By Dr. Jeremy Holloway

Hospitals are built on missions of healing, compassion, and service. Yet in far too many institutions, that mission gets lost under layers of red tape, outdated procedures, and a culture of fear. The result? A sterile, stagnant environment where morale suffers, turnover increases, and innovation dies on the vine.

If your hospital is struggling to engage its people or earn the trust of its community, here are 5 common — and fixable — culture-killing mistakes you may be making.

 Mistake #1: Making Your Identity About the Rules, Not the Vision

The Pitfall:

Too many hospitals wrap their identity around the rules they keep instead of the vision and mission they serve. When this happens, the culture becomes one of compliance over compassion.

Leaders start viewing staff through the lens of “When will they mess up?” rather than “How can I help them thrive?” The environment becomes reactive — hyper-focused on risk prevention — rather than growth-oriented and human-centered.

What to Do Instead:

✅ Re-center your identity around your mission and vision.
✅ Ask: Does this rule help us serve better? Or does it help us avoid discomfort?
✅ Support managers in shifting from policing behavior to nurturing excellence.
✅ Create space for people to be creative, test new ideas, and learn from failure.

Mistake #2: Confusing Safety with Silence

The Pitfall:

In an effort to maintain professionalism, hospitals often shut down emotional expression. Leaders may say “We’re just following protocol,” but to staff, it feels like there’s no room for humanity.

This punishes proactive behavior — people stop speaking up, stop experimenting, and stop caring deeply. Over time, silence becomes the norm, and fear of “getting it wrong” outweighs any drive to make it better.

What to Do Instead:

✅ Build safe spaces for reflection and feedback.
✅ Treat vulnerability and emotional presence as leadership competencies.
✅ Make it safe to make mistakes — especially when trying something new.
✅ Reward initiative, not just obedience.

Mistake #3: Creating Double Standards in Culture

The Pitfall:

When culture only benefits select groups — whether by position, race, tenure, or favoritism — resentment grows. Rules begin to feel like weapons, not safeguards.

What to Do Instead:

✅ Apply policies consistently across departments and roles.
✅ Build a culture of mutual accountability, regardless of title.
✅ Ensure that belonging is a benefit for everyone, not a reward for some.

Mistake #4: Ignoring Cultural and Social Context

The Pitfall:

Hospitals don’t operate in a vacuum — they sit within dynamic, diverse communities. Failing to align with the social and cultural needs of staff and patients leads to miscommunication, mistrust, and disengagement.

What to Do Instead:

✅ Incorporate culturally responsive training and care delivery.
✅ Listen regularly to both staff and community members.
✅ Evaluate: Is our culture reflecting the community we serve — or resisting it?

Mistake #5: Prioritizing Compliance Over Compassion

The Pitfall:

In a well-intentioned effort to “keep the doors open,” many hospitals make compliance their ultimate goal. But a culture focused solely on avoiding trouble creates a ceiling for growth and a floor for performance.

In this model, employees do the bare minimum — not because they don’t care, but because the system never taught them it was safe to care more.

What to Do Instead:

✅ Reinforce that rules are tools to serve the mission, not the mission itself.
✅ Allow space for questioning: Does this still serve us?
✅ Lead with compassion — and watch compliance follow as a natural result.

Final Thought: The Best Hospitals Are Brave Enough to Lead With Heart

You don’t become the best hospital in your state by tightening every rule. You get there by building a culture that listens, adapts, and deeply aligns with the people it’s meant to serve.

When employees feel safe, seen, and supported, they don’t just perform — they thrive. They bring new ideas. They engage with patients more meaningfully. They become the culture you say you value.

That’s not soft leadership — that’s sustainable leadership.

 Ready to Repair and Rebuild Culture in Your Hospital?

Book Dr. Jeremy Holloway to speak or consult with your leadership team
Learn how Tellegacy’s intergenerational and culturally aligned models improve team morale and care outcomes
Subscribe to The Social Equalizer to transform culture from the inside out

 

unintentionally sacrifice moral with their staff in the name of compliance, not knowing they are not only eating their young; their destroying their hospital’s culture.