men pushing arrowAs baby boomers retire and the healthcare job market becomes even more competitive, it is getting harder and harder to attract and retain high potential leaders. Leaders in healthcare are dealing with rising costs, changing regulations, and technology growth. Leaders have to possess the skills and attitudes to meet changing organizational needs. As we face an aging workforce, we need to be even more proactive about nurturing strong candidates to take over when our key leaders retire.

Last month, the Harvard Business Review (HBR) published an article that highlights how the business world identifies and develops high potentials. The HBR suggests that there is no one recipe for success; for a development program to be successful, the organization's culture and overall strategy must be taken into consideration.

In healthcare we don't typically see the identification of "high potentials", but doing so and targeting their leadership development is important for succession planning. This article outlines learnings form the business world and challenges you to apply it to your healthcare environment. It's meant as food for thought.

The HBR outlines three steps for success:

Creating a Development Program

Selecting Candidates

Training High Potentials

What is your organizational strategy for attracting and retaining high performers? Do you look to other sectors for ideas? What has your experience been with development plans for high performers?

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