Evaluating leadership development programs in healthcare organizations: A profile from practice

To enhance leadership acumen and intelligence among the managerial ranks, many healthcare organizations establish leadership development programs. Doing so makes perfect sense as the caliber of leadership within health and medical institutions profoundly influences all aspects of operation. Although leadership development programs are very capable mechanisms for advancing the state of leadership within healthcare organizations, a notable enhancement-evaluation-is needed to maximize their potential. Across commerce, techniques for evaluating leadership development programs are highly varied. The specific evaluative approach selected matters not, as long as it satisfactorily assesses program performance. Problems, however, emerge when establishments choose to forgo evaluative pursuits altogether. Omission of such often is attributed to fears concerning the complexity of evaluation and its associated resource requirements. It is further hastened by the dearth of easily accessible examples from practice, with this limiting idea sharing, impeding evaluation system development and proliferation. To encourage the circulation of associated ideas, this article provides a helpful account from practice, describing the approach used by Willis Knighton Health to evaluate its leadership development program. This very lean, conservative application constitutes just one of many possibilities. Through its portrayal, it is hoped that healthcare organizations hesitant to engage in the assessment of their leadership development programs will be encouraged to proceed.