Building High-Performance Leadership Teams
Six Core Components for Leadership Development Success in Healthcare
As the healthcare industry continues to innovate and evolve, organizations must ensure they have the right leaders in place to help guide a brighter future of care. The key to success lies in building high-performance leadership teams at all levels that can create positive, thriving cultures.
This article outlines some of the key takeaways from our new eBook, Six Components of Leadership Development Success, a comprehensive report focusing on the critical cogs in effectively developing your leadership team today so they are ready to tackle the challenges of tomorrow.
Find Exceptional Leaders at Every Level
Six Strategies to Build a Successful Leadership Development Program
1. Leadership Assessment
Strategic, enterprise-level leadership development begins with an assessment of current leadership needs and how well the organization’s team meets them. This process forces clear understanding and enables the construction of a leadership roadmap that should be regularly updated.
A dual focus powers these assessments: required leadership competencies and the landscape of roles.
Skills and Qualities
The annual B.E. Smith Trends Report mapped leaders’ perceptions of critical executive traits. Respondents ranked the top four:
- Vision/Strategy
- Integrity and Trust Building
- Ability to Build Positive Cultures
- Communications
Vision and strategy perennially top the list, reinforcing the importance of navigating healthcare’s complex changes and generating sustainable growth. Envisioning new business and clinical models is essential, including in academic medicine where educational requirements are being rethought.
Roles
BES Trends Report also opened a window onto the healthcare roles that are growing in importance. The top categories underscore the industry demands to improve clinician well-being and productivity, the overall patient experience, and the implementation of value-based paradigms.
Monitoring existing leadership role changes helps keep leadership development relevant. Many executive positions are expanding in scope and accountability. An article from PwC states that CFOs everywhere share “complex and demanding” role requirements that now extend from “financial expertise to strategic decision-making to risk and stakeholder management.”
The leadership development purview further expands to implement a host of entirely new roles that continue to arise as institutions drive change.
2. Leadership Programs and Initiatives
The leadership roadmap guides programmatic development. A strong program rests on a three-part framework: Vision, Method, and Impact.
In addressing these issues, organizations will want to decide how structured the program should be and whether it will be directed at multiple leadership levels or just to the senior cadre. Further judgement will be required in determining the optimal mix of leadership development tactics from:
- Targeted Training
- Mentoring and Coaching
- Dyad/Triad Management Structures
- Network Building
3. Succession and Advancement Planning
Another strategic component of leadership development is succession and advancement planning. Well-constructed plans help handle emergency transitions, secure a vibrant leadership pipeline, and foster retention.
Succession planning programs are hardly universal. Previous B.E. Smith surveys showed that only one-third of healthcare organizations maintain programs, and half of those described them as informal. Three core activities comprise effective succession planning:
- Delineating Visible Advancement Pathways: These should identify specific competencies and experience needed.
- Providing Practice Opportunities for Needed Skills: Possibilities include simulations and stretch projects.
- Offering Feedback and Coaching Along the Way
Additionally, lateral moves that build skills and exposure for a downstream promotion should also be encouraged. Removing organizational resistance to this approach is vital.
4. Retention
Making sure high-performing executives stay is a corollary to investing in their development. Voluntary turnover is a significant concern. A survey from the American College of Healthcare Executives reports that the rate for healthcare CEOs is a substantial 16%.
B.E. Smith research shows that other C-suite executives frequently depart when the top person leaves, amplifying the impact. The B.E. Smith Trends Report showcased the significant driving factors impacting their intent to stay with an organization:
- Organizational Culture
- Compensation
- Colleagues
- Career Potential
- Management
- Flexible Scheduling
- Option for Remote Work
The list demonstrates that retention involves a mix of people and policy considerations. For compensation, organizations are stepping up performance bonuses and having some incentives vest over time to bolster retention. Fostering a positive culture varies for each organization.
But a common problem that can induce attrition is that “leaders in unhealthy cultures often focus on what made them successful in the past” and display “entrenched behaviors,” according to a recent Mckinsey & Company report. Meaningful opportunities for advancement and role expansion are also intertwined with leadership retention.
5. Recruitment
The executive talent market remains competitive. Excellence in recruiting is essential to leadership development for everything from filling the new roles being created to attracting leaders when promising internal candidates may not be ready. Important recruiting tactics include:
- Write better job descriptions
- Search broadly
- Stress skills-based hiring
- Adjust compensation offers
- Deploy technology
- Improve Interviewing skill
- Seek diversity
6. Interim Leadership
Another component to include in thorough planning is interim leadership (IL). Among many benefits, it produces a multiplier effect for the other leadership development tools. Interim leaders can serve in versatile capacities, including:
- Filling vacant positions
- Project completion and advancement
- Mentoring
- Role definition refinement
- Offering fresh perspectives
Renewed or expanded commitment to leadership development is especially timely and rewarding, no matter what your immediate organizational needs might be. Don’t leave leadership development to chance.
Download your free copy of Six Components of Leadership Development Success to future-proof your healthcare organization—start planning for tomorrow’s leaders today.
