Virtua CEO Dennis Pullin Says He Found Benefits in Being ‘Fiercely Authentic’
Virtua President and CEO Dennis Pullin responds to a question during the at the Chamber of Commerce of Southern New Jersey's TD Executive Series at The Legacy Country Club in Cherry Hill, N.J. on Oct. 29. Photo by AC JosepH Media
BY CLYDE HUGHES | AC JosepH Media
CHERRY HILL — When Virtua Health’s CEO Dennis Pullin talks about being “fiercely authentic,” he says he relates it to trusting yourself to be yourself in the corporate settings and with employees.
By allowing himself to be “fiercely authentic,” especially as an African American male in a leadership position, he found people trusted his decision-making as coming from a position of trust, even if they disagreed with him.
Pullin talked about the “fiercely authentic” theme in his new book “Suited for Leadership: How to Show Up with Purpose to Have Lasting Impact.” He delved into the topic more deeply during chat about the book with NJ Sen. Troy Singleton at the Chamber of Commerce of Southern New Jersey’s TD Bank Executive Series at The Legacy Country Club on Oct. 29.
“If you know someone is authentic, that there is truth behind what they say, you’re more inclined to give them grace,” Pullin told the audience at the chamber event.
“You know they may be making the best possible decision, even though you may not agree with it. But if you know they are authentic, you know that they are true, then you’re more inclined to follow them. So, for me, being fearlessly authentic is the ability to show up as your true self,”
Pullin, a native of San Antonio, Texas, runs Virtua Health, an academic health system in New Jersey, where he is an advocate in the quest for health equity, His leadership has earned him national recognition, including one of the Top 25 Minority Executives in Healthcare, one of the Top 25 Innovators in Healthcare, and one of the 100 Most Influential People in Healthcare in the country.
Pullin said while being fiercely authentic doesn’t give a leader a “license to be raw,” or mean, but it does require leaders to “show up” when circumstances require them to and to be fearless.
“I think all of us as leaders have to be willing to be fairly authentic,” Pullin said. “But you sometimes have to have a ‘Come to Jesus’ meeting with yourself and figure out who that true person is. And be willing to embrace that.
“Being a person of color, being a person that felt that there were sometimes more eyes on him and present myself in the most authentic way, because I didn’t know how to be anything else. And for a while, I tried to be what I thought others wanted me to be. I tried to act in a way that I thought others wanted me to act. And it wasn’t until I came to terms with that, I earned the right to believe in my true self, and that’s how I had to show up.”
Pullin’s extensive background includes many executive leadership positions in hospitals, academic medical centers, physician group practices, and private industry. He was vice president of operations and business development at St. Luke’s Episcopal Health System in Houston and vice president of acquisitions and development at Symbion Healthcare, Inc.
Before relocating to New Jersey, Pullin was chair of the American Hospital Association’s Governance Council for Metropolitan Hospitals and a member of the Maryland Hospital Association’s Council on Legislative and Regulatory Policy.
Pullin talked about his humble beginnings growing up in Texas but how his parents gave him the thirst and determination to want more.
“My mother in particular, was a very spiritual,” Pullin said. “When I was in high school, she would pray at night, every night, and she would pray out loud so I could hear her, that I would be better than today.
“She would end her prayer that way. I wasn’t a bad kid. That was her way of trying to inspire me to be better, to be purposeful, to do things that truly matter. When I thought about the book, that became the central thing as a leader and my desire to do better every single day. I’m really fortunate.”
Pullin said as a leader you need both cheerleaders to lift you up and accountability partners to keep you humble. Both help you strike the right balance of staying level headed.
“Most importantly, you need accountability partners who are willing to keep you humble and you respect them enough in your own leadership journey that you take from them,” Pullin said.
“My family does a damn good job. My daughter, if she was here, would tell you that I am the third smartest person in the family. She’s one. Her mom’s two, and there’s only four of us,” Pullin said with a laugh.
“Suited for Leadership” can be found on Amazon at this link.
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