Cleveland Clinic's Leadership Question: Who's Next?

Cleveland Clinic has produced an unusual number of healthcare executives, and its senior leaders say that is by design. According to Becker's Hospital Review, Tommaso Falcone, MD, executive vice president and president of international and emerging markets, argues the reason is less about culture than about specific institutional practices that begin early in a leader's tenure.

Central to that approach is a question CEO Tom Mihaljevic, MD, poses to leaders about their teams: are you developing the people who could take your place? The framing treats succession planning not as an afterthought but as a core measure of a leader's effectiveness. Leaders are expected to build bench strength continuously, not scramble when a role opens.

For health systems facing executive turnover and a tight leadership market, the lesson is practical. Talent pipelines are built through deliberate, repeated practices rather than assumed to emerge from a strong culture. Systems that formalize succession expectations early tend to fill senior roles from within and export leaders to the broader industry.