Author: Jhmeid Billingslea, Executive Director of Surgical Services and Performance
Theodore Roosevelt once said, “People don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care.”
After decades working alongside operating room teams, sterile processing departments, and surgical services leaders, this quote continues to prove itself true across healthcare environments. In the operating room, we dedicate significant time to teaching the how, policies, procedures, checklists, standards, and workflows. The assumption is simple: if teams know the steps, performance will follow. Yet time and again, we see that knowledge alone does not create consistency or reliability.
What truly drives sustained performance in the operating room is purpose.
Research consistently shows that when teams understand why a process matters, they perform it more accurately, retain it longer, and adapt more effectively under pressure. In sterile processing, the “why” is never abstract. It directly impacts patient safety, surgical readiness, and the confidence surgeons have when a tray is opened in the operating room. It influences trust between SPD and OR teams and determines whether standards feel like burdens or professional responsibility.
When OR performance struggles, the root cause is rarely a lack of effort or intelligence. More often, it’s a disconnect. Education is delivered once a year. Policies live in binders instead of workflows. Compliance becomes a focus only when surveyors are expected. As pressure increases, shortcuts appear. When survey time arrives, confidence drops.
That isn’t a people problem, it’s a leadership problem.
Effective leaders in the OR don’t just know the standards; they translate them. They explain why each step exists, connect AAMI language to real-world workflows, and help teams understand what’s at risk when processes break down. When leaders make those connections consistently, the conversation shifts. Teams stop asking, “Do we have to?” and start asking, “Is this the right way?”
As a new year begins, the most successful perioperative and sterile processing leaders aren’t setting resolutions. They’re setting standards, standards reinforced through education that sticks, leadership presence on the floor, and systems that support accountability every day, not just during survey season.
When people care about the work they do in the OR, performance follows, even when no one is watching.
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This article is part of the ongoing leadership discussions featured in The Executive Edge—ASSI’s LinkedIn newsletter for perioperative and sterile processing leaders focused on performance, compliance, and sustainable systems.
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