The health system has 22,000 employees and 4750 physicians within seven facilities; thus it needs an effective leadership development program. Leaders face a growing variety of demands stemming from the external and internal environment. The organization cannot afford to be hiring external candidates for most positions, and yet some employees are qualified and want to be leaders or to take up more challenging roles. An effective leadership development program will remedy the situation.
Describe and outline the leadership development program that you would institute (40 pts).
The three critical aspects of a training program are curriculum, time and delivery. The three concepts have to be planned accordingly. The first step in creating a leadership development is creating a clear vision for the program. Most organizations fail because they come up with programs without a vision or goals to guide the program. According to Holt et al. (2018), the leadership development program (LDP) should be linked to the organization’s mission, strategy, and corporate values. HR and the organization’s executive will create a vision for the LDP that is aligned with the organization’s vision.
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HR and other stakeholders have to establish a set of clear and defined leadership competencies. Without specific skills, the organization will rely on vague qualities such as creativity, innovation or motivation. The qualities are essential, but they will not apply to particular situations that the leaders will encounter (Monarth, 2015). LDP should define specific competencies for leaders in different departments and different levels. For example, the head of oncology faces unique challenges in comparison to the head of accounting. The right instructors with years of experience will be chosen for the LDP. Internal instructors, including leaders from different departments and external consultants, will come up with appropriate training plans.
After identifying the vision for the program and leadership competencies, HR has to identify leaders that will take part in the LDP. The potential leaders will come from different departments and levels within the organization. HR will rely on various factors, including skills, behavior, and performance to recruit candidates for the program. There are many competency models used to identify internal leaders, but the organization can develop its competency model related to the goals of the LDP, organizational culture and leadership style. Regardless of the model, potential leaders must demonstrate a drive to excel, continuous learning, and ability to sense or take a risk and generate good results. The organization is also looking for credible leaders capable of building trust and inspiring confidence in employees.
LDP will progress into the next step involving training of potential leaders. The LDP will identify leadership gaps within the organization. The health system is lacking adequate leaders; thus the program will identify specific reasons for the problem with the aim of developing solutions. The potential leaders will learn leadership skills concerning the demands of their specific areas. The LDP will not rely on a one-size fits all approach. Senior leaders will receive different training in comparison to first-time or middle-level leaders.
Different levels of leadership require different skills, competencies, and behavior. The training strategies for leaders also differ according to their levels. Senior leaders are expected to manage the organization strategically; they are visionaries who drive action through others. The senior leadership development program will include strategies such as individual coaching, executive team coaching, 360-degree assessment, and executive education program. Training for emerging leaders will focus on improving their self-awareness and building relational skills. Some of the leadership strategies include self-assessment, giving them a chance to lead a functional project, group coaching, mentoring and coaching.
Middle-level managers are seasoned leaders with experience. The goal of the training program is to deepen their current skills to improve or amplify results. Middle-level managers should have the skills to operate strategically, lead employees and other leaders and establish teams. Some of the strategies for middle-level training managers include exposure to a higher level or senior leaders, training them using professional or industry associations, action learning, cross-functional learning to diversify skills and 360-degree assessments. A training program for external hires is also different. External hires have to be indoctrinated into the organizational culture before they can engage in their respective training according to their levels.
After training the potential leaders, the LDP should have a plan for continuous training and future roles. The training program is not a one-time program. Leaders will be continually trained, given opportunities to demonstrate their new skills, and evaluated. Potential leaders who internalize the training and apply them and continue to learn will be promoted to leadership positions. HR and other stakeholders must come up with an effective plan for performance management and assessment, career planning, and leadership roadmap. A continuum of steps is necessary so that emerging and middle-level leaders can progress into senior leadership positions.
What are the (4) most important topics that you would include in your program?
The LDP will cover different topics. Aforementioned, leaders from different levels and departments will go through various training sessions since they have unique needs. Nonetheless, important issues are affecting all leaders across different levels. The four important topics include communication, empowering/motivating employees, leadership during challenging times, and collaboration or building teams.
Effective communication is necessary for successful leaders, regardless of their level of leadership. Communication enables leaders to take charge, direct, encourage and stimulate others. Through communication, leaders express what they expect from their employees for the day, the week, or the year. In the absence of excellent communication skills, leaders will not achieve their goals. Ineffective communication lead to poorly defined roles, and employees will feel left out, and they will not be motivated to work hard. Effective communication is two-way, leaders should speak and listen. Employees should be a part of the communication process when planning goals and objectives and how to achieve them.
Another important topic is empowering/motivating employees. Studies reveal that approximately 70% of workers are not engaged at work leading to low productivity. A leader’s ability to empower will affect business results. Effective leaders know how to delegate responsibilities, empower others, and create a balance between supervision and autonomy among other factors that empower employees. The LDP should equip leaders with skills to motivate employees to get the best results. Leaders should use different strategies to empower and motivate employees as they have different needs.
Collaboration is another important topic. Leaders cannot get things done unless they can create teams and collaborate with employees to achieve results. Leaders have to learn how to get everyone involved, either in meetings or in group projects. Work teams are created regularly to make it easy to achieve project goals or simplify tasks. Leaders should possess skills for working with teams, encouraging collaboration, and solving team issues.
Lastly, leaders will be trained on how to handle challenges. Leaders across all levels face challenges on a daily basis. Some problems are severe such that they affect the future of the organization. The training will educate leaders on strategies for dealing with challenges. Leaders should anticipate challenges and stay ready by educating themselves, learning from experience, or seeking help from other experienced leaders. Leaders must learn how to communicate and motivate staff during challenging times.
In conclusion, leaders with a mastery of the four topics are more likely to achieve their objectives. According to Muthuveloo et al. (2017), it is crucial for leaders to possess critical competencies that will transform them and make them effective leaders. There are many leadership theories and studies that will guide the LDP. The LDP should equip leaders with skills to work with individual employees and teams.
References
Holt, S., Hall, A., & Gilley, A. (2018). Essential Components of Leadership Development Programs. Journal of Managerial Issues , 30 (2), 214.
Monarth, H. (2015). Evaluate your leadership development program. Harvard Business Review .
Muthuveloo, R., Chiek, K. C., & Ping, T. A. (2017). An Empirical Analysis of the Perceived Skills in Predicting Managerial Effectiveness: The Malaysian Perspective. Global Business & Management Research , 9 .
