John Martins of Cross Country Healthcare: Five Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Became A CEO

An Interview With Doug Noll

First, demonstrate compassion. Always have a mindset of compassion and humility. For me, it’s always top of mind and it’s important to actively practice it, and it needs to become second nature, particularly in the industry of healthcare.

As a part of our series called ‘Five Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Became A CEO’ we had the pleasure of interviewing John Martins, CEO of Cross Country Healthcare.

John A. Martins is the President and CEO of Cross Country Healthcare and sits on the Company’s board of directors. His 20 years of healthcare leadership experience has played an instrumental part in defining the Company’s long-term strategic direction. His digital-first approach and extensive technology background are instrumental in leading and evolving Cross Country’s digital transformation, enhancing the firm’s ability to offer clients the advice, insights, and tech-enabled products and services to meet and exceed any labor or talent acquisition challenges and offering healthcare, education and home care professionals rewarding career opportunities. Martins has held senior leadership positions with several of the nation’s largest healthcare staffing providers.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?

I started my career as a software developer at UPS in New Jersey. After that, I began manufacturing women’s apparel in the Garment District in New York City and opened offices in New Delhi. I got to travel the world for about six years, visiting different countries every six to eight weeks. After a time in the apparel industry, I opened laundromats, dry cleaners and internet cafes in New York City.

In 2004, my wife was working for Sony Electronics Group and had an opportunity to move to San Diego when they relocated her division there. I sold my businesses, and we relocated to San Diego.

When we arrived in California, I sold my business and wondered where I should go next in my career after being a software developer, a business owner, and an entrepreneur. My parents both worked in healthcare — my father was a doctor, and my mother was a nurse — and I asked them for career advice. My dad is the one who suggested I consider taking my skills into the healthcare field.

Shortly after that, I had the good fortune of meeting a gentleman who had a travel nurse company, and he explained to me what a travel nurse was. It was confusing to me at first — you have these nurses, and they work for 13 weeks in different states; you take them from parts of the country where there’s a surplus, and move them to other parts of the country where there’s a deficit?

It clicked for me when I remembered how my parents met. My mom graduated from nursing school in 1944 and then worked at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in New York City. In the early 1950s, she and her friend got an opportunity to go to work for the National Oil Company of Saudi Arabia, because there was a shortage of locally available nurses there. They were kind of like the first travel nurses. My father was a physician from India who was doing the same thing, and they met in Saudi Arabia.

By coincidence then, or maybe destiny, in 2005 I started my own career in the travel nursing industry.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company?

There have been many interesting things that have happened since I began leading Cross Country, but the one I’m proudest of is our first ever Investor Day. Despite the company’s 36-year history, and over 20 years of being publicly traded, this didn’t occur until September of 2022. It was an exciting event where we got to publicly introduce new technologies that we created to help transform not only Cross Country, but our industry. One of those technologies is our proprietary vendor management system, Intellify, which connects clients and healthcare professionals faster than ever before to ensure quality and continuity, even in challenging circumstances. It also gives clinicians the ability to self-submit and go from job to job throughout the country in a seamless fashion.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

This goes back not to when I started here as CEO, but to being a new leader. I was taking a trip to a newly opened office in Central America, in hopes of getting employees there to dress more professionally. Essentially, we were going down to make sure they wore khaki pants and dress shirts.

I laid out all my clothes to make sure everything was ready: my polo shirts, dress shirts, all my other clothes. I hung the pants I was bringing down on the back of my bedroom door, planning to pack them last, so they didn’t wrinkle.

All of a sudden, I get a phone call. I open my bedroom door, go downstairs, deal with my phone call. I come back up and finish packing, forgetting my pants behind the door. Then I left for Costa Rica on this mission to show people how to dress, and I had no pants. I only had the pants I wore to travel and a bunch of short pants.

I ended up being in jeans and short pants for the two weeks I was there. But, you know what, when life gives you lemons, you make lemonade. I showed people what not to wear to work.

The other life lesson there was, when you make mistakes, it’s okay to own up to it in front of your people and say, “Look, I made a mistake and now I’m wearing shorts.” It’s how we ended up having casual Fridays.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you were grateful towards who helped you get to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

I think in everyone’s career, it’s always hard to point to one person that helps you because as you move through your career, you have different mentors that help you out.

For me, the one person that I’m most grateful for is Kevin Clark, who is the co-founder of Cross Country, and current chairman of the board. The first time I met him was in 2007. I was working at a travel nurse company in California, my mother was just diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and my father with stage one cancer. I was going to move back — I decided it was time to leave California and move back to the east coast.

I was looking for an organization to work for, and I met up with Kevin Clark, who at the time was CEO of Onward Healthcare in Wilton, Connecticut. I went to work for him and a couple of years later, I became president of Onward Healthcare. We had a very successful working partnership, and eventually sold the Onward Healthcare companies to AMN Healthcare.

Kevin always taught me that it’s always about our people. People are always the most important part of any organization. The other thing he taught me was to always do the right thing, no matter what the cost. It’s always the most important to do — the right thing.

Finally, Kevin instilled in me to always have a sense of urgency. I always thought I moved fast and worked very quickly. But he always said, “John, on your desk, write, ‘have a sense of urgency.’” I did it. I had it pinned on my desk for years.

If we don’t have a sense of urgency, our competitors will. To truly stay ahead of everyone in our industry, we have to sustain that sense of urgency.

To this day, I have that sense of urgency. Sometimes even with my family, for example, at Disneyland, we get up at 5:30 in the morning to make sure we are able to get on every ride!

As you know, the United States is currently facing a very important self-reckoning about race, diversity, equality and inclusion. This may be obvious to you, but it will be helpful to spell this out. Can you articulate to our readers a few reasons why it is so important for a business or organization to have a diverse executive team?

Diverse leadership within an organization is critical in bringing a wealth of knowledge and different perspectives to both internal team members and our clients. Having different perspectives from people with different backgrounds creates a stronger team and leads to a more innovative organization.

As a business leader, can you please share a few steps we must take to truly create an inclusive, representative and equitable society? Kindly share a story or example for each.

First, demonstrate compassion. Always have a mindset of compassion and humility. For me, it’s always top of mind and it’s important to actively practice it, and it needs to become second nature, particularly in the industry of healthcare.

Second, be empathetic. This is probably one of most important things to me. It is important to recognize challenges that others face, and to be able to put oneself in another person’s shoes. That is how you develop compassion.

Third, create trust and transparency. It’s the foundation. We can’t shy away from tough discussions or the hard issues. We need to respect each other’s differences and opinions to create an open environment.

Number four is never be satisfied. Think big and boldly and you have to believe that it’s important to challenge the status quo. Don’t settle for mediocre. There’s always room for continuous improvement and to always be thinking of how we can innovate and challenge and change past norms.

Finally, you have to walk the talk. You have to be a role model and make sure that the organization is a role model and reflects the efforts of what we’re talking about.

At Cross Country, we ensure that our organization mirrors what society looks like. In terms of diversity, 42% of our employees are minorities and 78% are females. But we’ve also created platforms to ensure that our employees have environments where they can talk openly about key issues. For example, last year, we launched Employee Resources Groups that included Cross Country Parents, LGBTQIA+ and their allies, and Cross Country Dream. In addition, we also have Cross Country Impact, which is our diversity, equity and inclusion group.

But it goes beyond that, because at Cross Country, we are committed to and truly proud of the diverse culture we’ve created by offering optimal work environments, leading to best-in-class employee satisfaction.

Most of our readers, in fact, most people think they have a pretty good idea of what a CEO or executive does. But in just a few words, can you explain what an executive does that is different from the responsibilities of the other leaders?

Being the CEO of a publicly traded company is probably more complex than I had imagined. You have a responsibility to your shareholders, the board of directors, and of course your team members, and you have to be the face of the company while still managing the strategic and tactical aspects of the business.

At the end of the day, it comes down to ensuring we have the right people in place, and the resources that they need to be successful. That’s why we’re creating a culture for people to feel appreciated and where they can grow.

What are the myths that you would like to dispel about being a CEO or executive? Can you explain what you mean?

That travel for work and dining out all the time is glamorous. The reality is that, as a CEO, I do travel quite a bit, and I spend time away from my family. Yes, there are some nice dinners, but most of the time I travel on tight schedules to get back home to see my wife and son. Most dinners are eaten at an airport. It’s important to balance family and work, and that often requires taking the first flight in the morning, waking up at 3:00 a.m. and getting home late at night so I can avoid the extra time away from them.

So, what is the most striking difference between your actual job and how you thought the job would be?

The time spent engaging with shareholders, investors, analysts and our board. These are all such important activities and relationships that need to be developed and cultivated, and they occupy about 30 to 40% of my time. You quickly learn how to allocate your time to find the right balance between those activities and running the company on a day-to-day basis.

Do you think everyone is cut out to be an executive? In your opinion, what specific traits increase the likelihood that a person will be a successful executive, and what type of person should avoid aspiring to be an executive? Can you explain what you mean?

Not everyone’s cut out to be an executive, and that’s because everyone has different values and different perspectives. I have friends that define success as sitting on a beach, retired with nobody around them for miles.

I have other friends who define success as running a large company, or being able to give back to their communities, or helping people in their companies grow in their careers and lives.

Everyone defines success differently, so not everyone is cut out to be a leader of a large organization or a CEO. One of the traits that will help is the ability to listen.

Listening, whether it’s listening to your clients, your team members, your shareholders, or your board. Other traits that make a great leader include having the ability to be agile and flexible, being understanding, and being able to admit that you’ve made mistakes and that you were wrong. We see a lot of leaders don’t have that trait. I think it’s a really important trait to say, you know what, we went down one direction and made a mistake, now we can learn from our mistakes and do it another way.

Also, it’s important to surround yourself with good people and then listening to those people. Someone who has the ability to listen and be collaborative will be very successful.

What advice would you give to other business leaders to help create a fantastic work culture? Can you share a story or an example?

Listen to people. I think that’s the number one thing. Also, it’s important to act on your gut. Create an organization with your imprint, that is inclusive of the values you want to build upon. Now with that said, it’s important to make sure you bring the right people into the organization first and then listen to them.

How have you used your success to make the world a better place?

I’ve been able to mentor many people throughout my career. It’s one of the fun things I really enjoy. Especially when I speak at an event or on a panel and have people come up to me afterwards and ask for advice. I’ve built really good friendships with some of them.

As I mentioned earlier, my mother passed away in 2004 from complications of Alzheimer’s. Because of that experience I, along with my wife and son, have participated in nine Alzheimer’s walks since then. My wife was the volunteer walk chair of the San Diego North County walk, and I served as a board member for the San Diego chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association. We’ve used this experience to teach our son about empathy and compassion and to show him why it’s important to be involved and help raise money for other people.

Cross Country is my third company now that I’ve gotten involved as a sponsor of the Alzheimer’s Association. All three of those companies are big sponsors, for three different walks around the country. What strikes me is that people have left those organizations and joined other companies, and now those companies have started teams to sponsor the Alzheimer’s Association. My first walk seven years ago has now sparked probably six to eight companies that have all supported the Alzheimer’s Association. That’s a great feeling.

Fantastic. Here is the primary question of our interview. What are your “Five Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Became A CEO” and why? (Please share a story or example for each.)

Number one: You’re only as good as the people you surround yourself with. When you’re a young leader, it’s hard because you want to be the smartest person in the room. You want to advance; you want to make sure that your voice is heard.

Being around people that are more talented than you can make you a little paranoid. You have to get over that very quickly. I learned at very young age that my best trait was helping people succeed. I realized that if I helped talented people around me become even more successful, that would help the organization overall and would advance my career, as well.

You can never go wrong if you surround yourself with great people who are not only great at what they do but are a great fit for your organization. They are going to be part of that fabric that is going to be woven into your goal of creating a valued organization.

Number two: It’s okay to delegate. It’s another one of those lessons that you don’t learn right away. As you start becoming a manager and people work for you, you want to take it all because you know you can do it better than the person you’re going to delegate it to. But over time, you really need to learn that if you can teach someone who you need to be able to do that work, a.) It’s going to help them improve their career and b.) Proper delegation of work is going to help you be able to accelerate and advance your career. As we always like to say, delegate don’t advocate. Don’t just give it away; go back to that person, making sure that they’re doing it the correct way and then handing it off.

Number three: Don’t get caught up in over analyzing things in life. There’s an old expression, “paralysis from analysis.” Don’t overcomplicating things. Now, with that said, yes, you must analyze your data, your points. Then talk to your people who you know, who you surround yourself with. Sometimes we don’t want to make decisions because we want more information. At a certain point, you must have that sense of urgency to make a decision.

Which leads us to number four: Have a sense of urgency. I mentioned that was one of the gifts that Kevin had given me. It’s so important to stay on top of the game and stay ahead of your competitors, to stay ahead of your clients.

I want to always be in front of our clients. Being able to say, here is your next big thing that you’re not even sure you need yet, you’re not even thinking about it because I have the urgency to make sure that we are staying on top of your needs. We’re anticipating your every need and just having that sense of urgency, always making sure that we’re moving quickly, deliberately, and with purpose.

Number five: Focus and spend most of your time on the activities that will make the biggest impact. We have all seen the video of the big rocks. A guy has a cylinder and puts in all the sand first. The sand is all the emails and phone calls you have to do every day. Then, he puts in the pebbles, which are the other tasks you have to do. Then he puts in the big rocks, the ones that make a big impact to your business. If you put the sand in first, then the gravel and then the big rocks, how will the big rocks fit? The point is, you have to focus on those big rocks first and then all of the other things will take care of themselves. You’ll get through them.

In my career, I’ve learned that it’s easier to focus on the big rocks when I schedule and block out time on my calendar on a daily basis. Now, what’s interesting is, those big rocks change over time. So even in my new role as CEO, the rocks that were big, the most important things for me a year and a half ago before I became CEO are now not as big as other rocks. So, your rocks change over time and your focus changes.

Be sure to allocate time within your day to focus on those big rocks. Don’t just give yourself half an hour, but multiple hours a day. Schedules are so tight, and as you can imagine, mine is very busy. But I will block off two hours on certain days just to make sure that I’m working on those big rocks.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good for the greatest number of people, what would it be? You never know what your idea can trigger.

To ensure people lead with compassion and empathy. Walk over and say hello to your neighbor. Invite a new person to join you for lunch. Smile and say hello to everyone.

Because you know what? You never know what a person is going through, and sometimes just saying hello, reaching out, can make a big impact on a person’s perspective. That’s what I try to do every day.

I’ll tell you a story. I’m in the office today, and there’s probably about 25 people in this office. I’ll go and say hello to everybody. Right before I came in here, I passed a smiling employee in the hallway and said, “How are you doing today?”

She said, “Not well. My mom died two weeks ago and today is the viewing.” I spent some time having a conversation with her and just talking to her and being there for her. Because she was smiling, I never would’ve known that she had all this pain inside of her. I listened while she talked about her mom and how great she was and told me a little bit about her mom’s life. After we talked, I could see she was grateful we had that conversation.

Can you please give us your favorite life lesson quote? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

This was my mom’s favorite saying when I was a little kid: “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.”

I didn’t understand it at the time; I was a little kid. But really, that’s how I lived my life, by that saying. You need to develop skills that help you overcome adversity. When life — or work — throws you a curveball, and it’s going to on a daily basis, you have to look at it and say, how do I make the best of this situation? How do I look outside the box to solve this? How can I innovative?

And this is a skill that you develop over time, to always look for the positive. When that curveball comes, say, how can we turn this around? How can we turn this negative into a positive?

We are very blessed that some very prominent names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them.

Jeff Bezos from Amazon. Because of what he did and how he changed shopping and retail. I mean, there aren’t many people who don’t use Amazon… who don’t get a package delivered to their house every day, three times a day. To be able just to go online, look for what you want, swipe, and get it delivered within 24 hours, 48 hours, totally changed how we live our lives. That’s all because he changed the supply chain. He had a different perspective of what the supply chain could look like, and he made it reality.

Cross Country Healthcare is a staffing company, but we’re also a supply chain that moves people around the country, from job to job. There are a lot of parallels in what Jeff Bezos has done and what we’re doing right now at Cross Country. We’re using technology and creating processes that make it easier for clients to bring on more people, and for our professionals to use our technology to find their dream jobs in a much easier and seamless fashion.

Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.

About the Interviewer: Douglas E. Noll, JD, MA was born nearly blind, crippled with club feet, partially deaf, and left-handed. He overcame all of these obstacles to become a successful civil trial lawyer. In 2000, he abandoned his law practice to become a peacemaker. His calling is to serve humanity, and he executes his calling at many levels. He is an award-winning author, teacher, and trainer. He is a highly experienced mediator. Doug’s work carries him from international work to helping people resolve deep interpersonal and ideological conflicts. Doug teaches his innovative de-escalation skill that calms any angry person in 90 seconds or less. With Laurel Kaufer, Doug founded Prison of Peace in 2009. The Prison of Peace project trains life and long terms incarcerated people to be powerful peacemakers and mediators. He has been deeply moved by inmates who have learned and applied deep, empathic listening skills, leadership skills, and problem-solving skills to reduce violence in their prison communities. Their dedication to learning, improving, and serving their communities motivates him to expand the principles of Prison of Peace so that every human wanting to learn the skills of peace may do so. Doug’s awards include California Lawyer Magazine Lawyer of the Year, Best Lawyers in America Lawyer of the Year, Purpose Prize Fellow, International Academy of Mediators Syd Leezak Award of Excellence, National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals Neutral of the Year. His four books have won a number of awards and commendations. Doug’s podcast, Listen With Leaders, is now accepting guests. Click on this link to learn more and apply.