Leading By Example feat. Lori Moler

If there’s one piece of advice Lori Moler shares with her team, it’s this: “Get to know people throughout life because having connections is critical and it will benefit you many times over.”

Coming to Children’s of Alabama

Lori’s path to becoming Children’s of Alabama’s Vice President of Customer Service is filled with instances where her connections helped her along the way. “When I was studying for a marketing degree at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), I had a wise professor, Joe Van Matre, PhD, who pushed me to get a degree in statistics, which launched my career,” she explains.

Down the road, that same professor would connect her with Dr. William Ferniany, now CEO of UAB Health System, who would become both her manager and her mentor. “Will talked me into getting my master’s degree  in health administration. While I was in graduate school, I got a call—which I later found out Will had set up—from Children’s of Alabama, asking me to join the team as  physician relations coordinator.”

That was in 1987. Now, 30 years later, Lori is a leader within Children’s of Alabama, an opportunity that arose as the hospital was experiencing a growth phase. “When we started planning our expansion, our current CEO Mike Warren had just come on board,” Lori shares. “He expressed in very true words: the building alone would not make us successful. We need a good service expert strategist, and I said I was up to the challenge. That’s how I ended up in my current role.”

Life as a Leader at Children’s of Alabama

Though she’s taken to the role with great success, being a leader was not something Lori necessarily planned. “I never said I wanted to be a VP or CEO, but along the way I learned to do more than what is expected, put myself in the right places, get to know people and prove that I work hard and am dependable.”

Lori’s very definition of leadership is to act as an example for others. By being an example, she encourages her team to embrace the same qualities she has shown throughout her career at Children’s.

Because these lessons are brought to life naturally by Lori, she clarifies, “I don’t have set philosophies of good leadership. Instead, I believe you should put yourself in the places you feel like you need to be, and those actions come naturally.”

These subtle acts of leadership are sentiments Lori recognizes both she and Children’s of Alabama share. She quotes Mike Warren when she says, “You will not walk around Children’s of Alabama and find our values and philosophies posted on the wall.” Rather, our leaders pave the way through their actions.

Results of Leadership

At Children’s of Alabama, all of our employees have the opportunity to act as leaders in their roles, not just directors and vice presidents. Lori recognizes this shared scope of leadership as something that’s positive on all fronts: “When everyone displays strong leadership, we create a better organization, empower our people and provide better care.”

Whatever your role, there’s an opportunity to become a leader at Children’s of Alabama. Apply to join our team today and see how our leaders can inspire you!