned earlier, it’s not that individuals have done anything wrong, it’s about being fit for what’s needed now, not yesterday.
Supporting growth in today’s healthcare and life sciences environment is about actively working to support that agenda. Boards and executives need governance that enables, not constrains; and leaders who act, not just talk. By identifying where value is lost; optimising for growth, and finding outcomes-focused leaders, organisations can turn strategy into tangible results.
If this resonates with you, we’d love to hear your perspective. Contact us at Hunton Executive to see how we can work together to build leadership teams that drive growth.
About Hunton Executive
Hunton Executive partners with healthcare and life sciences organisations to identify, develop, and appoint the next generation of leaders. We have a strong pool of top leadership talent across critical markets including Asia, Middle East, Australia, Europe and the US. Contact us for a confidential chat.