The 7 Deadly Sins of Hiring Top Healthcare Managers in GCC
Table of Content
by Dr. Mohammad Shehab (aka: the guy who’s seen this movie a couple of times before)
Let’s talk about one of the most expensive hobbies in #healthcare_businesses today: #hiring #hospitals_top_managers the wrong way.
No really, it’s a thrilling game. You roll the dice, skip the due diligence, fall for the buzzwords, and congrats.. you’ve got yourself a senior manager who costs you more in damage control than a year’s worth of audits.
Here are the 7 Deadly Sins (and yes, they’re repeated religiously across GCC).
1- Hiring Based on “Vibes”
Because, who needs qualifications and a proven track record ? overrated !
All it takes is to “just feel” he’s leadership material, right?
I mean, as long as he nods empathetically and uses phrases like “synergize the operational ecosystem,” “agile mindset”, “Digitalization and automation” he’s obviously the one.
And what if he says “restructuring playbook” with a smile ?
Dudes, just sign him up.
No questions asked. No references called. Just pure gut feeling … or as we say back home: الراجل ده لقطة حط ايده عالوجع وشخص المشكلة في ثواني وهيساعدنا نحقق ف اسابيع اللي مقدرناش نحققه ف شهور
Hazem Abbas2- Confusing, Confidence with Competence:
Ah yes, the classic.
He walks into everywhere -even bathrooms- like he owns the building, chest out, PowerPoint in hand, and dazzles you with strategic diagrams stolen from Google And starts his first week with a handful of policies you can find in any forum (sometimes he/she even forgets to edit)
He nods when it comes to the moment saying “ #operational_alignment with #strategic_goals and ensuring #customer_centric approach” like he’s decoding the secrets of the universe.
The truth? He can’t even align a printer with Wi-Fi.
But, because he speaks fast and wears cufflinks, everyone claps like he just cured healthcare.
He confidently misuses terms like #EBITDA and #Six_Sigma .. but says it with a straight face, so it must be real.
Spoiler: it’s not!
Hazem Abbas3- Ignoring Staff Warnings
Oh, the classics again!
When your frontline team quietly hints that “this guy doesn’t seem to know what he’s doing!”
what do you do? you’re already planning his welcome party!
You definitely put him on an even higher pedestal.
“He’s from abroad,” you say. “Let’s give him a chance.”
Because clearly, your staff just doesn’t “see the bigger picture” like you do.
And you think to yourself “All great men were fought at their beginnings before they have created history..he is more of a Savior profit and now the staff are the disbelievers”
Later, when the only thing he led is a mass staff resignation, proudly ghosted half the team and alienated the rest, you’ll remember that nurse who muttered, “We’ve seen his type before…”
And the supervisor who whispered to you in worry
“Uhh… boss, something’s off about this guy.”
Hazem Abbas4- Skipping the Reference Check (The Parachute Candidate Trap)
This one deserves its own Netflix documentary.
Some guy drops out of the sky into the country claiming to have “turned around failing hospitals in the USA, KSA, PSA, VSA and Europe.” Anywhere but the country you’re operating in!
He holds PhDs that are more mysterious than Area 51.
Is anyone asks for references?
He says, “They’ve all moved on.”
If asked for proof?
He replies with, “It’s confidential.”
Shall You ask Google?
Google says: “Who?”
But he aced the interview because he threw in enough jargon to sound like he wrote the Harvard Business Review himself.
He sound impressive! You nod. You’re sold.
No credentials. No trace.
Nothing, “عمّو” !
Just a parachute candidate with a recycled suit and an accent that screams,
“Trust me, I’ve done this before.”
Except… he hasn’t.
Not once. Not anywhere.
But, references are for amateurs, right?
Who needs to verify past performance when we have LinkedIn bios and imported charisma?
And of-course anyone from your team don’t find him even charismatic as they are just jealous of his aura !
Three months later, you realize you hired a professional scam artist who couldn’t run a shawerma kaosk, let alone a healthcare facility.
But hey, at least he wore a tie, the style that still exists only in your grandpa’s wedding photos.
5- Getting Blinded by a Fancy CV
The formatting is on point. The titles are impressive.
He’s “transformed organizations,” “built cultures of excellence,” and “disrupted markets.” in at least 3 countries, speaks 2.5 languages, and claims to have “transformed underperforming facilities into centers of excellence.”
But did anyone ask how?
Or we just got dazzled by Helvetica fonts and perfectly aligned bullet points?
And did anyone ask what those words actually mean?
Or are we just hypnotized by bold fonts and clean margins?
6- Mistaking Aggression for Leadership:
Because nothing says “executive presence” like storming into meetings, “shsh ing” everyone, firing people by email & giving dramatic speeches about “zero tolerance for mediocrity.”
We keep hiring these “fake alpha”types thinking they’ll “shake things up.”
They do. But what gets shaken is morale, reputation, and your monthly patient complaints.
Translation?
He’s about to fire your best people and push the top contributors to resign with dignity, then replace them with a bunch of yes-men.
Meanwhile, your team’s morale is falling faster than your patient satisfaction scores.
7- Thinking a New Manager Fixes Everything:
Got problems?
Do not take time to make sure if you have been following a solid strategy, supported it enough, authorized your current managers well and didn’t interrupt them daily like bored retired husbands interrupt their wives in the kitchen,
do not count how many warning reports were submitted to you with recommended corrective actions for your decision or budget approval; and you just responded your familiar “let’s study this more”
Just ignore the current manager and “Let’s just bring someone from outside — he’ll fix everything magically”
…then congrats, you’ve just bought yourself six months of chaos, culture shock, and possibly a legal issue.
Because nothing solves deep-rooted issues like hiring a stranger to guess their way through your chaos.
And when it fails? Just repeat the cycle.
“We need a change,” they say.
What you really need is strategy, not musical chairs with executive titles.
Management is not a plug-and-play situation. Especially not with someone who thinks “market adaptation” means adjusting the thermostat.
Final Thoughts (a.k.a. the bitter after taste part where you realize that you spit in your own plate)
Hiring top managers is not about finding the flashiest speaker or the guy who makes you feel “international.”
It’s about getting the right voice .. grounded, accountable, who actually gets the work done and not allergic to actual work.
Until we stop hiring based on charisma, Photoshop CVs, and conference clichés ; we’ll keep paying the price. In resignations, reputation, and sometimes… in riyals.
So next time a guy walks in saying he “consulted for the Mayo Clinic and was about to consult for August clinic also but lost all his documentation”…
Or lists “AI-driven hospital turnaround facilitator” on his LinkedIn but can’t name one working policy he implemented
Just smile, thank him for his time, and call three people who actually worked with him.
Or don’t.
It’s your center.
Your budget.
Your team.
Your headache.
And soon to be your loss.
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Hazem Abbas
