Psychosocial storytelling in the C-suite: A leadership imperative

Hospital executives often ask their teams for dashboards, KPIs and cost-savings reports. What is needed most, however, is context: The story behind the numbers. When teams connect financials, operational realities and human impact, they provide the foundation health leaders need to make better decisions. This is the essence of psychosocial storytelling — aligning facts with context to inform leadership choices.

Why it matters for leadership

C-suite leaders today face unprecedented pressures: narrow operating margins, workforce shortages and shifting care delivery models. Vizient data shows that non-labor expenses account for nearly 25% of total healthcare spending. At the same time, the American Hospital Association’s 2025 report, The Cost of Caring, highlights that, while hospital expense growth has slowed somewhat, it remains elevated, particularly due to persistent supply chain pressures.

In this environment, leaders can’t afford communication that is fragmented or transactional. They need narratives that connect metrics to mission and data to decisions.

What the C-suite should ask from teams

The most effective executive team dialogue happens when leaders explicitly ask for more than just numbers. Hospital executives can guide their teams by asking questions such as:

• How do these results connect to our strategic goals?
• What are the operational and human impacts if we act or fail to act?
• What institutional knowledge shaped these insights, and how was it validated?
• How do you recommend we prioritize competing initiatives?
• If you were explaining this issue to the board or to the community, what story would you tell?
• Who is most impacted by this outcome, and what matters most to them?
• Where do we see opportunities to create alignment across departments and stakeholders?
• Overall, and most importantly, how does this change the way we care for patients?

Executive engagement triangle

The executive engagement triangle illustrates how leaders can guide more effective communication. Each point of the triangle represents an essential element that creates balanced executive dialogue:

• Message clarity: Precision in facts and communication ensures leaders receive accurate, concise information.
• Psychosocial awareness: Recognition of human, cultural and institutional context gives meaning to data by showing how it impacts people and culture.
• Strategic alignment: Clear linkage to organizational goals frames the communication within the priorities of the health system and its mission.

When all three points are present, leaders are equipped with the detail and perspective required for sound decision-making.

C-suite storytelling continuum

The C-suite storytelling continuum demonstrates the balance needed between pure data and compelling narrative:

• At one end lies data-heavy reporting: precise, factual, but incomplete in its ability to inspire or motivate action.
• At the opposite end lies story-driven narrative: persuasive and human-centered, but at times lacking grounding in evidence.
• The optimal zone for executive decision-making lies in the center of the continuum, where strategic alignment anchors stories in reliable data, while psychosocial context connects the facts to meaning and purpose.

By operating in this middle space, executives gain information that is both trustworthy and motivating, supporting choices that are credible and compelling.

Leadership call to action

C-suite executives set the tone for communication. By asking for context — not just metrics — they build a culture where teams connect financials to mission and operations to outcomes. In doing so, they empower better decisions, strengthen organizational trust and ensure that every C-suite conversation reflects both precision and purpose.