Meet a Leader: CEO & Principal Bob Bailey
Healthcare IT Leaders was founded on the “Be a Leader” mentality. This catchphrase was coined by our commander-in-chief, Bob Bailey. It’s a rallying cry that guides everything we do. We call everyone in our company to be leaders and show up every day, ready to do their best for others.
Every leader has a backstory. A path of hard lessons and earned wisdom that's transformed who they are today. Before his role as CEO and Principal of Healthcare IT Leaders, before his college days as a Georgia Bulldog, Bob Bailey was a paperboy growing up in Haskell, NJ, in the 1970s. From the start, leadership was in his DNA, passed down by the two most influential figures in Bob’s life–his parents.
His father, a “true hustler” as Bob calls him, owned a local paving company, where Bob often worked alongside his brothers during high school. (The business, Haskell Paving, is still family-owned and operated.) His mother was the captain of a tight ship on the homefront while raising the kids. In the Bailey family, you lived by the creed: Do what needs to be done, and do it right.
“They’d make us put the laundry away, mow the lawn, and clean the garage before leaving the house with friends. I’d ask why, which was countered with “because I said so,” Bob laughed, “They always had a deep motivation and work ethic, and it’s stuck with me for over 50 years.”
Bob’s journey from running his first paper route, to working summers on the paving crew, to leading a growing consulting firm is colored with experiences that have shaped his leadership style today:
- Hoping to avoid rough and tumble with his older brothers, he practiced collaboration and learned to resolve disagreements with civility and logic.
- His first football coach taught his players to consistently “walk the walk” and show up for practice drills as they would the game.
- As a varsity basketball player, he learned never to underestimate the competition after a crushing defeat by the girl’s team in a scrimmage blow-out.
- He won “Most Athletic” and “Most Likely to be Successful” awards in high school by taking time to carefully listen and consider others’ opinions before making a decision.
Listen to Bob describe how leaders must take the next step with their innate abilities and acquired skills:
Above all, he cites patience as a critical virtue of leadership that’s allowed him to take risks and trust his team. As a result, his future goals for Healthcare IT Leaders aren’t based just on numbers and figures. In 2022, Bob aims to continue building the next generation of leaders by making sure his staff feels safe to explore, challenge themselves, and grow.
Just for fun…
Get to know Bob Bailey outside the office:
- First Concert: Bruce Springsteen at the Meadowlands in 1978
- Favorite Hobby: Bass Fishing
- Favorite Show: The Sopranos
- Favorite Meal: Grouper Capris
- Hidden Talent: Unicycling