Healthcare Leadership Development Research Articles

Delivering medical leadership training through the Healthcare Leadership Academy: a four year analysis

BackgroundFormal leadership training is typically targeted at senior health professionals. The Healthcare Leadership Academy (HLA) was formed in 2016 to provide a leadership programme for students and early-career health professionals. This study analyses the effectiveness of the HLA scholarship programme as an intervention for improving interest in and preparing scholars for future leadership roles.MethodsSurvey data was used to assess the effectiveness of the HLA Scholarship program in cultivating leadership development. Questions required either multiple-choice, free text, ranking or Likert scale (‘strongly agree’, ‘agree’, ‘neither agree nor disagree’, ‘disagree’, ‘strongly disagree) responses. Participants spanned six regions (London, Newcastle, Bristol, Belfast, Edinburgh, and Amsterdam) in four countries (England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and the Netherlands). Descriptive statistical analyses were conducted, and insights were drawn from the open-ended survey questions using a leadership framework.ResultsSeventy participants who underwent the course between 2016 and 2020 completed the questionnaire. Nearly all (99%) found that the training provided on the programme had equipped them to be more effective leaders, with 86% of respondents stating that they were more likely to take on leadership roles. Nearly all (97.1%) found the course to be either of good or very good quality. Nineteen insights were identified from free text responses that fitted under one of the four themes of the leadership framework: “optimising”, “resolving uncertainty”, “enhancing adaptability”, and “promulgating a vision”.ConclusionsHealthcare leadership is a non-negotiable component of healthcare delivery in the 21st Century. As healthcare professionals, it is our duty to be effective leaders confident and competent in navigating the increasingly complex systems within which we operate for the benefit of ourselves, colleagues, and patients. By accounting for known shortcomings and developing ameliorative measures, the HLA Scholarship programme addresses unmet needs in a structured manner to support effective long-term healthcare leadership development.

Evaluation of the impact of leadership development on nurses and midwives underpinned by transformational learning theory: a corpus-informed analysis

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to evaluate the impact of leadership development programmes, underpinned by Transformational Learning Theory (TLT).Design/methodology/approachA corpus-informed analysis was conducted using survey data from 690 participants. Data were collected from participants’ responses to the question “please tell us about the impact of your overall experience”, which culminated in a combined corpus of 75,053 words.FindingsFindings identified patterns of language clustered around the following frequently used word types, namely, confidence; influence; self-awareness; insight; and impact.Research limitations/implicationsThis in-depth qualitative evaluation of participants’ feedback has provided insight into how TLT can be applied to develop future health-care leaders. The extent to which learning has had a transformational impact at the individual level, in relation to their perceived ability to influence, holds promise for the wider impact of this group in relation to policy, practice and the promotion of clinical excellence in the future. However, the latter can only be ascertained by undertaking further realist evaluation and longitudinal study to understand the mechanisms by which transformational learning occurs and is successfully translated to influence in practice.Originality/valuePrevious research has expounded traditional leadership theories to guide the practice of health-care leadership development. The paper goes some way to demonstrate the impact of using the principles of TLT within health-care leadership development programmes. The approach taken by The Florence Nightingale Foundation has the potential to generate confident leaders who may be instrumental in creating positive changes across various clinical environments.

LEADS+ Developmental Model: Proposing a new model based on an integrative conceptual review.

Leaders in academic health sciences centres (AHCs) must navigate multiple roles as an inherent component of their positions. Changing accountabilities, varying expectations, differing leadership capabilitiesrequired of multiple leadership roles can be exacerbated by health system disruption, such as during the COVID-19 pandemic. We need improved models that support leaders in navigating the complexity of multiple leadership roles. This integrative conceptual review sought to examine leadership and followership constructs and how they intersect with current leadership practices in AHCs. The goal was to develop a refined model of healthcare leadership development. The authors used iterative cycles of divergent and convergent thinking to explore and synthesise various literature and existing leadership frameworks. The authors used simulated personas and stories to test the model and, finally, the approach sought feedback from knowledge users (including healthcare leaders, medical educators and leadership developers) to offer refinements. After five rounds of discussion and reformulation, the authors arrived at a refined model: the LEADS+ Developmental Model. The model describes four nested stages, organising progressive capabilities, as an individual toggles between followership and leadership. During the consultation stage, feedback from 29 out of 65 recruited knowledge users (44.6% response rate) was acquired. More than a quarter of respondents served as a senior leader in a healthcare network or national society (27.5%, n = 8). Consulted knowledge users were invited to indicate their endorsement for the refined model using a 10-point scale (10 = highest level of endorsement). There was a high level of endorsement: 7.93 (SD 1.7) out of 10. The LEADS+ Developmental Model may help foster development of academic health centre leaders. In addition to clarifying the synergistic dynamic between leadership and followership, this model describes the paradigms adopted by leaders within health systems throughout their development journey.

Health Care Leadership Development Model in Sri Lanka: a Pathway to Low-cost Good Quality Health Care

Health Care Leadership Development Model in Sri Lanka: a Pathway to Low-cost Good Quality Health Care

The evaluation of health care leadership development programmes: a scoping review of reviews

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to report a scoping review of reviews which investigated HLDP evaluations to determine: how the conceptualisation of leadership development programmes (HLDPs), and despite growing calls for robust evaluations of their pedagogic design, delivery and effectiveness, there are concerns regarding the quality of data associated with their evaluation. This scoping review of reviews investigated the reporting of HLDP evaluations to determine: how the conceptualisation of leadership underpinning HLDPs influence their evaluation; how the pedagogical approaches within HLDPs influence their evaluation; and the evaluation designs and measures used to assess HLDPs.Design/methodology/approachThe scoping review was conducted on reviews of HLDPs. Searches were performed on four databases and on the grey literature. Data were extracted and a narrative synthesis was developed.FindingsThirty-one papers were included in the scoping review of reviews. A great deal of heterogeneity in HLDPs was identified. Evaluations of HLDPs were affected by poor data quality, and there were limitations in the evidence about “what works”. Leadership was conceptualised in different ways across HLDPs, and consequently, there was a lack of consistency as to what is being evaluated and the methods used to assess HLDPs.Originality/valueThis review of reviews summarises the current evidence on the evaluation of HLDPs. Evaluations of HLDPs need to explicitly account for the complexity of health systems, how this complexity impacts on the development and articulation of leadership practice, and how the underlying conceptualisation of leadership and the associated theory of change articulate a set of assumptions about how HLDPs support leaders to affect change within complex systems.

Advancing Leadership Development in Healthcare: Where Are We and Where Are We Going?

Advancing Leadership Development in Healthcare: Where Are We and Where Are We Going?

Identity - an Influential Factor in Modernization of Healthcare Systems in Hungary and Serbia

The changing word and its economic trends are demanding adjustments in healthcare systems. The modernization of the healthcare appeared as global requirement, in connection with numerous changes in healthcare sector, including the financing and providing funds for unallayed services. Also, one of the crucial elements of the modernization is the development of the healthcare leadership and introducing elements of the shared leadership, in order to create an organizational culture, which can comply with the global changes resulting to economic and business transformations. Belonging to groups, families, and communities can empower leaders and increase commitment towards belonging. Through cultural humility, leaders are able to recognise and understand their own cultural self-identity and how this affects their leadership style. In this paper, the authors recognise that everyone has unique traditions, values, and beliefs (ethnic identity, language, religion, community, family ties), that everyone is connected to others, and that this greatly influences their leadership decisions. In order to provide a theoretical basis for the research, the authors aim to present a literature review of past research on identity as a factor influencing the modernization of healthcare (and leadership) in both Hungary and Serbia. Though there is a recognized need, opportunities for healthcare leadership development are limited both in Hungary and Serbia, including important limiting factors such as the fact that leaders are still sceptical about modern business and management elements in the healthcare sector. The ideal solution would be the combination of the early and mid-to-late career development and the integration of both the organizational and leadership development. This paper focuses on describing the healthcare systems in the two countries and understanding the factors that need to be highlighted in terms of their modernisation, both in the system and in relation to healthcare leadership.

Identity – an Influential Factor in Modernization of Healthcare Systems in Hungary and Serbia

The changing world and its economic trends are demanding adjustments in healthcare systems. The modernization of healthcare appeared as a global requirement, in connection with numerous changes in the healthcare sector, including the financing and providing funds for unallayed services. Also, one of the crucial elements of modernization is the development of healthcare leadership and the introduction of elements of shared leadership, in order to create an organizational culture, which can comply with the global changes, coming together with economic and business transformations. Leaders bring their life lessons, their past, and their culture into every possible perspective and context. Belonging to groups, families, and communities can empower leaders and increase commitment toward belonging. As well as cultural humility, leaders need to recognize and understand their own cultural self-identity and how this affects their leadership style. Recognizing that everyone has unique traditions, values, and beliefs (ethnic identity, language, religion, community, family ties) helps to understand how everyone is related to others and how it influences leadership decisions. Though there is a recognized need, opportunities for healthcare leadership development are limited both in Hungary and Serbia, including important limiting factors such as the fact that leaders are still skeptical about including modern business and management elements in healthcare. The ideal solution would be the combination of early and mid-to-late career development and the integration of both organizational and leadership development. Although there is insufficient data on the impact of social identity and social identification on behaviors, professional development, and commitment of leaders in the healthcare systems of Hungary and Serbia, both countries could be established a clear connection between recognizing the need for developing an effective social health protection system and effort to improve the leadership in healthcare. However, further research is needed in order to better define the phenomenon.

Cultural Competence in Healthcare Leadership Education and Development

Cultural competence is a phenomenon that straddles many disciplines and fields of study. There is no settled definition of the term, and it is argued that this is not necessary to explore or discuss the phenomenon as it is context-dependent across diverse societies. Explorations of cultural competence in clinical education and training are well-established, but there has been less attention towards its expression in the field of developing healthcare leaders. There is a debate about whether cultural competence is best achieved primarily through training-based educational inputs or by being infused in all areas of curriculum development. Using an exploration of selected literature followed by the case of an ambitious set of leadership development programmes in the English National Health Service, this paper explores the balance and interdependencies of cultural competence in healthcare leadership development as knowledge, skills and attitudes. The paper concludes that it is important for educators in this field to provide space for reflection, develop skills of reflexivity and facilitate sensitive discussions of sometimes contested ideas and concepts. A further evaluation of the impact of teaching and learning interventions, while mapping developments in perceptions of knowledge, skill and attitudes would be an area ripe for future research.

Evaluating leadership development in a changing world? Alternative models and approaches for healthcare organisations

ABSTRACT Internationally, healthcare is undergoing a major reconfiguration in a post-pandemic world. To make sense of this change and deliver an integrated provision of care, which improve both patient outcomes and satisfaction for key stakeholders, healthcare leaders must develop an insight into the context in which healthcare is delivered, and leadership is enacted. Formal leadership development programmes (LDPs) are widely used for developing leaders and leadership in healthcare organizations. However, there is a paucity of rigorous evaluations of LDPs. Existing evaluations often focus on individual-level outcomes, with limited attention to long-term outcomes that might emerge across team and organizational levels. Specifically, evaluation models that have been closely associated with or rely heavily on qualitative methods are seldom used in LDP evaluations, despite their relevance for capturing unanticipated outcomes, investigating learning impact over time, and studying collective outcomes at multiple levels. The purpose of this paper is to review the potential of qualitative models and approaches in healthcare leadership development evaluation. This scoping review identifies seventeen evaluation models and approaches. Findings indicate that the incorporation of qualitative and participatory elements in evaluation designs could offer a richer demonstration and context-specific explanations of programme impact in healthcare contexts.

Healthcare leadership development during a pandemic: do not stop, adapt.

Research carried out in 2016 by two of the authors of this article investigated the role that leadership 'theory' plays within an individual's leadership development and identified other components of clinical leadership programmes that are key to enabling the development of future leaders. While early career doctors identified leadership theories and concepts as important within their development as clinical leaders, these must be closely tied to real-life practices and coupled with activities that aim to develop an increased self-awareness, understanding of others, clinical exposure and leadership tools that they can use in practice. During a healthcare crisis, such as a global pandemic, maintaining a focus on leadership development (particularly for more junior clinicians) might not be seen as important, but leadership is needed to help people and organisations 'get through' a crisis as well as help develop leadership capacity for the longer term. This article, drawing from contemporary literature, the authors' own research and reflections, discusses how leadership development needs to continually adapt to meet new demands and sets out tips for those involved with clinical leadership development.

Leadership Development in Health Care: The Role of Clinical Leaders

Aim: This paper presents evidence on the impact of leadership development programmes on developing key competencies of clinical leaders in the European Health Sector. Methods: An International Leadership Development Programme has been used as a pilot to assess effectiveness on skills development and leadership styles. A longitudinal pre and post-test design was used, with a sample of clinical professionals attending the programme within three years. A control group provided a method of isolating the impact of the programme. Results: We found that participation in health leadership programmes has a positive impact on health professionals’ leadership potential; leadership styles and talent management. However, leadership qualities are also influenced by other factors such as national and organisational culture, structure and team dynamics. Conclusion: The European cases presented in this paper reveal that the higher the contribution of clinicians in management roles, governance, and administration is, the more efficient and productive their healthcare systems become.

Leadership development outcomes research and the need for a time-sensitive approach

ABSTRACT Many leadership development studies consider developing leadership as a dynamic process that takes time. However, few evaluative inquiries examine the effects of time on leadership development outcomes. As the concept of time has begun to receive the attention it deserves in leadership research, we present a case for including temporal dimensions in leadership development outcomes research. We review conceptual evaluation frameworks and published empirical evaluations in order to highlight the fact that scholars have paid scant attention to time-related considerations in programme evaluation. By using a goal-free evaluation of healthcare leadership development programme as a case example, we illustrate six types of outcomes such as a symbol, rejuvenation, discovery, change, engagement and transformation and reveal their different temporal dimensions. Based on the findings, we argue that, for evaluations to be rigorous and more meaningful to key stakeholders, adopting a time-sensitive approach may be critical.

Connecting healthcare professionals in Central America through management and leadership development: a social network analysis

BackgroundLeadership and management training has become increasingly important in the education of health care professionals. Previous research has shown the benefits that a network provides to its members, such as access to resources and information, but ideas for creating these networks vary. This study used social network analysis to explore the interactions among Central American Healthcare Initiative (CAHI) Fellowship alumni and learn more about information sharing, mentoring, and project development activities among alumni. The CAHI Fellowship provides leadership and management training for multidisciplinary healthcare professionals to reduce health inequities in the region. Access to a network was previously reported as one of the top benefits of the program.ResultsInformation shared from the work of 100 CAHI fellows from six countries, especially within the same country, was analyzed. Mentoring relationships clustered around professions and project types, and networks of joint projects clustered by country. Mentorship, which CAHI management promoted, and joint project networks, in which members voluntarily engaged, had similar inclusiveness ratios.ConclusionSocial networks are strategic tools for health care leadership development programs to increase their impact by promoting interactions among participants. These programs can amplify intergenerational and intercountry ties by organizing events, provide opportunities for alumni to meet, assign mentors, and support collaborative action groups. Collaborative networks have great value to potentiate health professionals’ leadership and management capabilities in a resource-constrained setting, such as the Global South.

The relationship between perceived dissimilarity and feedback avoidance behaviour

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to understand the conditions in which subordinates, after making a mistake, are more likely to engage in feedback avoidance behaviour (FAB), a set of behaviours that could ultimately jeopardise patient safety in a health care context.Design/methodology/approachThis study used a sample of 183 independent leader-subordinate dyads in the health care service sector. For this study, a multiple mediator model in which three types of conflict (task conflict, relationship conflict and process conflict) were tested and acted as mediating mechanisms that transmitted the effects of perceived dissimilarity to FAB.FindingsThe results supported the mediating role of two of the three forms of conflict and highlighted the consequences of dissimilarity between supervisors and subordinates in the healthcare setting.Research limitations/implicationsOne of the noteworthy limitations of this study was that this study used cross-sectional time-lagged data. Future research should use a more rigorous longitudinal approach such as a cross-lagged design (Whitman et al., 2012) to explore the dynamic nature of dyadic relationships over time.Practical implicationsAn important implication of our study results suggests that health care leadership development training should provide opportunities to increase awareness of the tendency of leaders to treat subordinates perceived as dissimilar more negatively.Originality/valueThese results contribute to our understanding of the interpersonal processes between subordinates and their supervisors, which could have a significant impact on organisational outcomes in the health care setting.

Championing leadership development in healthcare.

The effective development of a physician–leadership workforce enables trainees to keep pace with the dynamic and increasingly complex future of healthcare.

Apply by March 5 for Health Care Leadership Development Program

Apply by March 5 for Health Care Leadership Development Program

Developing an inspired leader: How to maximize human talent to maximize operating results.

10522 Background: Healthcare is a personal industry–driven by people, for people. Developing the talent of individuals as leaders is critical to making the entire industry thrive. This session provides practical tools to develop highly competent leaders, who can then develop high-performing organizations. Methods: Using Noel Burch’s framework, this presentation shares effective methods of propelling leaders from uninspired to results-focused performers. With a focus on real-life examples, this interactive session gives instruction on how to maximize human talent as a means to driving enterprise-wide success. The topics to be covered include: (1) Conscious Competence Ladder: What Is It?; (2) Noel Burch’s work; (3) Key tenets of the Ladder; (4) Common misperceptions of the Ladder; (5) Conscious Competence Ladder and Healthcare: Why Does it Matter?; (6) Application of the Ladder to the healthcare industry; (7) Realities of Human Capital in healthcare; (8) “Exercising” Leadership: Is That Even Possible?; (9)Development of leadership as a skill; (10) Four-Step Process to Leadership Development in Healthcare: But How Do We Do That?; (11) Application of Leadership: But Won’t This Be Hard?; (11) Common pitfalls in leadership development; (12) Success Stories: Has Anyone Ever Even Done This in Healthcare?; (13) Conclusions, Q&A: What Happens Next? Results: This session will enable participants to: (1)Describe the Conscious Competence Ladder model and its relevance to healthcare organizations; (2) Authenticate leadership as a skill that can be developed, and understand how to mature that skill within healthcare leaders using an efficient four-step process; and (3) Provide practical, effective methods to help people understand, process and use leadership skills to maximize the success of their peers, patients and community. Conclusions: In Q4 2017, for the first time ever, healthcare passed both manufacturing and retail as the United States’ largest employer. Simply put, there are now more health care laborers than any other industry. In sheer numbers alone, this is impressive. But, more impressive is the need to utilize and motivate this work force. Using effective and appropriate tools (such as those to be provided in this presentation), this massive healthcare work force can be empowered to drive significant benefits for an organization, its patients and its broader community.

The Master in Healthcare Innovation: A New Paradigm in Healthcare Leadership Development

There is a need for a new approach to leadership development in the health care industry. The Master in Healthcare Innovation program prepares the leaders to meet the complex demands of today's health care system.

What can community nurses do for older adults who experience faecal incontinence?

What can community nurses do for older adults who experience faecal incontinence?