Becker’s Healthcare Podcast — Episode Summary

Guest: Cory Geffre, EVP of Hospital Operations & Chief Nursing Officer, Altru Health System
Host: Scott Becker
Date: October 31, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode spotlights Cory Geffre, a hospital operations executive and author, discussing his experiences in healthcare leadership, the core framework from his book "Lead Your People," and the pressing workforce pipeline issues facing American healthcare systems. The conversation blends Cory’s personal leadership philosophy with practical advice for emerging leaders, culminating in reflections on talent development, self-awareness, and industry challenges.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Cory Geffre’s Background and Book

• Introduction: Cory is introduced as an executive from Altru Health System in Grand Forks, ND and author of "Lead Your People".
• Location Context: Altru Health is near the Canadian border, often experiencing “occasional” cold winters.
• On Writing ‘Lead Your People’: Cory turned hundreds of “doodles” and sticky-note lessons into a book to help other leaders (04:03).
  • Quote:

    "Maybe I want to spend a little bit of time feeling sorry for myself, I'll just write down, like, what did I learn today?...I realized that I started to develop hundreds of those." — Cory Geffre [04:09]

The Five-Part Framework for Leadership

[01:56–03:23]
Cory shares the core pillars outlined in his book — a robust, memorable framework for healthcare leadership:

1. Developing People:
   • “That should be the first thing that you're really focused on doing."
2. Managing Performance:
   • Ensures employees are supported and guided toward improvement.
3. Building Teams:
   • Focused on dynamic, engaged, diverse group dynamics.
4. Improving Operations:
   • “Sometimes we spend too much focus too early [on this]. How do we make the work better?”
5. Achieving Results:
   • “If you want to keep your job and don’t want to have to be constantly updating your resume...you have to find a way to achieve results with your team.”

Timestamped Quote Recap:

"Developing people, number one. Number two is managing performance. Number three is building teams. The fourth one is improving operations. And the fifth one is achieving results." — Cory Geffre [03:23]

Motivation to Publish

[04:03–05:05]

• The book began as a personal project: Cory tracked daily leadership lessons, eventually recognizing collective value in sharing with others.
• The COVID-19 pandemic postponed the book’s completion, but reignited determination:

  "2020 was the year that I was going to publish the leadership book. And being a healthcare executive, 2020 definitely changed the course of my priorities..." — Cory Geffre [04:33]

Current Leadership Focus: The Workforce Pipeline

[05:36–07:12]

• Cory is deeply committed to “increasing the size of the workforce pipeline,” moving beyond a “race to the bottom of sign-on bonuses.”
• Emphasizes academic partnerships and hybrid apprenticeships — “bringing it back into the hospital with academic partners.”

  "We have to accelerate the rate of innovation around education, which means we may have to challenge some academic mindsets and academic arrogances..." — Cory Geffre [06:08]

• The vision is to make healthcare “awesome again” and lower “the high threshold to entry.”

Host Reaction:

"If they've got enough capacity, then you could spend the time, the momentum and people aren’t so burnt out..." — Scott Becker [07:12]

Advice for Emerging Leaders

[07:49–10:57]
Cory breaks down actionable advice for new leaders:

• Continuous Self-Improvement:
  “Always work on becoming a better version of yourself...None of us are as good as we can be and we likely never reach our maximum potential. But that doesn't mean that we shouldn't try.”

• Painful Self-Awareness:
  "Developing a painful level of self awareness...This means understanding your dark side of the moon...what triggers [negative reactions] and how you can work through them."

  • Cory tells new teams explicitly what he’s working on:

    “I actually have a list that I share with my new leaders to say, hey, here are things about myself that I need to get better at. But until I get better at them, I want you to know about these blocks.” — Cory Geffre [09:20]

• Taking a ‘Public Opinion Bath’:

  • Inspired by Abraham Lincoln, Cory advises leaders to seek direct feedback following difficult decisions:

    "Please do not hide in your executive suite, don't hide in your office, don't make a large announcement and then take the next week [on] PTO...”

  • Be visible and open to course-correction.

• Mentoring a Replacement:

  • Leaders should immediately “start looking for and mentoring your replacement...We are not developing healthcare leaders at a fast enough rate to keep up with what we need..."

Lighthearted Localism & Personal Roots

[10:57–12:37]

• Cory shares his Midwest roots (Aberdeen, SD; Ames, IA; Grand Forks, ND), as well as a stint in Texas.
• Playful regional debate:
  • Q: “Who is the greatest wrestler ever to come out [of your region]?” — Scott
  • A: “Brock Lesnar.” — Cory [11:40]
  • Scott jokes he was expecting Dan Gable, not Brock Lesnar, and the two share a laugh.

Notable Quotes

• On Leadership’s Role:

  "Leadership is the highest calling that you can get as a human being to have the opportunity to lead others." — Cory Geffre [01:59]

• On Workforce Development:

  "We want to make working in health care awesome again and something that you can do without a high threshold to entry..." — Cory Geffre [06:28]

• On Transparency in Leadership:

  "It's important that you talk about that...long term it's liberating for them to know that when they see one of these flashes that I'm working on it and that it, you know, doesn't define our relationship." — Cory Geffre [09:37]

Segment Timestamps for Key Content

• [00:45] — Cory Geffre introduction, Altru Health, “Lead Your People” book
• [01:56] — 5-part leadership framework explained
• [03:23] — Framework recapped for note-takers
• [04:03] — Why and how Cory wrote the book
• [05:36] — Current priorities: workforce pipeline, academic partnerships
• [07:49] — Concrete advice for emerging healthcare leaders
• [10:57] — Cory’s roots and a local wrestling legend debate
• [12:37] — Closing remarks

Tone & Closing

The exchange is candid, warm, and energizing, reflecting both Midwestern camaraderie and a tough-love, practical approach to healthcare leadership. Cory’s humility—admitting his ongoing struggles and inviting feedback—is matched by his urgency about workforce issues and leader development.

Final Words:
Scott concludes by enthusiastically congratulating Cory on his book and thanking him for sharing both insights and Midwest humor with listeners.