Purpose-Led CEO Interview Series: Adil Khalfan, CEO, Kensington Health

Our next guest is Adil Khalfan , President and CEO of Kensington Health , a not-for-profit health service organization located in Toronto, Ontario. Adil has a vast background in nursing, public health, international development, and health system strategy in Canada and internationally. His career has crossed many sectors with diverse populations, including community care, public health, acute care, home care, regional care, and specialty health. He has worked extensively in Ontario and the Middle East, and understands the relationship between accountability and strategy, planning, quality, performance measurement, best-practice implementation and change management.

Adil was the founding CEO of Royale Home Health (of Royale Hayat Hospital in Kuwait). Before that, he served as Middle East Executive Regional Director and Operational Lead for University Health Network (UHN) where he led an international cancer centre transformation in the region. Prior to working in Kuwait, Adil managed the Acute Care funding and accountability portfolio for the @Toronto Central LHIN, and led the Corporate Planning team at UHN.

He is a Registered Nurse and holds a BSc Nursing from the University of Western Ontario and a Master of Health Administration from the University of Ottawa. Prior to joining Kensington Health , Adil served as Ontario Health’s Senior Vice President, Health System Performance and Support, where his position required him to oversee Ontario Health’s work to advance provincial strategies, funding, accountability agreements, standards and initiatives through information, evidence, and other supports to assess, inform and improve overall health system performance and effectiveness.

What was your first job and what did you learn from it?

My first job was working at a Winx convenience store and gas station. I was tasked to stock shelves, clean the floors, maintain the cash register, and whatever else was required of me. This was an interesting job because I worked with people from all walks of life. One of the things I learned very quickly was how important it is to treat people at every level of an organization with kindness and respect. I’ve taken this learning with me in all my roles in healthcare. When you work in a hierarchical environment, the most important people are at the front line. They’re the ones who, despite challenges of a demanding job, show up every morning and are not always paid the most.

At Winx, I also learned how every component of a company fits together to create an experience. For example, I was mopping floors to create a clean environment for business and stocking shelves to ensure the convenience of customers. I learned similar lessons while working at White Rose where my manager taught me that while we are picking up manure, someone else’s home is nicer with flowers and plants. Working at the front line ?made me realize that we need to be empathetic to everyone who works for us. As a purpose-led leader, you have to remind yourself that people don’t just come to your organization for a job, but you also have to make their experience meaningful. In general, my first job taught me that everything had a purpose.

For instance, my parents migrated from Pakistan to Canada with the purpose of better education and healthcare for their family. They had great lives where they lived before, but they made sacrifices for a higher purpose, that is a better life for me and my siblings. In the early 1980s, Canada wasn’t always accepting of new immigrants, and the hardships we faced as a family taught me resilience.

As you look back on your career, what were the pivotal moments that led you to your role today?

I am someone who always takes risks. I was destined to go to medical school and right at the last moment, I decided to switch to nursing. Being someone from the South Asian community, switching careers raised a lot of questions from friends and family, but I don’t like when people tell me how to do things; I will listen to advice sincerely, but if it doesn’t feel right in my gut, I will always try to find my way. I found that the journey in medicine was too long, but I wanted to stay in healthcare to contribute to community development. When I got into nursing, I realized that nursing was very task oriented. So, I switched from hospital nursing to public health, and I loved it as it forced me to think laterally about macro upstream issues within the community. In public health, I managed to specialize in maternal child/youth health and chronic disease prevention.

After I finished my nursing degree, I said to myself that I wanted international experience, so I took a risk and applied for a fellowship in international development management with the Aga Khan Foundation and the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). Under the fellowship, I worked in Pakistan for a year at Aga Khan Development Network where we assisted the migration of Afghan refugees to Pakistan as well as delivered health services to informal settlements in Pakistan. I was also planning to work on a long-term project in Northern Pakistan, specifically Hunza and Gilgit, where we planned to train female health visitors to assist during deliveries and support new mothers thrive. However, as I was about to sign the contract, September 11 happened and all international contracts through CIDA were cancelled. At this point, I had to decide what to do next and I decided to come back to Canada and do my Master of Health Administration in Ottawa.

After completing my degree, I applied to acute care and got an internship at University Health Network (UHN) in corporate planning. UHN was a purpose-driven, research-based, and entrepreneurial organization aiming to have a global impact. I got the chance to do planning and strategy for them. This was a pivotal moment for me as I managed to work within the system which opened a lot of doors for me. However, like any other young person, I wanted to rise to the top and thus, decided to take a director level role at a community care centre. I chased title and money and instantly regretted it. The role was not aligned to my strengths and passions.?Fortunately, one of my mentors, Matt Anderson, recruited me out of the job within eight months and I transitioned into regional healthcare planning at Toronto Central Local Health Integration Network.

The next pivotal moment came when I got a call from one of my other mentors, Dr. Bob Bell, [SA1]?about a role in Kuwait where I was asked to be the number two on a project rather than the leading role I was originally recruited for, but with a succession plan in place. This was another pivotal moment because I had to question myself, “is this about my ego or is it about a higher purpose?” Fortunately, I decided to take the role of executive regional director for UHN’s international program. The leader I had at UHN helped me lead a $120 million project for Canada’s largest organization in the Middle East and the results we managed to achieve together were incredible. After working in Kuwait for six years and delivering a successful project, I asked myself again about what more I wanted. I knew I cared deeply about my ‘ultimate’ purpose, and it served me well. Thus, I decided to take on the opportunity to establish a new company called Royale Home Health, a luxury home care company in Kuwait under the umbrella of Royale Hayat Hospital. This was another pivotal moment because I took another risk and needed to build an organization from scratch, in a new country and a very political environment but the outcome turned out to be great.

Then in 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic was another turning point in my career because I was sceptical about being outside the Canadian healthcare system for too long. Thankful for continuing to nurture my healthcare network in Canada, I got the opportunity to compete for ?the senior vice president of health system performance at Ontario Health | Santé Ontario and work with Matt Anderson again. This job helped me and my family to re-establish our lives in Canada and I enjoyed working for Matt and with other inspiring individuals integrate 22 organizations and help the province respond to the pandemic while establishing a new provincial agency’s value for the health system.

Finally, the opportunity to lead at Kensington came. Interestingly, the work I was doing at Ontario Health was very similar to Kensington Health ’s purpose. It was all about thinking outside the box for community development and a stronger health system. At the time, Kensington Health was working in multiple sectors of the healthcare industry including long-term care, surgical recovery, screening, Ontario Health Teams and community development. The challenges in the healthcare system are what attracted me to my current role as President and CEO at Kensington Health. We are an organization that tries to fill the needs of the community by directly impacting the healthcare system. One of the things I have managed to achieve here is establishing a great team that embodies a one Kensington mindset where collaboration, integrity, empathy and curiosity are front and centre to our mission. This was another pivotal moment in the trajectory of my career.

If you think back on leaders who inspired you in your career or leadership style, who were they and why were they inspiring?

The first name that springs to mind is my father, Abdul Majid Khalfan. My father is a quality assurance engineer, and his life is all about the micro pieces in the value chain that result in a greater impact. My father has taught me the value of hard work and resilience throughout his life. He also ingrained in me that every component contributes to a higher purpose. As new immigrants moving to Canada, my parents faced a lot of hardships and made tremendous sacrifices for a better future for my siblings and me. It’s something I never let myself forget.

In the professional space, I have managed to work for several truly inspiring leaders. Matt Anderson was a great mentor. He is a fantastic leader; so, strategic yet so down to earth. Under his leadership, I had the chance to work on accountability agreements and got a lot of exposure to internal and external leadership. Dr. Bob Bell at UHN was a truly supportive and passionate leader. Bob was someone who always had my back and thought about my success. He was willing to see things differently and he didn’t only have my interests at heart but also my family’s interests. Our relationship was of mutual kindness and appreciation. Professor Doug Angus at the 加拿大渥太华大学 was another mentor who encouraged me to take work within the system to agitate change.

Kevin Empey gave me my first job at UHN and, in fact, I brought him to be my advisor when I started at Kensington. Kevin trusted me a lot as a nurse at the ground level and he always used to say that everyone deserves respect, kindness, and value. Nan Brooks was my supervisor during my internship and she helped me learn the importance of making authentic, meaningful relationships with people. Bill Manson, whom I worked with in regional planning also taught me the importance of being respectful and not always calling people out in public but rather coming to the table together and finding common purpose.

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What motivates you every day?

The opportunity to make it better every day. I am someone who loves challenges, but I also love people and feed off their energy. In the end, our goal is to collectively create a better community for everyone.

The reason why I got into healthcare was for better community development which was always my passion. This passion comes from the community I belong to, the Ismaili community. The Ismaili community is a purpose-driven, community-oriented, religious, and multicultural group. We stand by the principles of creating a safe environment for people to have all the opportunities to thrive. The community we have built in Canada, whose origins are from East Africa, is built on the notion of voluntary service and contributing to both the community you are a part of and the external community.

What is the purpose and vision of Kensington Health ?

Our vision is a better life for everyone. Life is more than just healthcare and our organisation aim to create a better environment for people to have all the opportunities to thrive. Our mission is thinking outside the box and giving new meaning to community-delivered care. We have recently launched our new strategic plan to help us achieve our objectives.

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How has being clear on your purpose and vision benefited you as a leader?

Clarity of purpose helps me illustrate to my teams the impact of their work beyond their immediate objectives. It has helped me establish a connection with everything we do as an organization. At Kensington, it’s not just about providing medical care, it is also their quality of life and the experience we provide to them when we deliver service. To us, quality of life is not just about lifesaving, it’s also about living the best life possible.

What one piece of advice would you give other CEOs and leaders regarding leading with purpose?

As a purpose-led leader, you have to learn from the people working at the front line. It is important to be visible and empathetic to people who are working at the front line for our organization. How can you inspire people with a purpose if you’re not beside them? Also, communicating without the administrative jargon is critical. Finally, one advice that I received once was, “If you want to go fast, go alone, but if you want to go far, go together.” This has been my approach to leadership throughout my career.

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What one question would you like to ask other purpose-led CEOs?

What advice would you give your 25-year-old self to be a better version of yourself today!

A question from the CEO we interviewed before you, Paula Calderon , CEO, CIWA.

How do you exercise and improve your emotional intelligence in your leadership capacity? As a leader, when and how should you express emotions versus maintaining composure, while staying approachable and human, yet also having the strength to recognize our triggers?

Right now, being a father to two teenage girls is turning out to be the best exercise.? I am much better at work when it comes to EI.?I spend my commutes to and from work reflecting on situations going on in my work and personal lives. I find I am more successful when I force myself to slow down and understand where people are coming from instead of immediately reacting to a situation. I try not to make snap decisions. I think this will be and should be an ongoing journey for all leaders – reflection, mediation, and slowing down to make the right call. It’s something I am getting better and better at.

What do you want to change in the world and why?

I would really like people to think more about their impact on others and to consider their contribution to society more rather than what they can get from society or their community.?There is just too much “what’s in it for me?” thinking in the world.?Switching our mindset from taking to giving and raising the tide so that all boats rise is fundamental to overcoming many challenges in the world be it environmental, poverty, international affairs etc.?I know this sounds idealistic but without ideals we have no stars to reach for. Also, I think that we need to listen intently with the purpose of learning and understanding rather than judging and responding.