Health systems across the country are reimagining leadership development with bold investments designed to cultivate teams prepared to thrive in a rapidly evolving healthcare landscape.
It takes time, resources and intentionality to build leadership development and training programs that meet the needs of today’s workforce and emphasize the skills leaders will need for the future.
“Our workforce is evolving through bold investments in leadership development, designed to unlock the full potential of every team member,” said Trampas Hutches, regional president of Mountain Region at MaineHealth in Portland. “We’re igniting a growth mindset across the system; one that challenges the status quo and prepares leaders to drive change, not just manage it.”
MaineHealth leaders create a personalized development plan tied to core competencies and their mentors hold them accountable for reaching those goals. The mentors provide coaching and leadership expertise to develop a strong internal pipeline personalized to each emerging leader.
“This work is essential in a time when innovation must take root within deeply entrenched systems, and it’s our leaders who will pave the way,” said Mr. Hutches. “We’re not just preparing for the future of healthcare – we’re shaping it, one transformational leader at a time.”
Tampa General Hospital also takes an internal upskilling approach to educating the next generation of healthcare leaders. Mark G. Moseley, MD, president of USF Tampa General Physicians and executive vice president of Tampa General Hospital, told Becker’s the health system has a “People Development Institute” for team members – including providers – to take courses taught by thought leaders in healthcare and academia to achieve certifications and new credentials.
“We have developed innovative leadership cohort experiences that develop foundational leadership competencies, as well as social network development for emerging leaders,” said Dr. Moseley. “We also offer a well-developed executive coaching and mentoring program, which trains senior leaders to become effective mentors.”
Senior leaders are assigned mentees from the leadership team to develop their relationships and cultivate excellence from within.
“This has resulted in consistently high team member engagement scores, historically low turnover rates and a strongly positive leadership culture,” said Dr. Moseley.
Technology will also play an important role in future leadership development. Leaders are being offered baseline training in technical proficiency for artificial intelligence and digital health, and challenged to think innovatively about incorporating technology into their operational workflows. In the future, they’ll need to manage tech-enabled teams and drive automation forward.
“Our workforce is evolving to embrace intelligent automation and AI as essential tools for enabling more personalized, efficient and transformative care,” said Biju Samkutty, COO of Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. “We are prioritizing the development of skills in data literacy, digital collaboration and AI-driven decision support across clinical and operational roles.”
Leaders drive this change and must understand how functions relying on manual or routine work are evolving to include more strategic, analytical and tech-enabled responsibilities, Mr. Samkutty told Becker’s.
“This shift is creating a more agile, empowered workforce ready to lead in the future of healthcare,” he said.
Bob Sehring, CEO of OSF HealthCare in Peoria, Ill., is also committed to building an agile, “future-ready” workforce. He is focused on talent mobility, flexibility and expanding his team’s skillsets in AI, automation and telehealth.
“OSF leverages data and digital tools to enhance employee experience while also fostering a culture that embraces continuous learning and innovation,” he said. “OSF HealthCare has responded to changing workforce trends by creating a personalized development experience, which provides significant financial investments through fully and partially paid education and learning, development coaching and holistic well-being approaches.”
OSF employs the OSF Corporate University, College of Health Science, and OSF innovation programs to upskill the team.
