In this episode we are joined by Kathryn Sugerman and Nordia Edwards, consultants at leadership advisory firm Spencer Stuart, to discuss movement at the CEO level, the benefits of multi-year succession planning, and how healthcare boards, CEOs and CHROs can plan now for successful CEO transitions, whenever they happen. This episode is sponsored by Spencer Stuart.
Summary
The Importance of CEO Succession Planning in Healthcare
Introduction
CEO departures have become a common occurrence in healthcare lately, but it is important to ensure that proper succession planning is in place. In this episode, two consultants from Spencer Stuart, Kathryn Sugerman and Nordia Edwards, discuss the importance of multi-year succession planning and how healthcare boards, CEOs, and CHROs can prepare effective CEO transitions.
Sponsor
This episode is sponsored by Spencer Stuart, a global leadership advisory firm that focuses on developing and accelerating the performance of senior level leaders and teams.
The Risks of Poor Succession Planning
Without a strong succession plan in place, hospitals can face several risks, such as not having a ready internal successor and boards feeling uncomfortable with the readiness of internal candidates. According to Spencer Stuart, poor CEO succession planning can be incredibly costly. Taking steps to ensure successful transitions can prevent these risks.
Steps for Successful CEO Transitions
To ensure a successful CEO transition, hospital boards, CEOs, and CHROs should take certain steps. These include developing an emergency succession plan, getting a sense of the external market, and developing internal leaders with high potential. Additionally, they should focus on developing non-traditional leadership attributes such as agility, humility, empathy, resilience, adaptability, and the capacity for judgment and decision making in unfamiliar and ambiguous circumstances.
The Importance of Assessment
Assessment is an important starting point in the CEO succession planning process. It can help identify internal candidates with high potential and gaps in leadership skills that need to be addressed. Assessment can also help develop a roadmap for talent development.
Conclusion
CEO succession planning is crucial for healthcare organizations to ensure smooth transitions and prevent costly risks. Hospital boards, CEOs, and CHROs should implement multi-year succession plans, focus on developing non-traditional leadership attributes, and use assessment to identify potential successors and areas for improvement.
Note: This is an AI generated transcript, not edited by a staff writer and is solely intended for educational purposes. If you have any questions/concerns, reach out to podcasts@beckershealthcare.com
This episode aired on 09/27/2022 and can be listened here.
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