In 1993, early in the executive search career of our Managing Partner and Founder, Marion Spears Karr, FACHE, he was challenged by a healthcare CEO client who needed to hire a new Chief Operating Officer to find him someone who could “Tell me why their organization was better because they were there.”
Why did it matter to the stakeholders they served? In other words, what positive impact did their leadership have on improving patient care, financial stability, success, or the culture? This CEO saw the opening not as a position to be filled but as a problem to be solved and an opportunity to improve, furthering his hospital’s mission in healthcare.
By framing the leadership opening as a problem to be solved, connecting it to why it mattered and an impact rather than a position to be filled, this mindset change creates a process of discovery for the organization that positions it to make the best hire possible—one that is highly likely to not only improve the organization’s performance but also significantly support the mission and culture.
But how, as healthcare organizations, can we make this shift in our leadership talent acquisition efforts?
Approaching it from the perspective of “What is the problem to be solved here?” will drive that process.
Here are the key questions you need to ask and answer:
- How mission-critical is this role in its current structure?
- Does it provide the necessary scope, leadership coverage, and positive impact to support the overall success of the organization?
- Is there an opportunity to redefine the role’s scope and focus on addressing the challenges the ever-changing healthcare landscape presents today? This forward-thinking and adaptable approach is crucial in today’s healthcare environment.
- Does it position us for future success?
- Do we have an opportunity to upgrade or acquire a new set of skills and experience?
- Even though the previous person in the role may have been outstanding, is there an area where we can improve, such as patient experience, employee engagement, financial performance, collaboration with other leaders, etc.?
- Is there a shift in the way care is to be delivered to our patient population, our business model, or the overall makeup of the organization?
- What is the leadership insight needed to address these changes?
- How will these changes impact on our teams, culture, relationships with providers, and our ability to serve our patient population, and what are the critical aspects of a leader we need to address such challenges?
- Do we have anyone in-house currently with the background needed or ready to step into this role?
- Have we created a succession planning strategy that develops and cultivates our next leaders? (Author’s Note: This is a fundamental question that, in some ways, supersedes this entire discussion. It is mission-critical and creates a competitive advantage, but many healthcare entities lack this focus.)
- If so, what can we do to successfully support this person’s transition and development into this new position?
- How will we back-fill or cover the position that this change will vacate?
- What is our strategy to attract, source, vet, and acquire candidates that “solve this problem”?
- Will our internal talent acquisition team lead this effort?
- Who are the key stakeholders we need to involve in the process, and how should we communicate with them?
- Who will take “ownership” of framing the interview processes and questions to be asked to assess the candidates and “Why will our organization be better because they are here?”
- Have we taken the time to ensure we are competitive in the market with compensation, benefits, role structure, and scope, and if not, are there steps we can take to address these gaps?
- Do we need outside resources such as executive search professionals, and if so, which one will best position us for success?
- What is our timeline and launch strategy for this vital work?
Michael Maccoby, globally recognized as an expert on leadership for his research on improving organizations and the nature of work and author of the book The Leaders We Need: And What Makes Us Follow, once said in a course attended by Marion, our founder, “To be a great leader, one must implore the mind, the body, and the heart in the endeavor. It takes all three.”
Dr. Maccoby explained that the leaders who made the most positive difference in the organizations they worked in, the people they led, and the lives they served were the ones who continually developed their knowledge (the mind), were fully present in all interactions (the body), and indeed had a heart for what they did.
“Why is your organization better because you are there?”
The leaders who can answer this question through the lens of Dr. Maccoby’s head, body, and heart framework are the leaders we need to “solve the problem” of our open position and have the most significant positive impact.