Senior Leadership Research Articles

Women's representation in higher leadership positions in Ethiopia in the last three decades since 1991.

Gender equality in decision-making positions is crucial to achieving the goals of good governance, peace, democracy, and inclusive/sustainable development. The major aim of this research article is to investigate the representation trend of women in higher decision-making positions over the last thirty years, since 1991. The federal three organs of government (law formulating, law enforcing, and law interpreting bodies) were the focus of this research. This research is a mixed type of research that inculcates both qualitative and quantitative data types. Secondary data sources from relevant government institutions were mostly used. The data was analyzed through content analysis of documents and presented via descriptive data presenting techniques. The research findings reveal that although women's representation in positions of decision-making has advanced considerably in recent years, the empirical data throughout the previous thirty years demonstrated the underrepresentation of women in higher leadership positions within the Ethiopian federal government. Furthermore, Women never held certain higher-level government leadership positions, such as the Prime Minister position, which seems to be forbidden for women. Women made up 23%, 19%, 19%, and 24% of the House of Peoples Representatives (HPR), the House of Federation (HoF), ministerial posts, and judicial bodies, respectively over the last three decades. Women are visibly underrepresented in the executive positions as compared to others. Thus, substantial policy and practical initiatives are needed to remove institutional, social, and economic barriers to boost women's advanced visibility in senior leadership roles.

Healthcare Leadership Succession Planning: Twenty-Five Strategies

An aging workforce, shrinking talent pool, and intensified competition will put healthcare organizations under increasing pressure in the years to come. The benefits of succession planning have never been more apparent. Yet many organizations do not have a concrete plan, even for senior leadership positions. This article argues that most leaders are not sufficiently proactive and disciplined about creating and implementing an effective succession plan. It describes what a succession plan is, why it matters, and why it is a challenging task. It also offers healthcare leaders, administrators, and managers 25 practical and effective succession planning strategies and explores the top reasons that succession plans fail. This article then describes the most effective strategies for handling employees who are passed over for promotions so they don’t become bitter and jaded. Finally, this article shares a nine-box matrix and explains how managers across the organization can use this tool to assess talent for succession planning.

How Educational Middle Leaders Should Be Best Supported by Their Senior Leadership

How Educational Middle Leaders Should Be Best Supported by Their Senior Leadership

Can compassionate leadership of senior hospital leaders help retain trainee doctors?

BackgroundHigh burnout and low retention rates among trainee doctors threaten the future viability of the UK medical workforce. This study empirically examined factors that can sustain trainee doctors.MethodA total of...

Enhancing the agency of senior school leaders through professional learning: a qualitative study of Into Headship, the national headteacher preparation programme in Scotland

ABSTRACT This article presents the original and significant findings of a research project which used an ecological model of agency to explore the lived experiences of aspiring headteachers (school principals), undertaking masters level professional learning through the Into Headship programme in Scotland. Headteacher recruitment and retention problems exist internationally therefore understanding factors which can enhance or impinge on the agency of potential school leaders can help ensure that educational systems foster leadership aspirations in teachers and prepare and support them adequately in senior leadership roles. A qualitative approach was adopted which involved one national cohort of Into Headship participants from three different Scottish universities who undertook their studies during the COVID-19 crisis. The findings highlight a number of key themes in terms of developing professional identity and the effect of professional learning on the agency of school leaders in relation to their ability to lead school improvements. It is concluded that Into Headship impacted positively on the agency of participants in a range of ways and that these findings will be useful to those involved in school leadership preparation and educational system level strategic planning.

Bringing joy back into higher education: the potential contribution of coaching

PurposeThere are significant challenges facing academics and senior leaders in higher education (HE) institutions internationally. These challenges have led to increasing levels of metrification and managerialism, which has fostered work intensification, reduced professional autonomy, stress and burnout amongst faculty staff. Traditional approaches for supporting and developing staff, such as mentoring and training, do not provide the resources faculty staff need to meet the challenges they face. In contrast, experiences in various other educational and professional settings have demonstrated the effectiveness of workplace coaching in fostering well-being, adaptability, flexibility and sustainable performance. This review argues that workplace coaching could similarly support academics.Design/methodology/approachA critical literature review evaluates coaching interventions across educational and comparable sectors to identify positive well-being and performance-based outcomes.FindingsWhile there is limited research into the efficacy of coaching interventions for faculty staff in HE, research in other educational, as well as comparable professional contexts, identifies significant sustainable improvements in well-being and performance for professional staff.Practical implicationsThe evidence that identifies positive outcomes of coaching in professional workplace contexts is compelling. This critical review uses some of that evidence base to propose an agenda to implement coaching programmes that support faculty staff to improve their well-being and performance.Originality/valueWhile there are published research studies on the positive outcomes of coaching in primary and secondary educational contexts, as well as for postgraduate research students, there is very limited knowledge, practice and research about coaching faculty staff in HE. This article addresses this by critically reviewing a broad range of literature to identify coaching and research initiatives for faculty staff in HE institutions.

Developing a Compassion Focused Supervision Model for Senior Leaders in Education

This article describes the development and delivery of a novel model of supervision for senior teachers in schools, informed by Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT). It explores whether this model can be considered acceptable and valuable to senior teachers, and is able to be delivered by multiple supervisors using a manual. Surveys, interviews, and focus groups were used to gather feedback about the value and impact of the supervision. Data were gathered from 39 senior teachers across three phases to assess feedback over time, as new supervisors were trained to deliver supervision with the aid of a manual. The supervision model, called Compassion Focused Coaching (CFC) in Education, was found to be an acceptable and valuable model for senior teachers in schools, with benefits for compassion to self, students, and colleagues. The CFC Manual was found to be a useful guide for new supervisors, with no previous experience of CFT, to start delivering CFC sessions. Limitations of this study include the fact that there was no tool for assessing supervisor competence and adherence to the CFC supervision model, which is an area for future development. No standardised measures were used, and the results should therefore be considered in terms of feasibility, rather than evaluation. In conclusion, CFC is an acceptable and scalable model of supervision for senior leaders in schools. There are indications of this model having value and impact in a number of areas of school life, from staff wellbeing, to dealing with challenging situations and relationships. Formal evaluation of CFC is required in future research to understand the effectiveness of this model, compared to other models of supervision and peer support.

Breaking the concrete ceiling: Resources and strategies for career success amongst Black and Asian minority ethnic women leaders

AbstractDespite ongoing research efforts to resolve the pertinent issues with the underrepresentation of women from Black and Asian Minority Ethnic backgrounds in senior leadership positions, the problem persists. We suggest that one reason for the lack of progress is that management research has predominantly focused on the manifestation of race and gender inequality, the barriers experienced by these women, and the resulting adverse outcomes, with inadequate attention given to practical interventions for resolving these issues. We argue that an urgent and critical paradigm shift from problems to solutions is required in order to advance the field. Using the conservation of resource theory as a lens, we explore the lived experiences of 50 highly successful Black and Asian women and how they navigated the organizational labyrinth to achieve success in their careers. Our findings revealed that despite discriminatory experiences that threatened their career advancement, there were several personal and contextual resources which they drew upon to achieve career success. We develop a resource taxonomy framework illustrating these salient career advancement resources across their career journey, alongside strategies they used to protect these valuable resources. Our findings have theoretical and practical implications for career, leadership and diversity scholars and practitioners.

Experiences and Interest in Value‐Based Payment Arrangements for Medical Products Among Medicaid Agencies: An Exploratory Analysis

Policy Points State Medicaid experience with value‐based payment (VBP) arrangements for medical products is still relatively limited, and states face a number of challenges in designing and implementing such arrangements, particularly because of the resource‐intensive nature of arrangements and data needed to support measurement of desired outcomes. A number of success factors and opportunities to support VBP arrangement efforts were identified through this study, including leveraging established venues or processes for collaboration with manufacturers, engaging external and internal partners in VBP efforts to bolster capabilities, acquiring access to new data sources, and utilizing annual renegotiation of contracts to allow for adjustments. ContextTo date, uptake of value‐based payment (VBP) arrangements for medical products and knowledge of their design and impact have been mainly concentrated among private payers. Interest and activity are expanding to Medicaid; however, their experiences and approaches to VBP arrangements for medical products are not well characterized.MethodsThis study sought to characterize the use of VBP arrangements for medical products among state Medicaid agencies through the use of a two‐staged, mixed‐methods approach. A survey and semistructured interviews were conducted to gain an understanding of state experiences with VBP arrangements for medical products. The survey and interviews were directed at senior leaders from nine states through the survey, with respondents from seven of these states additionally participating in the semistructured interviews.FindingsAlthough experience with VBP arrangements for medical products among states varied, there were similarities across their motivations and general processes or phases employed in their design and implementation. States collectively identified a number of significant challenges to VBP arrangements, such as manufacturer engagement, outcomes measurement, and the time, expertise, and resources required to design and implement them. We outline a range of strategies to help address these gaps and make it easier for states to pursue VBP arrangements, including more direct engagement from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, state‐to‐state peer learning and collaboration, data infrastructure and sharing, and additional research to inform fit‐for‐purpose VBP arrangement approaches.ConclusionsFindings from this study suggest that it may be easier for states to pursue VBP arrangements for medical products if there is greater clarity on processes employed that support design and implementation as well as effective strategies to address common challenges associated with contract negotiations. As states gain more experience, it will be important to monitor the design and implementation of common VBP arrangements to assess impact on the Medicaid program and the populations it serves.

Headteacher development through nonlinear coaching and coaching psychology

This study explored how a non-linear coaching model can be used to develop headteachers in South Africa on their learning journey. The case study explores through qualitative data how senior leaders in schools were able to reflect on their learning through the use of a non-linear coaching model to deepen their understanding of senior leadership, and how they strategically needed to consider the needs of their school, as well as the learners and teams within their schools. A qualitative research approach was used, with data from semi-structured interviews thematically coded through the use of Braun and Clarke’s (2006) six phase model. Key learning from the project is that a collaborative professional approach, facilitating effective learning conversations through a non-linear model, ensured that leaders were able to develop a deep understanding of their contexts and were able to engage with key strategic decisions making processes in a safe, trusting learning environment.

Exploring the ‘White men’ dominance of senior leaders in premium international schools

ABSTRACT By 2022 there were over 13,000 private schools worldwide classified as delivering a non-national curriculum in English outside an English-speaking nation. Reports on the diversity of senior leaders of the “premium traditional international school” has always revealed a Western men bias although little has been reported about race. We report on the body of “premium non-traditional international schools”, those belonging to a branded, corporate, profit-driven grouping where we hypothesised that a greater diversity might exist with regard to sex and race. Our survey of the websites of 247 schools belonging to 10 major groupings reveals, from photographic evidence, that 88% of senior leaders are White, and 64% are White men. This finding is very similar to a recent report into diversity among the premium traditional sector. We explore this situation and offer for discussion two sets of possible reasons. An unwritten truth pertains that the recruitment of senior leaders is biased towards White men, whilst at another level the uncertainty, risks, and commercialisation of the field might be more attractive to White men. Both lead to a situation that is rarely questioned or discussed.

Debate: An essential contribution - doctors in senior leadership

Debate: An essential contribution - doctors in senior leadership

Transformative Peer Connections: Early Experiences From the ASCO Palliative Care Community of Practice.

The integration of palliative care into routine oncology practice is the standard of care by most leading cancer organizations. Palliative medicine helps to deliver higher quality of care at a lower cost. However, there are barriers to implementing palliative oncology at many institutions for myriad reasons. In this article, we discuss an innovative strategy that ASCO implemented called the Communities of Practice (CoP). We share our experiences as the Palliative Care CoP and how our group seeks to develop processes and structures to collectively promote systemic change and enhance palliative care delivery for people with cancer. Our Palliative Care CoP engages with senior leaders, administrators, and those in power to achieve a shared vision of delivering holistic health care for people with serious illness. We continue to evolve to meet our members' growing needs by addressing eight main domains: (1) increasing palliative care education and resources; (2) creating opportunities for global palliative care research; (3) providing peer mentorship and community building; (4) engaging with patient advocates; (5) supporting and developing interdisciplinary teams; (6) assisting with professional development and identity formation, especially for trainees and early career faculty; (7) extending our outreach through social media; and (8) enhancing the clinical practice of palliative oncology. The ASCO CoP has been a vital forum to realize ASCO's mission of conquering cancer and advancing the Art and Science of Cancer Care: From Comfort to Cure.

A Comprehensive Framework for Middle Leaders’ Competencies in Promoting Teachers' Technology Acceptance in Education 4.0

The era of Education 4.0 presents new challenges and opportunities for school leaders to drive technology integration and acceptance among teachers. Middle leaders, situated between senior leadership and teaching staff, play a pivotal role in this process. However, existing competency models for educational leaders in Malaysia, such as SKKSM and KOMPAS, do not adequately address the specific competencies required by middle leaders to navigate the demands of Education 4.0 and promote technology acceptance. This article proposes a comprehensive conceptual framework for middle leaders' competencies, adapted from the School Leadership Competency Model for the era of Education 4.0 (SLCMEduc4.0). The framework encompasses nine key competency domains: emotional intelligence, leading for learning, digital dexterity, management and administration, entrepreneurial, communication and ethics, decision making and problem solving, collaboration, and critical thinking. By fostering these competencies, middle leaders can create a supportive environment that encourages teachers to embrace technology and effectively integrate it into their teaching practices. The article highlights the importance of developing middle leadership competencies to drive technology acceptance among teachers and ensure the successful implementation of Education 4.0 initiatives in Malaysian schools.

Effectiveness of educational interventions: An ecological systems analysis of initiatives from the UK opportunity areas programme

AbstractGovernment interventions to address inequalities in education are common in the United Kingdom and internationally. Whilst there is a tendency for policy discourse to focus on benchmarks and indicators as measures of educational success, the inclusiveness and effectiveness of government interventions in education has been questioned. This paper uses the ecological systems perspective as a way of analysing how government interventions may, or may not, lead to real impact on young people's educational outcomes. Two case studies are presented on projects funded as part of the opportunity areas (OA) programme in England to tackle barriers to learning for young people: Ipswich ‘Learning Behaviour Leads’ and Norwich ‘Engagement Coaches’. The research team carried out an evaluation of these projects in seven schools, using a mixed methods approach which involved interviews and reflective journals by the staff delivering the projects (n = 7), interviews with members of the school senior leadership teams (n = 7), an online survey with teachers (n = 23) and focus groups with young people involved in the projects (n = 14). The evaluation found that although there was shared understanding of the purpose and priorities of the OA programme between the macro and exosystems, there were tensions between these and the microsystem, and a lack of interconnection with the mesosystem. Whilst the projects benefited the young people involved, they fell short of the initial intentions to foster engagement amongst the most at‐risk groups, and failed to address the macro aims of fostering a pan‐system response.

Core elements of excellent hospital leadership: lessons from the five top-performing hospitals in China.

Substantial evidence indicates that leadership plays a critical role in an organization's success. Our study aims to conduct case studies on leadership attributes among China's five top-performing hospitals, examining their common practices. A semi-structured interview was conducted with 8 leaders, 39 managers, 19 doctors, and 16 nurses from the five sample hospitals in China. We collected information from these hospitals on the role of senior leadership, organizational governance, and social responsibility, aligning with the leadership assessment guidelines in the Baldrige Excellence Framework. Qualitative data underwent interpretation through content analysis, thematic analysis, and comparative analysis. This study adhered to the consolidated criteria for reporting qualitative research guidelines for reporting qualitative research. Our study revealed that the leaders of the five top-performing hospitals in China consistently established "Patient Needs First" as the core element of the hospital culture. Striving to build world-renowned hospitals with Chinese characteristics, the interviewees all believed strongly in scientific vigor, professionalism, and cooperative culture. The leaders adhered to a staff-centered approach, placing special emphasis on talent recruitment and development, creating a compensation system, and fostering a supportive environment conducive to enhancing medical knowledge, skills, and professional ethics. In terms of organizational governance, they continuously enhanced the communication between various departments and levels of staff, improved the quality and safety of medical care, and focused on innovative medical and scientific research, thereby establishing evidence-based, standardized hospital management with a feedback loop. Meanwhile, regarding social responsibility, they prioritized improvements in the quality of healthcare by providing international and domestic medical assistance, community outreach, and other programs. To a large extent, the excellent leadership of China's top-performing hospitals can be attributed to their commitment to a "Two-Pillared Hospital Culture," which prioritizes putting patient needs first and adopting a staff-centered approach. Furthermore, the leaders of these hospitals emphasize hospital performance, operations management, and social responsibility.

Yes She Can: Examining the Career Pathways of Black Women in Higher Education Senior Leadership Position

Problem Black women continue to face significant underrepresentation in senior leadership roles, particularly within higher education. Despite this disparity, there exists a dearth of research and understanding surrounding the achievements and success narratives of those who have managed to ascend to senior-level leadership positions within the higher education sector. Solution Higher education institutions and professionals in the HRD field ought to develop and implement identity-based leadership initiatives that address the distinctive challenges Black women (as well as other women of color) face in leadership roles. Concurrently, universities are encouraged to establish structured mentoring programs to facilitate connections between Black women leaders and mentors possessing either congruent or divergent identities, but with a demonstrated cultural competence capable of accommodating the mentee’s requirements. Furthermore, universities must formulate and uphold policies that cultivate and retain Black women’s talent, intellectual contributions, and leadership acumen. Stakeholders Black women leaders, human resource development researchers, practitioners, scholars, higher education administrators.

Process evaluation of implementation of the early stages of a whole systems approach to obesity in a small Island.

The small Atlantic island of St Helena is a United Kingdom Overseas Territory (UKOT) with a high prevalence of childhood obesity (over a quarter of 4-5 and 10-11 year olds) and, anecdotally, adulthood obesity and its associated health detriments. St Helena have taken a whole systems approach to obesity (WSAO) to address the issue. A WSAO recognises the factors that impact obesity as a complex system and requires a 'health in all policies' approach. UK academic and public health technical support was provided to the local St Helena delivery team. This process evaluation sought to explore the early stages of the WSAO implementation and implications for the transferability of the approach to other small island developing states and UKOT. Data was collected via eight semi-structured interviews, paper based and online surveys, and document analysis. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. The analysis identified three factors which aided the first phase of WSAO implementation: (1) senior leaders support for the approach; (2) the academic support provided to establish and develop the approach; and (3) effective adaptation of UK Government resources to suit the local context. Key challenges of early implementation included: maintaining and broadening stakeholder engagement; limited local workforce capacity and baseline knowledge related to obesity and systems thinking; and limited capacity for support from the UK-based academic team due to contract terms and COVID-19 restrictions. Early stages of implementation of a WSAO in a UKOT can be successful when using UK's resources as a guide and adapting them to a small island context. All participants recommended other small islands adopt this approach. Continued senior support, dedicated leadership, and comprehensive community engagement is needed to progress implementation and provide the foundation for long-term impact. Small island developing states considering adopting a WSAO should consider political will, senior level buy-in and support, funding, and local workforce knowledge and capacity to enable the best chances of successful and sustainable implementation.

A Conceptual Model of Individual Clinical Readiness.

Force readiness is a priority among senior leaders across all branches of the Department of Defense. Units that do not achieve readiness benchmarks are considered non-deployable until the unit achieves the requisite benchmarks. Because military units are made up of individuals, the unit cannot be ready if the individuals within the unit are not ready. For medical personnel, this refers to one's ability to competently provide patient care in a deployed setting or their individual clinical readiness (ICR). A review of the literature found no conceptual model of ICR. Other potential concepts, such as individual medical readiness, were identified but used inconsistently. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to define ICR and propose a conceptual model to inform future efforts to achieve ICR and facilitate future study of the concept. Model development occurred using a 3-step theoretical model synthesis process. The process included specification of key concepts, identification of related factors and relationships, and organizing them into an integrated network of ideas. ICR is the clinically oriented service members' (COSM) ability to meet the demands of the militarily relevant, assigned clinical mission. ICR leads to one's "individual clinical performance," a key concept distinct from ICR. To understand ICR, one must account for "individual characteristics," as well as one's "education," "training," and "exposure." ICR and individual clinical performance are influenced by the "quality of exposure" and the "patient care environment." One's "individual clinical performance" also reciprocally influences the patient care environment, as well as the "team's clinical performance." These factors (individual clinical performance, team clinical performance, and the patient care environment) influence "patient outcomes." In the proposed model, patient outcomes are an indirect result of ICR and its antecedents (personal characteristics, education, training, and exposure); one's individual clinical performance may not be consistent with their ICR. Patient outcomes are also influenced by the "patient environment" (external to the health care environment) and "patient characteristics"; these elements of the model do not influence ICR or individual clinical performance. Force readiness is a Department of Defense priority. In order for military units to be deployment ready, so too must their personnel be deployment ready. For COSMs, this includes one's ability to competently provide patient care in a deployed setting or their ICR. This article defines ICR, as well as identifies another key concept and other factors associated with ICR. The proposed model is a tool for military medical leaders to communicate with and influence non-medical military leaders in the Department of Defense. Future research is needed to further refine the proposed model, determine the strength of the proposed relationships, and identify interventions to improve ICR.

The Moral Impacts of Organizational Stress on Correctional Officers

Organizational stress (i.e., structural aspects of the organization such as excessive workload, shiftwork, gossip) has long been found by public safety personnel to be more impactful on their health and wellness than operational stress (i.e., inherent stresses of the job such as altercations, intervention in suicide behaviors). In the current study, which engages semi-structured interviews conducted with 28 correctional officers employed at one provincial prison in Atlantic Canada, we unpack through a lens of moral distress four prevalent sources of organizational stress among correctional officers that emerged in the data without categories precogitated, with a focus on participant experiences and expressed similarities across accounts: (1) management, (2) staff retention, (3) training needs, (4) lack of mental health support. Findings indicate organizational stress has a significant impact on correctional officers and these sources of organizational stress are exacerbated by officers’ moral and ethical vulnerabilities emergent from their conditions of employment. We recommend several practical changes to ease the strains and moral harms felt by correctional officers and better support their mental health and well-being, such as increasing staffing levels, providing more education and training opportunities for frontline officers and senior leaders, and providing more adequate mental health support for correctional officers.