Many leaders take a passive approach towards their own development, often waiting for their manager or someone else in the organization to offer the opportunity for professional growth. Why wait? Advocating for your own development demonstrates a core leadership attribute — proactive interest in expanding your skill set in support of your company’s success. And, one of the most proven and efficient ways to enhance your effectiveness as a leader is to partner with an experienced executive coach.

As we grapple with the chaos of the past two years, it’s become clear that strategic decision-making is an important skill for leaders in all industries. The ability to analyze situations, data, and personal experiences to reach a solution keeps leaders prepared for even the most unexpected events — like a global pandemic.

In the new post-pandemic normal, hybrid teams are the new standard. In fact, 53% of job searchers now expect to have a hybrid arrangement. For those in the health industry, finding ways to create hybrid job opportunities — and manage them — can be incredibly difficult. This is especially true for healthcare organizations as the majority of roles require in-person delivery, especially in clinical and research-oriented roles. However, for those roles that can be managed remotely, offering a flexible work schedule is no longer a nice-to-have, it’s a necessity. It’s time to start building and offering hybrid work to remain competitive in recruiting and retaining top talent.

Organizations across the health ecosystem are continuing to increase their focus on strategies dedicated to population health and community well-being by transforming healthcare delivery models aligned to value-based care. Population health and health equity are inextricably linked — the goal of population health is to improve the quality of care and outcomes for a defined group of people, while the goal of health equity is to ensure that all members of a community have an equitable access to be as healthy as possible. Without systemic change, neither of these goals can be achieved.

To navigate tough workplace challenges and hard decisions, we know that soft skills, aka Emotional Intelligence (EI), often make the difference between success and failure. Soft skills are character traits and interpersonal skills that characterize a person's relationships with work and with other people. In the workplace, soft skills are considered to be a complement to hard skills, which refer to a person's knowledge and occupational skills. Soft skills have more to do with who people are, rather than what they know. In fact, recent research concluded that 85% of job success stems from soft skills rather than skills and knowledge needed for the job.

It’s a problem we see all too often: someone has an amazing idea, like a program designed to improve community health while reducing overall costs or a plan to retain top talent amidst rising turnover rates, but other stakeholders just aren’t quite on board. Buy-in can be especially difficult for those new to leadership — 4 out of 5 new leaders don’t feel prepared to get buy-in for their vision. Coming up with an amazing idea to instigate change is only part of the process.

We are beginning to see a gradual shift in focus for healthcare organizations, from oversight of sick care to the provision of true health care.  As part of this shift, the role of the Chief Population Health Officer (CPO) is growing in number and importance.

For any organization, change is a natural part of day-to-day work. From employee transitions to industry innovations, change is inevitable. For leaders, adapting to change can be difficult if they don’t have the right mindset, tools, or capabilities to do so. The speed of change has rapidly increased over the years — such as the advent of telehealth and new digital technologies to support healthcare. In fact, the United States boasts the largest growing health industry in the world, consisting now of over 784,626 companies. With a 9.7% annual rate of growth, it’s more important than ever for leaders to master the art of change.

At any organization, change is inevitable — and necessary! Whether team members retire or take on new positions, it’s natural to expect roles to change over time as a product of growth. While change is the only constant, it can still create setbacks for both the individual and organization when those stepping up to take on new responsibilities, and those that will be impacted by the change, are not properly prepared.

Trust is the backbone of any healthy organization. Without trust in self, colleagues, and leadership, organizations are unable to reap the rewards of effective working relationships and collaborations. This is especially true within healthcare organizations, where a lack of trust can result in lower quality patient care.