A leading integrated healthcare system had made a commitment to Succession Planning as a way to reduce the impact of pending retirements by hospital and Corporate administrators. They built a Succession Management Steering Committee and enjoyed active sponsorship by the CEO and the Board of Directors. Having worked with a consultant to put a succession management system in place and identify “high-potential” leaders, their last source of anxiety was whether they had the resources necessary to actually activate the talent management and accelerated development actions necessary to realize their goals.
As a result, they contracted with NEXT SUMMIT to put the following mechanisms in place:
*Linking the planning and development processes to the business planning cycle;
*Transitioning from a focus on replacement planning and development of a single pool to developing
a robust Pipeline of Leadership Talent;
*Supporting the planning and activation of learning objectives so that assessment feedback was
actually used to accelerate successor readiness;
*Continuous support to developing High-Potential Leaders and their manager-sponsors to ensure that
action and momentum is sustained;
*Focusing on delivery of assignment-based (experiential) learning rather than accumulation of
responsibilities, titles, degrees, or credentials;
*As-needed coaching support to deepen learning and link individual learning to achievement of
personal goals, promotion readiness, and business results;
*Establishing a Peer Mentoring and support network;
*Quarterly reviews to ensure accountability for execution of plans and satisfaction with development
outcomes (i.e., successor readiness; succession pipeline strength); and
*Regular reporting by the executive sponsor (CEO) to the Board of Directors.
Creating a bias for ACTION and having a DEDICATED resource made all the difference in the world. The anticipated risks of relying on an external resource were mitigated by selecting a consultant who was both expert and demonstrated a deep understanding of the System’s mission and culture. The relationship between the consultant, the CEO/Executive Sponsor, and the HR Leadership Team was paramount to achieving the trust and speed required to create a bias for action and advance the readiness of key successors in months instead of years.
The program is hailed as one Corporate initiative that consistently produces results. Leaving autonomous divisions to adopt the program at their own pace would have put the organization at risk. Waiting to act until an internal “infrastructure” to support the program would have resulted in intolerable delays. Failure to deliver on the commitment of the top executive team to succession management would have drained credibility with the Board of Directors and put the retention of many high-potential leaders “at-risk.”
Today, the program continues to grow with the organization. The System is taking advantage of several growth strategies they’ve put in place and recent acquisitions they’ve made. As a result, they are creating additional leadership demand. The Succession Management Program is becoming more aligned with strategic planning and the focus on delivery of leader growth and readiness up and down the entire leadership pipeline is taking shape.
A regional hospital system was looking to fill their Chief Financial Officer role due to a pending retirement. While there was consistently high regard for the VP/Controller as a leader of accounting, budgeting, and revenue management processes, several members of the executive team hesitated when pressed about his capabilities in the more strategic CFO role. Capability could be tested and day to day competence could be observed in a trial period, but in the end it really came down to trust—“Do we trust that he will adopt a sufficiently strategic view to help us be successful three to five years from today?...Manage the Finance organization in a way that creates value for the System?...Create the right experience for our functional teams who are his customers?”
A path forward: The CEO and Chief Learning Officer got the balance of the executive team to agree that the VP/Controller deserved the most constructive approach to assuring all stakeholders that he was promotable. Their resolution was to provide him with an Executive Coach and to look for signs of demonstrable readiness after six months. Dr. VanNest was among several coaches that were screened in the process of selecting a coach.
All of the coaches screened by the client company were seasoned professionals, technically competent at guiding leader growth, and had direct experience in the healthcare industry. Dr. VanNest insisted that the coaching engagement include the following—each of which were satisfied and on reflection, were recognized as the Keys to Success:
*Dr. VanNest would meet independently with the Controller and his Manager-sponsor to determine
that the offering was in fact constructive in every way and that the “readiness engagement” provided
a genuine shot at promotion (This preliminary assessment is more about clearly defined criteria for
the promotion of this individual and about commitment of time and resource than questioning motives).
*The participant must “own” the process—meeting with Dr. VanNest to develop his own objectives for
submission to his manager-sponsor, complete a brief stakeholder analysis, and outline his personal
action plan for completing the engagement.
*In addition to inputs from a recent management assessment, Dr. VanNest would conduct one-on-one
interviews with select stakeholders. These interviews were not to add just another layer of competency
assessment, they were to identify how stakeholders define the participant’s opportunity, criteria for role
success as CFO, and outcomes that are of greatest priority for the organization—the basis of
expectations and the “space” where the VP must build trust.
*The participant would integrate action-assignments from Dr. VanNest with key initiatives and day to
day business challenges.
*The participant would conduct the follow-up (evaluation) assessments with the same stakeholders
interviewed by Dr. VanNest. In addition, the manager-sponsor, coach, and participant would all meet
to discuss evaluation inputs and link those observations to overall readiness and success of the
engagement (the final promotion decision would be based on prior business achievements and
subject to Board approval—in addition to satisfactory completion of the coaching engagement.
As a result of the VP/Controller’s success in completing assignments made during the engagement, building measurable trust with key stakeholders, and defining the new Finance value proposition, he was promoted to the role of CFO and has continued to guide the organization’s planning and performance as a key member of the Executive Team.