NCHL's "Best Organizations for Leadership Development" Program: A Case Study in Improving Evidence-based Practice...

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Management
• Organizational Leadership
• Health Services Research

Background:

• Healthcare systems face complex challenges requiring adaptive leadership.
• Individual leadership development is studied, but organizational-level impacts are less understood.
• The National Center for Healthcare Leadership created the Best Organizations for Leadership Development (BOLD) program to address this gap.

Purpose of the Study:

• To build an evidence base for organizational leadership development in healthcare.
• To encourage evidence-based leadership practices.
• To examine the relationship between leadership development survey dimensions and organizational outcomes.

Main Methods:

• Description of the philosophy behind the Best Organizations for Leadership Development (BOLD) survey program.
• Summary of existing research on leadership development and organizational outcomes.
• Analysis of relationships between BOLD survey dimensions and key performance indicators.

Main Results:

• The BOLD program identifies dimensions of effective organizational leadership development.
• Preliminary research suggests correlations between leadership development practices and improved patient experience.
• Evidence indicates potential links between leadership development and enhanced financial performance in healthcare organizations.

Conclusions:

• Organizational leadership development is crucial for addressing healthcare's grand challenges.
• The BOLD program provides a framework for assessing and improving leadership development.
• Future research should further elucidate the causal pathways between leadership development and healthcare outcomes.