If you work in health IT, you probably know who John Glaser is. After a very accomplished career, John retired at the end of 2019 but is still very involved in boards, teaching, and writing. He is still making a 
difference in our industry and for that we all should be grateful. And as many retired grandparents are doing during this pandemic, John is sharing childcare duties with his wife for their 18-month-old grandchild.
I was fortunate to work with John for 10 years when I was CIO at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and he was CIO at Partners Healthcare (now known as Mass General Brigham). I can honestly say that John was the best boss I ever had. Many health IT leaders have been mentored by John over the years, been in a class he taught, heard him speak, or read his writing. I feel fortunate to have worked closely with him for those 10 years of my career.
What prompted a post about John Glaser? With the regular podcast listening I do on my daily walks, the Digital Health Leaders Podcast from CHIME is in my rotation. John was recently interviewed on that series by Russ Branzell, CEO of CHIME. There is so much wisdom packed into the 37-minute conversation, it is worthy of CEU credits in my humble opinion.
The most inspiring part of the conversation was when John talked about his life values and leadership models. As he says, we are all going to die someday. So, what do you want to be able to say about your life in your last 30 seconds? For John, it’s the love he and his wife have for each other, providing a blessed life for his three daughters, that he inspired and taught the people he led, and that he left the organizations and industry he was part of better for what he contributed. I can certainly attest to the last two and knowing his family, the first two as well.
John talked about leadership influences on him by describing what he learned from Dr. Richard Nesson who was the president at Brigham and Women’s Hospital when John served there as CIO – this was before the merger with Mass General Hospital and the formation of Partners Healthcare in the mid-90s. He learned that patient care is the foundation for all we do, if you can lead then you must lead almost as an obligation to duty, take risks, learn to manage talent, and realize that you are leading every second of the day. And if someone is important to you then take the time to tell them.
After talking about what the future looks like for healthcare as we move beyond this pandemic, John talked about how transformation takes decades. As he concluded, and I am paraphrasing here – “know what you want out of life, what matters, and be engaged in the marathon to make healthcare better; worthier causes are hard to imagine”.
There is no question that John was and still is an inspiring leader and role model that I am grateful to have worked with, know, and call a friend. With my ongoing commitment to develop the next generation of leaders, I can only hope that I too inspire others. And yes, modelling leadership is something we do every second of the day. John definitely taught me that.
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Bob Goldszer on said:
You certainly picked a good one to be a special mentor and leader. John was kind to all he worked with, especially us who were learning. He had a vision and made it happen. I am thinking one of his early contributions was a “Master Patient Index”. How we move to one chart per patient with all information in a convenient manner. Great memories of planning and implementing improvements in patient care.
Sue Schade on said:
Bob, great perspective from your Brigham experience as well. Been thinking about you in south Florida these days – hope you are doing well!