As workforce challenges persist, the healthcare industry continues to grow, creating great opportunities for leaders with non-clinical backgrounds.
getty
Approximately 40% of new jobs added from July 2023 to July 2025 (1.35 million total) were in the health care industry or social assistance, according to an August 2025 Recruitment Lab analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics data. This rapid expansion comes as 58% of health system executives anticipate workforce challenges such as talent shortages and attrition in 2025, as revealed in Deloitte's 2025 U.S. Healthcare Outlook Report.
This growth amidst ongoing staffing concerns creates ripe opportunities for leadership talent from outside the industry, especially when only 23% of frontline clinicians trust current leaders to do the right thing. This lack of trust opens the door to new perspectives and clinician- and patient-centered approaches. Here are five leadership competencies that position non-clinical professionals as strong candidates to enter the medical field.
Scalable governance and operational leadership
Deloitte's report recommends centralizing governance and operating structures to address workforce challenges and strengthen organizational health in the healthcare industry. Executing this vision will require leaders with complex systems-level experience – leaders who have led operations centers, managed supply chains, and optimized workflows across the enterprise.
If you're considering entering the healthcare industry, audit your experience for leadership skills that demonstrate your ability to measurably improve the governance and operations of complex organizations, work cross-functionally, and optimize processes in real-time.
Human resource development skills that promote retention
At a time when many are looking to enter the healthcare industry, the 2025 Harris Poll, which surveyed more than 1,500 frontline healthcare workers, found that 55% of healthcare workers are looking for, interviewing for, or planning to change jobs in 2026. With this expected workforce reduction, healthcare leaders must find ways to fill talent pipelines and implement retention strategies immediately. The opportunities here are huge, given the low confidence in the current leadership.
Leaders with experience in starting, leading, and scaling employee engagement initiatives, wellness programs, and upskilling training are particularly well-positioned to enter healthcare leadership roles. Improving employee career development and retention is equally worth highlighting. For example, leaders who successfully conducted accommodation interviews, created transparent promotion paths, or reduced turnover by double digits in their previous jobs can directly apply these strategies to the healthcare industry's retention crisis.
Customer experience design centered on equitable access
Healthcare organizations continue to struggle with gaps in accessibility and equity. Deloitte actuaries estimate that health inequalities will account for approximately $320 billion in annual health spending by 2022. If left unchecked, the cost is expected to rise to more than $1 trillion by 2040. However, only 23% of healthcare executives cite health equity as a priority for 2025, according to Deloitte's 2025 US Health Care Outlook Report.
Having specific customer experience and equity skills, such as expertise in working with diverse populations, leading customer and user experience initiatives, and designing accessible services, translates directly to the current needs of the healthcare industry.
Digital transformation leadership to accelerate modernization
In general, the healthcare industry tends to be slow to adopt new technology. As electronic health records evolve and clinicians increasingly leverage artificial intelligence, healthcare leaders need to more effectively integrate internal systems and technology platforms.
To stand out, highlight your past accomplishments leading change management efforts in technology implementation, systems integration, and digital transformation, especially involving diverse stakeholders. Whether you have overseen or executed enterprise resource planning (ERP) implementations, cloud migrations, or digital workflow redesigns, these experiences directly address the challenges of healthcare modernization.
Cybersecurity expertise to protect your sensitive data
According to a report by John Riggi, National Advisor on Cybersecurity and Risk for the American Hospital Association, 259 million American medical records will be stolen by cyberattacks in 2024, up from 138 million in 2023. Healthcare organizations manage vast amounts of HIPAA-protected data, making cybersecurity expertise critical.
Expertise in protecting sensitive information, managing or integrating data systems, ensuring privacy compliance, or addressing regulatory requirements directly relates to one of healthcare's most pressing vulnerabilities. Skills in managing multiple data collection and storage systems are especially valuable.
Position yourself strategically to enter the healthcare industry
The healthcare workforce crisis goes beyond hiring clinical staff, and requires building a leadership infrastructure to support, retain, and empower frontline clinicians and employees. External leaders who position themselves as liaisons between frontline staff and executives can bridge the trust gap and provide operational expertise that improves the industry as a whole. Rapid job growth in the healthcare industry over the past two years indicates continued expansion, and the changes needed to address persistent challenges will require leaders with fresh perspectives and proven skills from a variety of disciplines.
