Leadership in Practice

Case Study: Leadership in" rel="nofollow">in Practice While fictitious in" rel="nofollow">in nature, this is a typical case study for how leadership development looks when 360 feedback and executive coachin" rel="nofollow">ing is used to develop a healthcare leader. Kevin" rel="nofollow">in is the Chief Operatin" rel="nofollow">ing Officer (COO) of a tertiary-care hospital, one of many in" rel="nofollow">in a large chain" rel="nofollow">in in" rel="nofollow">in the Northeastern United States. At 48 years of age, he has moved in" rel="nofollow">into this position much more rapidly than anyone (in" rel="nofollow">includin" rel="nofollow">ing he himself) expected. An unplanned vacancy had occurred in" rel="nofollow">in the COO position only 6 months before, and the CEO and Board of Directors chose not to recruit externally. As the director of admin" rel="nofollow">inistration for the hospital in" rel="nofollow">in the previous 4 years, Kevin" rel="nofollow">in was considered the only qualified in" rel="nofollow">internal candidate and was offered the position. As COO, Kevin" rel="nofollow">in is responsible for all day-to-day operations of the hospital. The directors of nursin" rel="nofollow">ing, admin" rel="nofollow">inistration, human resources, government affairs, and quality now reports to him, but the doctors are part of a contracted medical group that is in" rel="nofollow">instead coordin" rel="nofollow">inated by the Medical Chief of Staff. The CEO and the Board of Directors of the system view Kevin" rel="nofollow">in as a “high potential” leader who could one day become CEO. They also recognize that Kevin" rel="nofollow">in’s promotion might have been premature, but believe that with some further coachin" rel="nofollow">ing and train" rel="nofollow">inin" rel="nofollow">ing, he could develop the needed skills to be a successful leader. To support and promote Kevin" rel="nofollow">in’s professional development, they have hired an outside consultant to serve as a leadership coach and mentor. The executive coach was hired to work with Kevin" rel="nofollow">in for 6 months. The coach first began with an assessment of Kevin" rel="nofollow">in’s strengths and weaknesses through 360 feedback process. A survey of approximately 75 questions was sent electronically to those who worked most closely with Kevin" rel="nofollow">in—his boss, his direct reports, and his peers who also worked for Kevin" rel="nofollow">in’s boss. These raters completed the survey anonymously, and their scores were combin" rel="nofollow">ined in" rel="nofollow">in the fin" rel="nofollow">inal report and analysis. Kevin" rel="nofollow">in’s highest and lowest scores were then identified (see Table 2.2). The highest score a rater can provide is 5.0, the lowest score is 1.0. Table 2.2 Kevin" rel="nofollow">in’s Highest and Lowest Scores Highest Rated Items Average Score (from all raters) 1. Ensures that the highest standards for ethical behavior are established and main" rel="nofollow">intain" rel="nofollow">ined (throughout the organization. 5.0 2. Genuin" rel="nofollow">inely listens to others 4.9 3. Demonstrates honest, ethical behavior in" rel="nofollow">in all personal and busin" rel="nofollow">iness transactions 4.9 4. Consistently treats people with respect and dignity 4.8 5. Is a role model for the organization’s values (leads by example) 4.8 6. Appreciates the value of diversity (avoids discrimin" rel="nofollow">ination based upon race, gender, age, or background 4.6 7. Builds people’s confidence 4.6 8. Discourages destructive comments about people or groups 4.6 9. Consistently meets or exceeds customer expectations 4.5 10. Effectively recognizes team members for teamwork and team performance 4.4 Lowest-Rated Items 75. Creates and communicates a clear vision for his/her organization 2.4 74. is willin" rel="nofollow">ing to take risks in" rel="nofollow">in lettin" rel="nofollow">ing others make decisions 2.5 73. Effectively anticipates future opportunities 2.5 72. Communicates a clear strategy on how to achieve the vision 2.7 71. Gives people the freedom they need to do their work 2.7 70. effectively in" rel="nofollow">involves co-workers in" rel="nofollow">in determin" rel="nofollow">inin" rel="nofollow">ing how to achieve the vision 2.9 69. Looks beyond “the way we do thin" rel="nofollow">ings now” in" rel="nofollow">in considerin" rel="nofollow">ing future opportunities 2.9 68. Trusts people enough to “let go” (avoids overcontrollin" rel="nofollow">ing or micromanagement) 3.2 67. Clearly identifies priorities (focuses on the “vital few”) 3.3 66. Encourages active participation in" rel="nofollow">in strategy development and decision makin" rel="nofollow">ing 3.4 The executive coach also gave Kevin" rel="nofollow">in a Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) assessment, a survey that Kevin" rel="nofollow">in completed himself. The results identified Kevin" rel="nofollow">in as fittin" rel="nofollow">ing in" rel="nofollow">into 1 of 16 different personality types and helped him to better understand how he perceives, communicates, and functions in" rel="nofollow">in the workplace. The coach also reviewed any past performance reviews Kevin" rel="nofollow">in received from his supervisors, along with any other assessment he may have taken earlier in" rel="nofollow">in his career. Fin" rel="nofollow">inally, the coach in" rel="nofollow">interview Kevin" rel="nofollow">in’s boss, the hospital CEO. Followin" rel="nofollow">ing the assessment, the coach and Kevin" rel="nofollow">in met for a feedback debriefin" rel="nofollow">ing. In this confidential meetin" rel="nofollow">ing, which lasted for several hours, the coach presented a summary report that highlighted Kevin" rel="nofollow">in’s key strengths and areas for development. In this meetin" rel="nofollow">ing, Kevin" rel="nofollow">in learned the in" rel="nofollow">information laid out in" rel="nofollow">in Table 2.3. Table 2.3 Feedback Debrief Summary Report Strengths Supportin" rel="nofollow">ing Data Cares for people 360 items 2, 4, 6, 8, 10: MBTI reveals he is more of a “feeler” and an “extrovert”, i.e., he is able to tune in" rel="nofollow">in to others and empathize with them. High Integrity 360 items 1, 3, 5: Performance review gives him a perfect score in" rel="nofollow">in “Integrity” Executes—Gets the Job Done 360 item 9: Past performance review data; Boss’ in" rel="nofollow">interview: “It doesn’t matter what you give Kevin" rel="nofollow">in, he will always get the job done flawlessly” Areas of Development Supportin" rel="nofollow">ing Data Lack of Vision 360 items 75, 73, 72, 70, 69, 66: MBTI reveals he is more of a “sensin" rel="nofollow">ing” (works with immediate data, rather than thin" rel="nofollow">inkin" rel="nofollow">ing about future options) and “judgin" rel="nofollow">ing” (likes to move to closure, not leave thin" rel="nofollow">ings open for future possibility). Boss’ in" rel="nofollow">interview: “Kevin" rel="nofollow">in has his head down workin" rel="nofollow">ing, he does not seem to have or communicate a vision of where his organization is goin" rel="nofollow">ing” Micromanagement 360 items 74, 71, 68: Boss’ in" rel="nofollow">interview: “Kevin" rel="nofollow">in’s direct reports in" rel="nofollow">indicate he is doin" rel="nofollow">ing their jobs rather than lettin" rel="nofollow">ing them do their jobs. His standards are so high; he feels he is the only one who can do thin" rel="nofollow">ings correctly.” Time Management 360 item 68: Past performance reviews say Kevin" rel="nofollow">in is such a nice guy, he never says no to any request. Boss’ in" rel="nofollow">interview: “Kevin" rel="nofollow">in has difficulty figurin" rel="nofollow">ing out what to work on first. He is so busy doin" rel="nofollow">ing everyone’s jobs, he just can’t keep up. He is not workin" rel="nofollow">ing at the level of COO, but at the level of those workin" rel="nofollow">ing under him.” Kevin" rel="nofollow">in agreed that he is a person of high in" rel="nofollow">integrity and of solid execution, and was pleasantly surprised that people felt he treated them with such respect. Kevin" rel="nofollow">in was also very surprised that people felt he did not have much of a vision, and struggled with the feedback that he was “too nice to say no to anyone.” After further discussion with the coach, Kevin" rel="nofollow">in eventually came to terms with the less positive feedback, recognizin" rel="nofollow">ing that this in" rel="nofollow">input was in" rel="nofollow">influenced by the perceptions of those around him, which may not be entirely on target. In the next meetin" rel="nofollow">ing, Kevin" rel="nofollow">in and his coach conducted action plannin" rel="nofollow">ing. In this session, Kevin" rel="nofollow">in first selected the area for development in" rel="nofollow">in which he planned to improve. After some thought and consideration, Kevin" rel="nofollow">in decided he needed to improve his ability to create and communicate a vision for his organization. For his action plan, Kevin" rel="nofollow">in and his coach came up with a variety of action steps designed to help him create and communicate a vision. Durin" rel="nofollow">ing this brain" rel="nofollow">instormin" rel="nofollow">ing session, Kevin" rel="nofollow">in, in" rel="nofollow">inspired by key questions posed by his coach, generated ideas based on his knowledge and experience with his job responsibilities. The coach also offered suggestions based on his experiences workin" rel="nofollow">ing with other leaders with similar areas needin" rel="nofollow">ing development. A sample action plan is provided for Kevin" rel="nofollow">in in" rel="nofollow">in Table 2.4. Table 2.4 Action Plan Worksheet for Kevin" rel="nofollow">in Area for Development: Create and communicate a vision for his organization Action Step Support Required Timelin" rel="nofollow">ine Completed? Create a Vision Meet with CEO regardin" rel="nofollow">ing her vision CEO meetin" rel="nofollow">ing Within" rel="nofollow">in 2 weeks Review in" rel="nofollow">industry journals for latest in" rel="nofollow">industry trends Obtain" rel="nofollow">in journals Within" rel="nofollow">in 2 weeks Attend in" rel="nofollow">industry conference for ideas Fundin" rel="nofollow">ing for conference April 17-20 Draft vision statement; share with boss and others CEO support, review of others May 1 Action Step Support Required Timelin" rel="nofollow">ine Completed? Communicate the Vision Make sure vision is clear, compellin" rel="nofollow">ing, easy to remember Review with coach May 14 Host team offsite to unveil the vision Funds for offsite expenses May14/15 (tentative) Internal website to promote vision Marketin" rel="nofollow">ing/design team May 21 Distribute t-shirt with graphic promotin" rel="nofollow">ing new vision to all staff Marketin" rel="nofollow">ing/design team June 1 Begin" rel="nofollow">in each staff meetin" rel="nofollow">ing with a review of vision Each month Ensure each staff members’ goals directly relate to the organization vision Durin" rel="nofollow">ing June performance reviews Survey everyone in" rel="nofollow">in 6 months to see if they can remember vision Survey design team December Prelimin" rel="nofollow">inary Case Study Discussion Questions 1. What Kevin" rel="nofollow">in’s strengths as noted in" rel="nofollow">in the evaluation? Can you combin" rel="nofollow">ine these strengths in" rel="nofollow">into a few main" rel="nofollow">in “themes”? 2. What are Kevin" rel="nofollow">in’s areas of development? What themes do you identify? 3. Given your analysis of these test results, would you choose to work for Kevin" rel="nofollow">in? Once the action plan was created, Kevin" rel="nofollow">in could begin" rel="nofollow">in to accomplish his objectives. His first step was to meet with his boss to gain" rel="nofollow">in her acceptance of the action plan and to gather her ideas and those of other stakeholders. In the ongoin" rel="nofollow">ing coachin" rel="nofollow">ing phase, Kevin" rel="nofollow">in and his coach will meet approximately every 1-2 weeks by phone, video chat, or in" rel="nofollow">in person. Durin" rel="nofollow">ing each meetin" rel="nofollow">ing, the coach will review the action plan to see which key steps have been accomplished and which steps still remain" rel="nofollow">in in" rel="nofollow">incomplete. As is often the case, Kevin" rel="nofollow">in may fin" rel="nofollow">ind himself fallin" rel="nofollow">ing behin" rel="nofollow">ind or possibly losin" rel="nofollow">ing focus in" rel="nofollow">in his areas of development. Like a personal train" rel="nofollow">iner, the coach will refocus him toward his objectives and help him stay on task. Barriers and obstacles that arise are also analyzed and addressed through the coachin" rel="nofollow">ing process. Durin" rel="nofollow">ing ongoin" rel="nofollow">ing coachin" rel="nofollow">ing, Kevin" rel="nofollow">in has in" rel="nofollow">informed all who provided in" rel="nofollow">input about his plan so that they can be aware and supportive of his upcomin" rel="nofollow">ing changes. He will also check in" rel="nofollow">in with them every other month to ask them whether or not they have noticed improvements. Research shows that the more often Kevin" rel="nofollow">in follows up with these key people; the more likely they are to notice improvement in" rel="nofollow">in his follow-up survey. The coach will also follow up with the ski colleagues in" rel="nofollow">independently to ask if they have also noticed any improvement. The coach will also check with Kevin" rel="nofollow">in's supervisor, the CEO, and Kevin" rel="nofollow">in's HR representative to gain" rel="nofollow">in their in" rel="nofollow">input on his improvement. At the end of the coachin" rel="nofollow">ing term, a results measurement, a brief follow-up survey, is sent to all the previous raters. Each person in" rel="nofollow">indicates whether or not he or she has observed improvement in" rel="nofollow">in Kevin" rel="nofollow">in's ability to create and communicate a vision for the organization over the past 6 months. Once again" rel="nofollow">in, the follow-up survey is anonymous, with the answers bein" rel="nofollow">ing combin" rel="nofollow">ined so that in" rel="nofollow">individual in" rel="nofollow">input cannot be identified. The results are then depicted in" rel="nofollow">in Table 2.5. A total of 12 raters workin" rel="nofollow">ing with Kevin" rel="nofollow">in answered that anonymous survey. In question #1, 1 rater saw no change in" rel="nofollow">in his overall leadership effectiveness, but 11 saw improvement on a +1, +2, +3 level. In question #2, he also showed improvement in" rel="nofollow">in his area of development "creates and communicates a clear vision of his/her organization.” Of 12 raters, a total of 10 felt that he had improved in" rel="nofollow">in this area. Table 2.5 Min" rel="nofollow">ini Survey For Kevin" rel="nofollow">in 1. Did Kevin" rel="nofollow">in become more (or less) effective as a leader over the past 6 months -3 Less Effective -2 -1 0 No Change +1 +2 +3 More Effective 1 6 4 1 2. Over the past 6 months, did this leader become more (or less) effective in" rel="nofollow">in the followin" rel="nofollow">ing area for development: Creates and communicates a clear vision for his/her organization? -3 Less Effective -2 -1 0 No Change +1 +2 +3 More Effective 2 7 2 1 Followin" rel="nofollow">ing successful improvement as demonstrated by the survey, coachin" rel="nofollow">ing was effectively concluded. However, Kevin" rel="nofollow">in contin" rel="nofollow">inues to check in" rel="nofollow">in with his key raters every 6 months to see if they are still clear on his vision. He also contin" rel="nofollow">inues to practice each of his action steps as he moves forward with his responsibilities. The CEO and Board have noticed great improvements in" rel="nofollow">in his leadership capabilities and are now contemplatin" rel="nofollow">ing renewin" rel="nofollow">ing coachin" rel="nofollow">ing for an additional 6 months to help him address one of his other two development objectives. Concludin" rel="nofollow">ing Case Study Discussion Questions 1. What other action steps would you recommend for Kevin" rel="nofollow">in to consider in" rel="nofollow">in creatin" rel="nofollow">ing or communicatin" rel="nofollow">ing the vision? 2. If Kevin" rel="nofollow">in had not followed up regularly with those workin" rel="nofollow">ing with him regardin" rel="nofollow">ing his developmental opportunities, do you thin" rel="nofollow">ink he would have improved as much as he did? Why or why not? 3. Would you promote Kevin" rel="nofollow">in now to CEO of his hospital? If so, why? If not now, why not?