Leadership development training for leaders in healthcare is crucial to accelerate individual, team, and business performance. During these tumultuous times, effective leadership supports the well-being and morale of teams and patients. In fact, ensuring that healthcare leaders are equipped with the right skills and mindset to be in a position of positive influence is at the forefront of many healthcare organizations’ priorities. Consequently, 52% of these organizations are currently naming physician and leader alignment as their top investment priority. Yet the same Huron survey shows that 21% of respondents report not having a leadership strategy in place.
If your organization is part of the latter group, there has never been a more critical time to invest in leadership development than now. The truth is, poor leadership leads to burnout. While the pandemic isn’t the only factor leading to physician burnout, COVID-19 intensified the rate of burnout among professionals in the healthcare ecosystem. In fact, a recent survey shows that 79% of physicians were actually experiencing burnout prior to the onset of the pandemic.
In order to effectively navigate through a global pandemic, high rates of physician burnout, and rapidly declining mental health, healthcare leaders need to learn the skills necessary to help their staff perform better, feel safe and secure, and bolster their satisfaction in the workplace. In this article we’re taking a closer look at the power of leadership development in the healthcare industry as an antidote to burnout.
The Why Behind Healthcare Teams Looking to Embrace Leadership Development
Although 79% of healthcare organizations have a leadership strategy in place, most still struggle with certain pain points which motivate them to hire leadership development experts.
For example, many healthcare leaders find it difficult to discover, attract, and retain the right talent. In fact, in 2021, RN turnover increased by a staggering 8.4%, resulting in a national average of 27.1%, with clinicians reporting feeling burnt out and lacking trust with their management and organizations. Often, physicians and other medical personnel feel as though they would be harshly criticized and receive little help if they went to their superiors claiming they had feelings of anxiety and were suffering from burnout. This lack of trust and security divides healthcare teams into ununified silos that hinder interpersonal communication and individual well-being leading to higher turnover rates. The problem with rapid turnover is that it has a direct effect on patients and their well-being due to a lack of consistent medical care and practices. And while turnover has been a standing issue in the healthcare ecosystem, the pandemic is undoubtedly intensifying turnover rates.
Increased burnout, turnover, and the overall need to enhance leadership skills have motivated healthcare leaders to invest in leadership development, coaching, and consultation services. In order to improve communication, eliminate potential errors, and create a motivated and organized workforce that is dedicated to the shared mission of enhancing patient care, healthcare leaders must prioritize consistent leadership development training.
Experiential Learning in Group Leadership Development Enables Personal Growth and Drives Positive Business Results
With all these driving forces in mind, it’s time to generate and implement a leadership strategy to help mitigate burnout among your healthcare team. Leadership development academies are a great way to ensure all team members are developing their skills, aligned to a shared mission, and rowing in the same direction.
But what exactly is a leadership development academy?
Leadership development academies are designed and tailored for any leadership cohort, level, and configuration for the purpose of creating high performing leaders and teams aligned on business strategy and organizational priorities. During leadership academies, healthcare leaders are engaged in a multi-faceted development process including individual coaching, interactive training, and experiential learning. This means, no lengthy presentations or lectures. Instead, healthcare leaders are executing hands-on tasks enabling personal growth and development while improving business results.
For example, The Leadership Development Group’s (TLD Group) interactive learning modules focus on the development of leadership skills and competencies with one-on-one and team coaching practices with an experienced coach. Whether on-site or virtual, the coach is ready to help leaders engage with their teams to apply the concepts learned during the interactive modules to solve strategic organizational priorities while developing leadership skills.
For more information on how TLD Group’s leadership academies bring forth organizational and cultural efficiencies in healthcare ecosystems, check out our interviews with physician leaders who underwent one of our three leadership academies.
Which Leadership Academy is Right For You and Your Team?
TLD Group offers leadership development training from nationally renowned experts in leadership and organizational development, health industry policy and trends, academia, and research. Below are descriptions of three such academies, custom-designed to address the specific leadership needs for their participants.
The Applied Physician Leadership Academy© (APLA™)
The APLA is designed to respond to the pressing needs of health systems, group practices, and hospitals to support physician leaders in developing key relationships and competencies critical to their roles as organizational change agents.
Our renowned faculty of content experts, physician leaders, and certified physician executive coaches will come to your location (across the globe) to enable ease of learning and a community forum for continued development while maintaining physician productivity. The APLA™ approach can be delivered over a six, twelve, or eighteen month period.
The Applied Women’s Leadership Academy©
The Applied Women’s Leadership Academy© leverages the valuable perspective that women leaders bring to health organizations and addresses the challenges they face. AWLA employs strategies for enhancing women’s leadership behaviors through interactive and experiential learning sessions.
The Applied Collaborative Leadership Academy© (ACLA™)
The ACLA™ is designed to engage and develop clinical, academic, and administrative leadership partnerships to work together in service of shared clinical and business priorities. ACLA empowers leadership teams with the knowledge, skills, behaviors, and mindset required for effective co-leadership.
Final Thoughts
As we continue to battle the impact of COVID-19 and other stressors, there is an even greater emphasis on the top skills needed for healthcare leaders: agility, ethical decision-making, teamwork, collaboration, and communication. But these skills aren’t developed overnight. That’s why it’s more important than ever for healthcare leaders to prioritize leadership development. Now is the time to ensure you and your team gain the leadership skills and communication expertise to configure and execute organizational strategy to face the challenges brought forth by the pandemic, such as excessive burnout, with a strong and efficient team.
TLD Group can help you on your leadership journey to success. Get in touch with us to kickstart your leadership development strategy and execution.
