Nearly 40% of new jobs added from July 2023 to July 2025—totaling 1.35 million positions—were in the healthcare industry or social assistance, according to August 2025 Hiring Lab analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics data. This rapid expansion occurs at a time when 58% of health system executives anticipate workforce challenges like talent shortages and attrition in 2025, as revealed by Deloitte’s “2025 US Health Care Outlook Report.”
This growth amid ongoing staffing concerns creates ripe opportunities for leadership talent from outside the industry—especially when only 23% of frontline clinicians trust their current leaders to do right by them. Here are five leadership capabilities that position non-clinical professionals as strong candidates for breaking into healthcare.
Governance And Operations Leadership That Scales
Deloitte’s report recommends centralizing governance and operations structures to address workforce challenges and strengthen organizational health in the healthcare industry. Leaders with complex systems-level experience—those who’ve led operations centers, managed supply chains or optimized enterprise-wide workflows—are essential to executing this vision.
If you’re looking to break into the healthcare industry, audit your experience for leadership skills demonstrating you can measurably improve governance and operations of complex organizations, work cross-functionally and optimize processes in real time.
Workforce Development Skills That Drive Retention
At the same time that many are looking to break into healthcare, a 2025 Harris Poll surveying over 1,500 frontline healthcare employees found that 55% of healthcare workers plan to search for, interview for or switch jobs in 2026. Given the current weak trust in leadership, the opportunity here is substantial.
Leaders with experience in starting, leading or scaling employee engagement initiatives, wellness programs and upskilling training are particularly well-positioned to break into healthcare leadership roles. Improvements in employee career development and retention are equally valuable to emphasize. For instance, leaders who’ve successfully implemented stay interviews, created transparent promotion pathways or reduced turnover by double digits in previous roles can directly apply these strategies to healthcare’s retention crisis.
Customer Experience Design That Centers Equitable Access
Healthcare organizations continue to struggle with accessibility and equity gaps. Actuaries at Deloitte estimate that health inequities account for approximately $320 billion in annual healthcare spending as of 2022. They expect that cost to balloon to $1 trillion or more by 2040, if left unaddressed. Yet only 23% of healthcare executives cite health equity as a 2025 priority, according to Deloitte’s “2025 US Health Care Outlook Report.”
Having concrete skills in customer experience and equity to cite—like expertise working with diverse populations, leading customer or user experience initiatives or designing accessible services—can translate directly to the healthcare industry’s current needs.
Digital Transformation Leadership That Accelerates Modernization
In general, the healthcare industry tends to lag behind in adopting new technologies. As electronic health records evolve and clinicians increasingly leverage artificial intelligence, healthcare leaders must unify internal systems and tech platforms more effectively.
To stand out, emphasize your past work leading change management efforts in tech adoption, system integration or digital transformation—particularly involving diverse stakeholders. Whether you’ve overseen or executed enterprise resource planning (ERP) implementations, cloud migrations or digital workflow redesigns, these experiences directly map onto healthcare’s modernization challenges.
Cybersecurity Expertise That Protects Highly Sensitive Data
In 2024, 259 million Americans’ healthcare records were stolen through cyber attacks, up significantly from 138 million in 2023, as reported by John Riggi, the American Hospital Association’s National Advisor for Cybersecurity and Risk. Healthcare organizations manage vast amounts of HIPAA-protected data, making cybersecurity expertise crucial.
Expertise in safeguarding confidential information, managing or integrating data systems, ensuring privacy compliance or navigating regulatory requirements speaks directly to one of healthcare’s most urgent vulnerabilities. Skills in managing multiple data collection and storage systems are particularly valuable.
Position Yourself Strategically To Break Into The Healthcare Industry
The healthcare workforce crisis extends beyond hiring clinical staff—it requires building leadership infrastructure to support, retain and empower frontline clinicians and workers. Outside leaders who position themselves as bridges between frontline staff and executive leadership can close the trust gap and deliver operational expertise that elevates the entire industry. The healthcare industry’s rapid job growth over the past two years signals continued expansion, and the transformation needed to address persistent challenges will require leaders with fresh perspectives and proven skills from diverse sectors.