HR Pulse - Winter 2007 - (Page 44) >> HEADING OFF A LEADERSHIP DRAIN Its first step was to develop competency models for the CEO, COO and senior vice presidents. With those guidelines in hand, the organization then went through an extensive executive assessment process to help identify people internally who might one day assume those positions. Such a formalized approach to leadership succession was new at Hamot. “When we replaced our COO {after the simulation process}, it was the first time in the history of the organization that we had changed leadership in such an orderly fashion,” explains Don Inderlied, senior vice president of corporate services and chief compliance officer. “After that, the next move was to send more candidates through executive assessment to identify potential new leaders and develop their talents prior to assuming new roles. That way, when they are promoted, they’re ready to hit the ground running.” Since the first group of five candidates completed the assessment process, nearly a dozen more leaders from Hamot have gone through the experience. In addition, Inderlied keeps the board of directors up to date on the leaders’ progress. “We’ve assessed about 35 top positions in the organization and are looking to expand to 50,” says Inderlied. “When we look 18 to 36 months down the line to see what positions will come open, we don’t want to be caught off guard. We have a few positions now that if the current person left, we might have to scramble a bit to find someone as a substitute. But through the assessment process, we’re getting closer to a point where we’d have people ready to step in right away.” A Better Diagnosis of Talent Officials at both Memorial Health and Hamot say that the results of their respective executive assessment experiences confirmed their internal evaluations of potential leadership candidates. While those outcomes were expected, the indepth analysis they gained in the process pointed out areas of additional strengths and necessary improvements that leaders might not have realized until they actually assumed a new position. Both organizations have promoted people to new positions of greater and different responsibilities. In some cases, while the assessments didn’t result in a promotion, participants did take on new responsibilities in their current jobs based on the outcomes. Overall, each organization says the process is a major improvement over the typical search for top leaders. “Executive assessment gives us a way to identify where we need to develop people,” says Thaeler. “And it allows us to set clear requirements for positions and to determine the behaviors we want in our leaders. By filling key positions from within, we know we have a good fit with our culture and can ensure that our people will be ready when opportunities arise.” n Eric Hanson, Ph.D. currently serves as an executive consultant for Development Dimensions International (DDI), a global human resources consulting firm. He can be contacted at eric.hanson@ddiworld.com. 44 HR Pulse Winter 2007 ✓ ✓ ✓ 298018_JAMACareerNet.indd 1 10/13/06 7:50:16 AM http://www.jamacareernet.com
For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.