Bridging the Leadership Development Gap

Deepening leadership identity development.

From the *Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care, University of Pennsylvania, Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania †Penn Center for Perioperative Outcomes, Research and Transformation, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania ‡Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Accepted for publication August 10, 2022. Conflicts of Interest: See Disclosures at the end of the article. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Address correspondence to Emily A. Vail, MD, MSc, 333 Blockley Hall, 423 Guardian Dr, Philadelphia, PA 19104. Address e-mail to [email protected].

This chapter discusses leadership development (LD) of Polish managers during the process of economic transformation since 1989. The first part of the chapter discusses the Polish managers’ leadership capabilities and their characteristic features and behaviours as contrasted with managers from other Central and Eastern European countries (CEE) and from Western European countries. In the second part changes in the approaches to leadership training and development in Poland are analysed. In addition to discussing company-based LD, the second part of the chapter describes the typical features of management and LD programmes at Polish universities. It can be concluded that there was some progress in leadership competence development over the years. LD is based mostly on Western training models; in addition, Polish managers are learning from their Western counterparts while working on global markets and interacting with MNCs operating in Poland.

Health care organizations are increasingly embracing leadership development programs. These programs include a variety of specific activities, such as formally structured leadership development, as well as mentoring, personal development and coaching, 360-degree feedback, and job enlargement, in order to increase the leadership skills of managers and high-potential staff. However, there is a lack of information on how early careerists in health care management view these programs and the degree to which they participate. This article reports on a study undertaken to determine how early careerists working in health care organizations view leadership development programs and their participation in such programs offered by their employers. Study findings are based on a survey of 126 early careerists who are graduates of an undergraduate health services administration program. We found varying levels of interest and participation in specific leadership development activities. In addition, we found that respondents with graduate degrees and those with higher compensation were more likely to participate in selected leadership development program activities. Implications of study findings for health care organizations and early careerists in the offering of, and participation in, leadership development programs are discussed.

‘Leadership’ as a key component of organisational success has become a focus of increased attention for academics and policy makers. Leadership theory, strategy, training, styles and development are prominent themes in the business world. Major investments in time and money are made each year to cultivate these traits and skills in people across the globe. In more recent years, these themes have been transferred into healthcare systems and into healthcare practice. Reviews of leadership within the professions of nursing and medicine have been conducted but this has yet to be undertaken in the field of physical therapy. The aim of this opinion piece is to discuss the current situation regarding leadership and leadership development in physical therapy internationally. It reports on what physical therapy organisations are doing to promote leadership and leadership development programmes in the profession. Leadership education and styles, as well as the barriers and factors affecting leadership in physical therapy today, and the evidence behind these, are also explored.

A healthy lifestyle is fundamental for the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease and other noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). Investment in primary prevention, including modification of health risk behaviors, could result in a 4-fold improvement in health outcomes compared with secondary prevention based on pharmacological treatment. The American Heart Association (AHA) emphasized the importance of lifestyle in its 2020 goals for cardiovascular health promotion and disease reduction. In addition to defining “cardiovascular health” based on criteria for blood pressure and biochemical markers (lipids and glycemia), the AHA Strategic Planning Committee further identified lifestyle characteristics of central importance: nutrition, physical activity, smoking, and maintenance of a healthy body weight.1 The World Health Organization estimated that ≈80% of NCDs could be prevented if 4 key lifestyle practices were followed: a healthy diet, being physically active, avoidance of tobacco, and alcohol intake in moderation.2 To support healthy lifestyle initiatives, major changes are necessary at the societal level to improve population health. Numerous strategies might help to create a culture that promotes and facilitates healthy behaviors, including creating laws and regulations, mounting large-scale public awareness and education campaigns, implementing local community programs, and providing individual counseling.3 Physicians are uniquely positioned to encourage individuals to adopt healthy lifestyle behaviors: Approximately 80% of Americans visit their primary care physician at least once a year. Physicians directly communicate with their patients during clinical encounters across numerous settings, and research indicates that patients highly value recommendations provided by their physicians.4,5 However, data further indicate that lifestyle counseling does not routinely occur in physicians’ offices, thereby representing a lost opportunity. Physicians report that they perform lifestyle counseling during ≈34% of clinic visits.4 Patients, in turn, report an even lower frequency of physician lifestyle counseling. For example, obese patients reported receiving physical activity and …

: Developing leaders is vital to Air Mobility Command (AMC) to ensure future success of AMC, as a command, and its subordinate mobility units. AMC has implemented several programs under Phoenix Horizon to help create a large pool of highly competitive mobility officers through leadership development programs. This research focuses on one of those programs, the Advanced Study of Air Mobility (ASAM). Prior to this research, formal written documentation did not exist on the goals, objectives and overall conduct of the ASAM program. This research attempted to evaluate ASAM through goal and objective development and their relation to current resources. Goal and objective development along with program assessment was accomplished using a qualitative analysis technique, open-ended interviewing of personnel associated with ASAM, including personnel at AFIT, AMWC, AMC, graduates and their supervisors. While program evaluation portion was not conclusive, the research provided goals and objectives to support the overall vision. Two overarching goals, to prepare future leaders for mobility operations and build a core of experts in the total concept of mobility were identified. Eight objectives supporting these goals were identified. Resources can now be allocated to support these eight objectives to produce a world-class leadership development and mobility expertise program.

As leadership development becomes prevalent around the world, it is critical to understand the expectations and needs of participants attending leadership development programs and whether cross-country differences exist in those needs. This study examines the leadership challenges faced by 763 participants of leadership development programs from seven different countries (China/Hong Kong, Egypt, India, Singapore, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States) and evaluates how important they perceive certain leadership competencies are to success in their respective organization. Qualitative data reveal that the challenges leaders face are relatively similar across countries, although small variations exist. Developing Managerial Effectiveness, Inspiring Others, Developing Employees, Leading a Team, Guiding Change, and Managing Internal Stakeholders and Politics were challenges that ranked consistently among the top challenges in each country. Quantitative data from the same sample showed that the leadership competencies of Leading Employees, Resourcefulness, and Change Management were consistently seen as being important to success in managers’ organizations in all countries. Teaching managers to overcome the aforementioned challenges, and enhancing the previously mentioned competencies, is likely to contribute to the effectiveness of leadership development programs and initiatives independently of the country in which the manager resides. Both qualitative and quantitative data suggest cultural convergence when it comes to the needs of participants in leadership development programs around the world. Implications of findings for participant-focused leadership development and practical executive education are discussed.

Increased awareness of the crucial role of leadership as a competitive advantage for organisations (McCall, 1998; Petrick, Scherer, Brodzinski, Quinn, & Ainina, 1999) has led to billions spent on leadership development programmes and training (Avolio & Hannah, 2008). However, research reports confusing and contradictory evidence regarding return on investment and developmental outcomes, and a lot of variance has been observed across studies (Avolio, Reichard, Hannah, Walumbwa, & Chan, 2009). The purpose of this thesis is to understand the mechanisms underlying this variability in leadership development. Of the many factors at play in the process, such as programme design and delivery, organisational support, and perceptions of relevance (Mabey, 2002; Day, Harrison, & Halpin, 2009), individual differences and characteristics stand out. One way in which individuals differ is in their Developmental Readiness (DR), a concept recently introduced in the literature that may well explain this variance and which has been proposed to accelerate development (Avolio & Hannah, 2008, 2009). Building on previous work, DR is introduced and conceptualised somewhat differently. In this study, DR is construed of self-awareness, self-regulation, and self-motivation, proposed by Day (2000) to be the backbones of leadership development. DR is suggested to moderate the developmental process. Furthermore, personality dispositions and individual values are proposed to be precursors of DR. The empirical research conducted uses a pre-test post-test quasi-experimental design. Before conducting the study, though, both a measure of Developmental Readiness and a competency profiling measure are tested in two pilot studies. Results do not find evidence of a direct effect of leadership development programmes on development, but do support an interactive effect between DR and leadership development programmes. Personality dispositions Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, and Openness to Experience and value orientations Conservation, Open, and Closed Orientation are found to significantly predict DR. Finally, the theoretical and practical implications of findings are discussed.

Globally, the petrochemical industry has increasingly become a vital component of numerous industrial processes as it provides raw materials for a wide range of products that find application in automotive, construction, and manufacturing. With the recent development in the petrochemical industry, the need to identify, select and develop future leaders based on evidence-based criteria has become significantly important to ensure leadership and business continuity in the petrochemical industry in the United Arab Emirates. The objective of the proposed paper is to determine the relationship between high employee performance and leadership potential ratings as two factors being considered in a talent pool wherein potential leaders are selected during succession planning. Fifty-five (55) high performing leaders whose performance rating is either exceed expectations or significantly exceed expectations were extracted and correlated against their potential ratings using correlational data statistical analysis. The composition of 55 high performing leaders came from various leadership levels such as section heads, supervisors, department managers, and vice presidents. Each employee's performance rating was correlated against each of the 5 factors that constitute leadership potential resulting in a unique correlational coefficient for each of the leadership potential factors. The result of the correlational research analysis revealed that there is no correlation between high employee performance and leadership potential ratings. Employees who have high performance at the current role do not necessarily become an effective leader in a higher and more complex leadership role. The correlation coefficient of each of the five factors against the employee's performance ratings: Performance and Innovation: −0.067 Performance and Performing: +0.086 Performance and Reflecting: +0.197 Performance and Risking: +0.190 Performance and Defending: +0.173 In order to establish that there is a strong correlation between the two variables, the correlation coefficient must be between .80 to 1.0. The findings supported the fact that after administering potential assessments and generating employee's potential rating plotted in the 9-box grid, some leaders still manually calibrate (decrease or increase) employee's potential rating and sometimes including performance rating. Furthermore, not all employees who are high performers and got high potential ratings were perceived as potential leaders nor demonstrated leadership effectiveness when promoted to a more senior role. This paper will present novel and additive information to leadership development and succession management by providing guidance on utilizing evidence-based indicators for leadership potential as an alternative to employee performance and potential ratings. Some of the practical implications to oil and gas and petrochemical companies using employee performance and potential ratings as inputs to the talent pool and leadership potential identification: Leadership development programs and readiness level progress in succession management must be anchored in evidence-based criteria on leadership effectiveness.Inputs to future leader's personal development plans must be aligned to factors contributing to an effective and successful leadership.Leadership potential assessments must be anchored based on evidence-based criteria on successful leadership.

This qualitative, intrinsic case study explored the most important leadership experiences mid-career officers had in the Navy, and whether these experiences connect with the Navy's leadership development programs, or frameworks (formal schooling, on-the-job training and experience, and self-guided education). Applying research questions framed using the lens of authentic leadership theory, participants' revealed that they principally learned about Navy leadership through on-the-job experiences. Early Navy leadership development was considered too administrative and bureaucratic; and offered little individual development. Later Navy leadership education addressed this need, but this was deemed to be too late. Participants' descriptions of their leadership styles consisted of the four constructs of authentic leadership, without instruction in the theory itself. Participants felt the Navy should try to improve sailors' moral and professional ethics (character), but some believed the Navy's climate and culture make it difficult to do so. This study added to the authentic leadership literature while also addressing the research gap in Navy officer leadership development. There is a need to better understand Navy leadership development longitudinally, and to examine the current content of early leadership courses. Additionally, paying more attention to authentic followership is recommended. Suggestions for theory included a more explicit emphasis on the role of experience and active reflection in the authentic leadership model and recognizing the cyclical and cumulative experiential/informal leadership learning cycle in it. Suggestions for practice were offered including adding ethical fitness to the FITREP (performance management) system and addressing toxic leaders. Study results argue for the inclusion of authentic leadership theory and its focus on moral decision-making in the Navy's formal leadership development programs. It aligns well with the Navy's stated goals of improving the competence and character of all sailors. Findings also accentuate the importance of providing a continuum of challenging experiences for Navy leadership development coupled with quality feedback and fostering the practice in officers of intentionally reflecting on those experiences. Keywords: authentic leadership, critical thinking, feedback, leadership, moral component of authentic leadership, professional military education, reflection, self- awareness, self-regulation

Purpose This study aims to explore how medical school deans develop as leaders within their institutional context, focusing on how they acquire decision-making capacity, exercise influence and sustain their roles in administration. Using Self-Determination Theory (SDT) as a lens, the study examines key components of leadership development, including autonomy, competence and relatedness. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative study design was employed using semi-structured interviews with medical school deans in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Participants were recruited via e-mail and provided informed consent prior to participation. Interviews were conducted virtually, audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Data were analyzed using framework analysis to identify themes aligned with the constructs of SDT. Findings Eight themes were identified across the three SDT domains. Autonomy was reflected in defining autonomy and role negotiation. Competence in leadership emerged through experiences of mastery, the influence of resources, participation in formal leadership programs and achievement of organizational goals. Relatedness was reflected in interpersonal relationships and personal fulfillment. These findings illustrate that leadership development is shaped by both individual experiences and institutional contexts. Research limitations/implications Although, this study sheds light on the complex interplay between leaders’ autonomy, motivation to lead and leaders’ ability to motivate others and how that contributes to organizational culture, a larger sample size, which includes deans from other Saudi Arabian cities, is needed for the findings to be transferable to other contexts. Furthermore, there was a lack of investigator triangulation. Time and access to the resources available for this research were constrained, both in terms of time and funding. As a result, the decision was made to streamline the analysis process to ensure the completion of the study within the specified constraints. Moreover, although the study shows a positive impression of leadership training programs, it does not measure actual outcomes or impact. As a result, the full effect of educational programs formal or informal cannot be determined. Practical implications Despite the methodological limitations of this study, the findings have several implications for educational practice and policy. First, at the individual level, leaders and candidates for administrative positions should be educated in their leadership roles. Leaders need to understand what role autonomy, competency and relatedness play in their development as leaders and how to best cultivate these aspects while practicing leadership. Second, in terms of the organizational level, policies regarding leadership recruitment and development of leaders belonging to the medical school need to be developed. Such policies may foster a better workplace culture that prioritizes leadership development, which may lead to efficient and effective organizations. Social implications This study highlights how leadership development in academic medicine extends beyond individual skill-building to social and organizational transformation. By viewing deans as learners embedded within relational, cultural and institutional contexts, it underscores that autonomy, competence and relatedness are socially constructed and sustained. Supporting these needs can improve workplace culture, reduce burnout and enhance collaboration among academic leaders. The findings suggest that fostering connected, motivated leadership in medical schools contributes not only to individual well-being but also to institutional resilience and the broader societal goal of developing effective, ethical and community-oriented health-care education systems. Originality/value This study contributes to the limited literature on leadership development among medical school deans by applying a theoretical lens to understand their lived experiences. It highlights that leadership development extends beyond technical skill acquisition and involves a dynamic process of negotiation autonomy, building competence and fostering meaningful professional relationships. The findings offer insights for designing contextually relevant leadership development initiatives in medical education.

BackgroundOrganizations should strive to function at the highest level possible. One way to foster organizational success is through leadership development (LD), though such education for middle managers was limited. Additionally,...

Many medical schools in the United States are introducing leader and leadership curricula. However, there is a large gap regarding how to assess leader performance during undergraduate medical education. With the guidance of a conceptual framework, leadership assessment measures can be developed, learners can make expected improvements in performance over time, and assessment measures can be used in relevant, applied, medical teaching settings. Uniformed Services University (USU) medical students are educated to become healthcare leaders who can perform effectively in various settings. Medical students are assessed on multiple occasions for elements of leader performance during "Operation Bushmaster" - the capstone military medical field practicum event for fourth year medical students - by experienced faculty. A conceptual framework guides the assessment approach for leader performance during Bushmaster. The USU Leader and Leadership Education and Development program developed an assessment tool to measure student leader performance used in a military medical field practicum. The present paper examines whether: (1) leader performance can be measured at Bushmaster; (2) leader performance changed during Bushmaster; (3) leader performance elements are related to each other; and (4) overall leader performance is related to other medical academic performance. Trained faculty assessed students' leader performance. Data from three cohorts of USU medical students (N = 509) were collected. All data were collected, compiled, deidentified, and analyzed with approval from the USU Institutional Review Board (Protocol number: KM83XV). Descriptive statistics, repeated measures t-tests, trend analyses, and correlation analyses were performed. Data were available from 483/509 [95%] students. Results revealed that: (1) average leader performance was satisfactory; (2) overall leader performance and performance on each of the major elements of leader performance significantly improved over the course of Bushmaster; (3) major elements of leader performance were significantly correlated with each other and with overall leader performance; (4) leader performance was not correlated with students' performance on the MCAT total score or USMLE Step exam scores. With the guidance of a conceptual framework, the assessment tool was used to assess leader performance in a relevant, applied, medical teaching setting. The findings of this study indicate that leader performance can be measured. Additionally, leader performance appears to be a separate skillset from medical academic performance and both types of performance can be taught and developed. This was a retrospective correlation study and was conducted during a military medical field practicum at a single institution. Gathering additional validity evidence of the assessment tool is needed. With additional validity evidence, the assessment tool could be applied to other medical exercises in different settings and help with the assessment of leader performance beyond medical school.

The number of recognized leadership development programs in institutions of higher education is rapidly nearing 1,000. This includes all three forms of leadership programs-training, education, and development, as outlined by Ayman, Adams, Hartman, and Fisher (chap. 11, this volume; also see Mangan, 2002; Sorenson, 2000). Yet, relatively few of these programs are curricular-based undergraduate programs offering academic credit in the form of a bachelor’s degree, academic minor, or certificate. The purposes of this chapter are (a) to provide an overview of the historical and conceptual development of undergraduate leadership studies programs, (b) to connect college-based leadership studies programs withthe larger literature on leadership development via a model, (c) to provide guidelines for undergraduate curricular programs, and (d) to provide specific examples of leadership studies curricula with a liberal arts focus.