From intent to impact: developing clinical leaders for service improvement

Abstract

AbstractThis article describes an approach to evaluating a leadership‐development programme which considers the impact of the programme on individuals, their organizations and the services they manage. Participants were clinical leaders from the health system in Eire, aiming to further develop their leadership skills, awareness and potential. The programme was used as a vehicle for linking personal development, as a leader, with leading improvements at work. Based on the principles of action learning, the programme was underpinned by the application of learning to practice, and the evaluation process was integral to the design and delivery of the development activities. Perceptions of the participants and key stakeholders were used as a baseline to identify desired changes in culture, structure, behaviour and processes in the services where participants worked. Participants used action learning and the content of programme modules to lead changes in their service areas. Perceptions of services at the beginning of the programme were compared with those at the end by using a visual analogue scale, a process that provided an indication of the extent of service improvement and change achieved in organizations by participants. The quantitative data was complemented by qualitative data which reported the personal development of participants’ leadership skills and awareness. Lessons for future evaluation of leadership‐development programmes are suggested. Sufficient time needs to be built into the design and delivery of programmes to embed ongoing evaluation within the development process. Time spent on this at early stages aids an in‐depth understanding and high level of ownership of the evaluative process by participants. To gain optimum benefit from stakeholder rating, the choice of stakeholders involved needs to take account of unavoidable stakeholder attrition. Methods for identifying organizational support for change, the relative involvement of chosen stakeholders in the change process, and external sources of data to triangulate the reported outcomes, would also enhance the overall evaluation approach.