A "second generation" of ministry leadership

Catholic health care leaders differ from others in the field in that "they are expected to serve as Jesus served, teach as Jesus taught, and lead as Jesus led, in order to heal as Jesus healed." The Catholic health ministry today is led largely by laypeople-what might be called the "first generation" of lay leaders. This first generation was privileged in that it was tutored by and worked alongside women and men religious. Those religious are now mostly gone from the ministry, and that first generation of lay leaders will also be retiring in the not too distant future. Leadership will then pass to a "second generation," laypeople who have not worked alongside religious. How is this new generation to learn "to heal as Jesus healed"? Catholic Health East (CHE), Newtown Square, PA, has developed a program explicitly directed at the recruitment and development of second-generation leaders. In its efforts to fill a position, the system first assembles a preferred-candidate profile, based on 15 competencies, including seven core competencies. CHE then employs a recruitment process based on behavioral event interviewing. All involved stakeholders participate in the interviews.