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How Leaders Lead with David Novak

#282: Peter Wharton-Hood, CEO, LIFE Healthcare Group – Pick team players over individual performers

How Leaders Lead with David Novak

David Novak Leadership

Entrepreneurship, Business, Management

4.8596 Ratings

🗓️ 12 March 2026

⏱️ 68 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Peter Wharton-Hood became CEO of LIFE Healthcare in August 2020 – right in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic – with no healthcare experience. He was an accomplished banking executive, but he had zero context for what it takes to run a hospital. And it was his job to lead 16,000 healthcare workers through a generational crisis. But Peter stepped into the role with a team-first philosophy that’s shaped his whole career. His people are his priority. He puts the team’s best interest before his own, and he isn’t afraid to cut a top performer if they aren’t a team player. This episode will help you think differently about what really matters when building a team, and it’ll give you the courage to make the hard calls that great team culture requires. You’ll also learn: The most important factor when making a career move (most people miss it) A fun exercise you can use to bring your team into the vision and strategy process How to have a tough personnel conversation Why you may NOT want to be a tech trailblazer Take your learning further. Get proven leadership advice from these (free!) resources: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The How Leaders Lead App⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠: A vast library of 90-second leadership lessons to stay sharp on the go  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Daily Insight Emails⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠: One small (but powerful!) leadership principle to focus on each day Whichever you choose, you can be sure you’ll get the trusted leadership advice you need to advance your career, develop your team, and grow your business.

Transcript

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0:00.0

Hello, friends, and welcome to another edition of How Leaders Lead with David Noback.

0:05.0

Today we have Peter Warden Hood on the show. Peter is the CEO of Life Healthcare, and he took over

0:10.3

in August of 2020, right in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, Peter was an accomplished

0:16.2

banking executive, but he had no health care experience and zero context for what it took to run a hospital.

0:22.4

Yet it was his job to lead 16,000 healthcare workers through this generational crisis.

0:28.0

Peter stepped into that role with a team first philosophy, and that really has shaped his

0:32.9

entire career. In this episode, you'll learn how to think differently about what really matters when

0:37.9

building a team. And you'll gain from Peter the courage to make hard calls that great team

0:42.8

culture requires. Enjoy this episode with David and Peter, and I'll see you at the end of the

0:48.2

episode for the debrief.

0:59.8

It's great to have a conversation with one of the happiest guys I know.

1:02.2

I mean, you've always got a smile on your face.

1:04.1

What makes you so happy?

1:07.4

What an interesting way of starting a conversation.

1:10.6

I think it's the way that I was raised by my mother. I think in the context

1:13.0

of how you wake up, each day is a gift. And if you're positive in the way you approach

1:19.0

the day, lots of people are positive around you. And I think that that just feeds on itself.

1:23.1

So not mindlessly positive, I just, yes, I'm a happy guy.

1:29.0

You are, you are happy guy.

1:34.0

Is there anything you do to get yourself into that frame of mind before you go to work?

1:37.6

No, I think it's just been years of repeating the same practice,

1:41.8

of surrounding myself with people that are really careful, that care for me,

...

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