Workforce Leadership Research Articles

The Shillam-Clipper Leadership Minimum Demographic Data Set: A Tool for Advancing Healthcare Research.

The purpose of this research study was to develop an innovative, standardized taxonomy for leader demographic data to gather consistent and comparable data across healthcare leadership studies. Minimum data sets help ensure consistent data collection strategies for standardized comparison among similar variables across settings. A standardized approach to collecting demographic data of healthcare workforce leadership will provide the structure necessary for researchers to more adequately compare the role of demographic characteristics in research outcomes. This study was conducted using systematic literature review methodology with comparative analysis across demographic data sets. Two separate literature reviews were conducted: the 1st for studies of approaches to establishing minimum data sets and another for studies of healthcare leadership. The outcome of this study is the Shillam-Clipper Leadership Minimum Demographic Data Set tool that includes a comprehensive list of minimum demographic variables applicable to healthcare leadership research, a glossary of operational definitions for the identified demographic variables, and a clearly articulated set of instructions for consistent and accurate data collection. This standardized taxonomy will result in a consistent data set that will improve the effectiveness of comparative research.

Health care transformation in a resource-limited environment: exploring the determinants of a good climate for change.

PurposeIn a continued effort to improve the health care services, a project was set up to develop and implement a care pathway for the effective management of pressure ulcers in the St Elisabeth Hospital in Curaçao, the Dutch Caribbean. To ensure the effective implementation of our intervention, we decided to investigate what factors define the implementation climate of a health care institution within a resource-limited environment.MethodsWe used a participatory tool approach in this study, where a mixed team of health professionals worked on two parts of a health improvement project, namely: 1) workforce leadership development through a clinical leadership training program; and 2) health care quality improvement through the pressure ulcer care pathway development. In-depth interviews were held with ten participants to gain insight into their experiences of the implementation climate in the hospitals and inductive analysis was used to identify the (sub)themes.ResultsIdentified themes that described the implementation climate included: 1) the attitude of staff toward policy changes; 2) vision of the organization; 3) collaboration; 4) transparency and communication; 5) personal development; and 6) resources. These factors were interrelated and associated with several potential consequences such as loss of motivation among staff, loss of creativity to solve issues, the emergence of the feeling “us” vs “them”, short-term solutions to problems, and a sense of suspicion/frustration among staff members.ConclusionFrom this study, positive subconstructs for a favorable implementation climate in a hospital organization were lacking and those that were identified were suboptimal. The inability to satisfy all the subconstructs seemed to be the consequence of insufficient resources and infrastructure within the current health system. A favorable implementation climate in a resource-limited environment is closely tied to the availability of health care resources and infrastructure.

Exploration of Relationships among Individual and Organizational Characteristics, Nurse Leader Fatigue, and Turnover Intention

Understanding nurse leader fatigue and its relationship with turnover intention is essential for maintaining a viable leadership workforce. This secondary analysis of a national survey of nurse leaders explored the relationships of organizational and individual factors with nurse leader fatigue and turnover intention. A nurse leader’s membership in individual and organizational classes is associated with differences in acute and chronic fatigue levels. There were significant relationships between acute and chronic fatigue states and turnover intention. Acute fatigue was a mediating factor between individual and organizational classes and turnover intention. Future interventions to decrease nurse leader turnover intention could be tailored for different types of organizations, individual classes and fatigue type.

A Multi-Stakeholder Perspective on the Integration of Safety in University Nursing, Education, and Engineering Curricula.

Improvement in workplace safety is dependent upon the active engagement of workforce leaders and designers. The university sector plays a key role in the education of these future leaders, and there is an expectation that safety education in universities will encompass more than just a safe learning environment—that is the nurturing of broader safety attitudes and awareness. However, with the exception of dedicated safety training programs, safety education is often delivered and assessed on an ad-hoc basis and at academic discretion. This is partly due to the absence of a simple tool with which curricula can be evaluated from a safety perspective. In a qualitative approach, semi-structured interviews were undertaken with multiple stakeholders (academics, professional organizations, and students) to determine their views on existing safety content in university curricula and on the level of preparedness, from a safety perspective, for workforce entry. University participants came from nursing, mechanical engineering, and education schools at three universities. A simple curriculum evaluative tool was also validated. Results indicated there were divergent views on the level of preparedness for workforce entry both between schools and stakeholder groups. However, the limitations of university curricula were acknowledged. The evaluation tool was shown to provide positive feedback on existing, but previously unacknowledged, safety content and also highlighted areas for future improvement and integration. However, voluntary utilization of the tool was a challenge for busy academics.

Injecting New Workforce Leaders in Tourism, Hospitality and Environmental Science: A Community-Engaged Learning and Immersion Class

Tourism, especially nature-based tourism, is a major and growing industry in Maine. Therefore, it is important that colleges and universities graduate leaders into the Maine workforce with specific knowledge of the tourism and hospitality industry and with a connection to the environment in which it is flourishing. To graduate these potential leaders, schools must do a better job at retaining and graduating students from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds. Community-engaged learning, including immersion classes, are a key strategy to increase student persistence in some programs at the University of Southern Maine (USM). Two academic units at USM, the Program in Tourism and Hospitality and the Department of Environmental Science and Policy, collaborate in delivering a colocated intensive immersion class for all new majors. This engagement early in their college career fosters a sense of community among the students and with the industry in which they will work. We argue that this community engagement is a factor contributing to student retention and success in these programs and will help create the creative, resilient, locally active leaders needed to guide sustainable tourism development in Maine.

The future of safety in the oil and gas industry

A focus on safety is at the heart of oil and gas work practices. Often the number one objective for companies operating in the oil and gas industry is to ensure everyone goes home from work without injury or illness. Industry has historically held a view that best practice in safety is demonstrated if a workplace has an absence of accidents or when injury rates are reduced to zero. However, research has shown that this approach limits the ability to develop a resilient safety culture. Santos has established a future view of safety and developed a new 3-year strategy that has been built around six fundamental safety principles. Safety initiatives that are designed to embed the safety principles have commenced, and, as a result, safety conversations in the workplace are changing from injury rates and statistics to a focus on the prevention of harm, effectiveness of critical controls for high-risk exposures, learning and workforce leadership and risk competency.

SYSTEMS ENGINEERING SIMULATION EXPERIENCE DESIGN: INFRASTRUCTURE, PROCESS, AND APPLICATION

ABSTRACTThe Systems Engineering Experience Accelerator (SEEA) is a new approach to developing the systems engineering and technical leadership workforce. The project aims at accelerating experience assimilation through immersive, simulated learning situations where learners solve realistic problems. A prototype of the technology infrastructure and experience content has been developed, piloted, and evaluated. While the prototype proved useful, its ability to support a community of educators and developers has limits with challenges in creating or changing experiences. This paper proposes an initial taxonomy of experience archetypes to help development and reuse of experiences and describes the experience design and development process using the SEEA tool suite. We follow this by an application case study: an experience developed by the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence to accelerate the maturity of reliability engineers and their role in identifying and resolving safety issues.

SE Simulation Experience Design: Infrastructure, Process, and Application

AbstractThe Systems Engineering Experience Accelerator (SEEA) is a new approach to developing the systems engineering and technical leadership workforce. The project is aimed at accelerating experience assimilation through immersive, simulated learning situations where learners solve realistic problems. A prototype of the technology infrastructure and experience content has been developed, piloted, and evaluated. While the prototype has proved useful, its ability to support a community of educators and developers is limited by the challenges in creating or changing experiences. This paper proposes an initial taxonomy of experience archetypes to help development and reuse of experiences, and describes the experience design and development process using the SEEA tool suite. This is followed by an application case study: an experience developed by the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence to accelerate the maturity of reliability engineers and their role in identifying and resolving safety issues.

Exploring Millennial Leadership Development: An Evidence Assessment of Information Communication Technology and Reverse Mentoring Competencies

An essential element of a firm’s competitiveness is the ability to attract, retain, and develop high potential employees. To build organizations that promote innovative leadership, development requires forward-thinking direction from the upper-most levels of organization management. Currently, many executives adhere to a traditional model when developing leaders who serve the organization’s goals. A systematic review of empirical studies was conducted to address the question, how can managers use innovator competencies to affect developing innovative millennial leaders? Rapid evidence assessment offered a methodology for gathering and assessing evidence to determine the need for future research. Eleven primary studies were identified and a systematic review suggests that information computer technology and reverse mentoring promote horizontal competency development. The research also indicates that information computer technology and reverse mentoring encourage vertical or stages of leadership competency development that influence innovation. Findings from the systematic review suggest that generational characteristics are associated with information computer technology and reverse mentoring. In combining core competency theory with generational cohort theory, this study offers insights for organizational leaders in developing future innovator workforce leaders. Information computer technology and reverse mentoring for millennials in today’s competitive organizational environment could serve to bridge the gap between needed leadership competencies and building needed innovator skills in the millennial cohort. This review contributes to theory by extending the understanding of organizational innovation through developing millennial leader competencies. Future research should investigate how other competencies might factor into the position organizations take in the development of a more strategic and innovative workforce.

Exploring Millennial Leadership Development: A Rapid Evidence Assessment of Information Communication Technology and Reverse Mentoring Competencies

Building organizations that promote innovative leadership development require forward-thinking direction from the upper-most levels of an organization. Currently, many executives adhere to the tenets of a traditional model which develops leaders who serve the organizational goals. An essential element of a firm’s competitiveness is the ability to attract, retain, and develop high potential employees. In reviewing primary literature, this paper focuses on empirical studies that respond to the research question, how can managers use innovator competencies to affect developing innovative Millennial leaders? A rapid evidence assessment (REA) offers a methodology for quickly gathering and assessing evidence to determine the need for future research. Based on evidence from a REA of 11 primary studies, the review suggests that information computer technology (ICT) and reverse mentoring promote horizontal competency development. Additionally, the research indicates that ICT and reverse mentoring encourage vertical or the stages of leadership competency development that influence innovation. In combining Prahalad and Hamel’s (1990) theory of a firm’s core competency with Howe and Strauss’ (2007) generational cohort theory, this study offers insights for organizational leaders in developing the future innovator workforce leaders. Implications presented of ICT and reverse mentoring for Millennials in today’s competitive organizational environment serve to bridge the gap between needed leadership competencies and building these needed innovator skills in this cohort. With findings that suggest that generational characteristics are associated with ICT and reverse mentoring, this review contributes to theory by extending the understanding of organizational innovation through developing Millennial leader competencies. Future research should investigate how other competencies factor to position organizations to develop a more strategic and innovative workforce.

Are scientists a workforce? - Or, how Dr. Frankenstein made biomedical research sick: A proposed plan to rescue US biomedical research from its current 'malaise' will not be effective as it misdiagnoses the root cause of the disease.

Are scientists a workforce? - Or, how Dr. Frankenstein made biomedical research sick: A proposed plan to rescue US biomedical research from its current 'malaise' will not be effective as it misdiagnoses the root cause of the disease.

Family leaders and workforce leadership development.

Family members can become leaders who are a voice not only for their own family, but also as part of a collective voice to advocate for changes in services, programs, policies, and organizations that benefit all families. Family leadership is important because family leaders can keep the focus on the family experience, providing their own and other family stories, experiences, and perspectives to provide first hand feedback on the best ways of meeting the needs of families and the barriers and challenges that families face along the way. Strong family leaders not only have an impact on Maternal and Child Health (MCH) leadership, they represent a vital part of the MCH workforce. In the past, family leaders ‘‘emerged,’’ either by their own initiative and efforts or from other sectors such as education and early childhood program spheres (special education, Head Start, etc.). Family leaders are a valuable resource to MCH; therefore, as MCH identifies strategies for building the leadership capacity of the current workforce and developing the next generation of leaders, it is essential that the role of family and family leaders be infused in all aspects of MCH leadership development. In addition to family leaders, youth and young adults acting as self-advocates play an important role in MCH programs and policy development. Family leaders have become a vital part of the workforce and will be integral in providing a family-driven response to the changing environment, opportunities and realities that MCH will face in the future. This will require that MCH directors recognize the need to ensure family leaders have the knowledge, skills, confidence, and experience to represent the family perspective. Further, MCH as a field will need to cultivate an environment within programs and practices that embraces family leaders and youth/young adult self-advocates as vital members within the MCH workforce.

Assessing and responding to hazardous and risky alcohol and other drug use: The practice, knowledge and attitudes of staff working in mental health services

Introduction: Comorbidity of mental illness and alcohol and other drugs (AOD) raises workforce challenges in terms of appropriate knowledge, skills and attitudes required for delivering best care.Aim: (1) To assess the knowledge, skills and attitudes of mental health staff in relation to AOD use and (2) to inform development of training to provide effective screening and interventions for people with both mental health and AOD problems (co-morbidity).Method: Quantitative survey of knowledge, skills and attitudes regarding AOD issues completed by multidisciplinary mental health staff (n = 104/218) working across acute and community settings.Results: A 47.7% response rate was achieved. Generally staff held positive attitudes and motivation towards working with people with comorbidity, but there was an absence of formal training, experience or knowledge. Most staff believed they could deal with AOD issues; however, confidence was higher with assessment over AOD-related interventions (brief interventions, motivational approaches and goal setting) and only 24% of staff correctly identified standard drinks. Most staff recognized that AOD assessment and intervention is part of their role and access to training would facilitate their ability to improve service to mental health consumers.Conclusion: Integrated care for people with comorbidity requires mental health service providers to address identified gaps in clinician's knowledge, skills and attitudes with training in relation to AOD. To ensure effective training uptake and implementation, workforce leaders need to target identified barriers with initiatives such as support, mentoring and appropriate tools in relation to AOD.

Show Me Yours: Developing A Faculty-Wide Interdisciplinary Initiative In Built Environment Higher Education

In the competitive market of higher education, government funding agencies consider universities accountable for ensuring a better alignment between educational processes, graduate capabilities and real world employability. Workforce leaders have developed new expectations about the capabilities of graduating students, expecting to employ graduates who have more sophisticated understandings of the complexity involved in undertaking projects and working in the field. Graduates are expected to demonstrate well developed inter-professional literacy, be able to successfully navigate across professions in workplaces, and to effectively contribute to large projects involving a diverse range of roles and responsibilities. There is growing awareness within the sector that universities should work in partnership with students to tackle local and global challenges and that often these challenges cannot be addressed adequately by a single discipline. Stone, Bollard and Harbor (2009) note that as society has become more complex, research questions have changed, and the structures of earlier times no longer accommodate the research needed and the teaching that emanates from this research (p.322). Increasingly, scholars are looking across traditional disciplinary boundaries in new ways to address socio-cultural concerns. The extent of scholarship into the rise and prominence of interdisciplinary collaboration in higher education, along with the external drivers that support this paradigm in education and practice, shifts discussion within faculties from the benefits of interdisciplinary approaches to pragmatic questions of how to develop and sustain interdisciplinary programs (Stone et at. 2009, p.323). This paper describes a framework for the introduction of common learning experiences (CLEs) in the Built Environment Faculty (BE) at the University of New South Wales to more adequately prepare students for future professional settings. The paper discusses the initiative in the context of recent research on interdisciplinary learning and teaching in the built environment and higher education more broadly, and discusses the conditions that are likely to support and sustain the initiative into the future.

Current State in U.S. Public Health Competency-Based Graduate Education

Calls for educational transformation by education and workforce leaders, as well as both governmental and professional organizations, have been resounding in the United States over the past decade. As a result, increased recognition of outcomes or competency-based education (CBE) has evolved across health professions education and training arenas. In public health specifically, the identification and specification of competencies related to the five long-standing, discipline-based core areas of knowledge in addition to seven cross-cutting interdisciplinary domains are now required for guiding accreditation, curriculum planning, and the measurement of student achievement in both graduate and undergraduate education. Nevertheless, full realization of CBE for potentially enhancing current educational practices, including both learning and assessment methodologies, remains in the early stages of adoption and curricular integration in both public health graduate education and the health professions at-large. This article provides an overview of the influences that have led to the consideration and development of strategies for promoting outcomes-based educational performance and accountability across post-secondary higher education in the US; evolving CBE pedagogy in public health graduate education; and experiences to date regarding success factors, barriers, and challenges encountered with the implementation of competency-based education. Recommendations for furthering educational transformation in public health are also discussed.

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AbstractOregon MH Agency Reaps Benefits from Volunteer‐Run Retail ShopsNew Hampshire Program Promotes Health and Wellness for SMI ConsumersNew Jersey Initiative Helps Families Cope with Trauma, LossColorado Center Recognized for Innovative Workforce Leadership EffortDartmouth Study Evaluates in SHAPE ProgramBriefly NotedState WatchNames in the NewsComing up

Developing Future Leaders

This article discusses using the power of learning to nurture and retain workforce leaders at American States Water. The company's Service Leadership Academy is a comprehensive management program that is offered through the company's Employee Development University. The academy's approach is aimed at developing leadership competencies required of all employees in a changing economic environment. The program's objective is to help participants develop strong service, communications, supervisory, and technical skills that will contribute to their future success as leaders in the company. The academy helps to form the cornerstone for succession planning at all levels of the company. The article provides a table that lists the Service Leadership Academy curriculum.

Leadership Workforce in Academic Dermatology

Leadership Workforce in Academic Dermatology

Public health nutrition workforce composition, core functions, competencies and capacity: perspectives of advanced-level practitioners in Australia

To investigate the attitudes, experiences and beliefs of advanced-level public health nutritionists with respect to public health nutrition workforce composition, core functions, competency requirements and existing workforce capacity. Qualitative study using structured interviews. Australia. Forty-one advanced-level public health nutritionists employed in academic and senior technocratic positions in state health systems. Advanced-level public health nutritionists recognise the diversity of the public health nutrition workforce but clearly identify the need for a specialist public health nutrition workforce tier to provide workforce leadership. Nominated core functions for public health nutrition reflect broader public health core functions but, in the context of nutrition, specific problem resolution. Opinions about competency needs were similar to many of the cross-cutting competencies identified in the public health field but with specific application to nutrition problems. Competency in the scientific underpinning of nutrition was considered particularly important and delineated this public health nutrition workforce from the broader public health workforce. Public health nutrition was identified as a specialisation within public health and dietetics. Workforce capacity assessments by this group indicate a need for workforce development. Qualitative data from a large proportion of the Australian public health nutrition leadership group have identified core functions, competencies and workforce development priorities that can be a basis for further systematic research and workforce strategy development.