Clarity in understanding the responsibilities of the Chair of a Search Committee is important to a successful process. The goal of the process is to identify the best candidate for the position that is to be filled. This conversation highlights the importance of the charge given to the committee. Noteworthy is the attention to details borne by the Committee Chair e.g. to have in place the preparatory documents, standardization of the process, appropriate selection of committee members, legal and HR supports to ensure the integrity of the search with adherence to Title VII and IX mandates. Discussed also is the engagement of a broad representation of committee members, individuals who are invested and do not detract from reaching a positive outcome for the Department, School of Medicine and University.
Career Physician’s New Leader Engagement Program is a comprehensive approach to optimize a leader’s success in their new role. It begins with an experienced leader performing an extensive review of the institution and its component divisions and departments with their respective strengths, weaknesses and challenges. That same reviewer can then be an effective facilitator during the recruitment process based on that in-depth understanding of the institution and the area of specialty. The most powerful dividend of this program may be the potential for that same reviewer to serve as an advisor/coach for the individual selected to be the new leader. While this advisor/coach role may differ somewhat from the formal executive coaching role, the value of an outside advisor with specific knowledge of the situation, and who can serve as a confidant with no conflict of interests, may be powerful.
Success in leadership for academic medicine is much more complex and characterized by an accelerating pace of change. For new leaders, a robust support team is essential. To optimize that support, a thorough assessment of the individual leaders’ skills and experience, as well as the institutional environment is imperative at the beginning of their tenure. For that reason, a structured program or institutional review preceding the placement of a new leader can have great value. Once the institutional and leader assessments are completed, an ideal support team can be created to buttress areas where the leaders may face their greatest challenges. Furthermore, when leading a new team, a leader’s thorough understanding of different team members skills, experience, and styles of work and communication can be leveraged to optimize the success of the program, division, or department.
Recruitment is one of the most critical responsibilities of leaders to ensure the success of their departments. To avoid unsuccessful recruitment searches, all departments, regardless of their national esteem, must carefully prepare both the candidate and the department. With this preparation, departments can better present the opportunities that would attract the candidate, evaluate the cultural alignment, and to meet the candidate’s personal and professional goals. Personal respect for the candidate, not institutional arrogance, is required for successful recruitment. The Child Health Advisory Council (CHAC) and leadership of CareerPhysician discuss their perspectives on best practices to respect candidates during leadership search.
Every leader working with faculty and staff to define the mission and vision for the organization needs to articulate the core values and principles that will ignite and inspire the community. A #1 priority is providing a positive work and learning environment that supports the well-being of the organization. This conversation identifies key attributes of a healthy culture and gives examples of explicit messages that support a healthy culture.
Financial management is often an area that physician leaders have not yet developed experience prior to assuming their leadership role. The complexity of clinical reimbursements, research funding sources and institutional compensations has greatly increased the management demands for physician leaders. Fortunately, department chairs, and most division chiefs, often have an administrator available to share this responsibility. In this conversation of members of CareerPhysician’s Child Health Advisory Council, experienced leaders reflect on the nature of this relationship and how it might be maximized.
The executive search services provided by CareerPhysician can include a search-focused division or department review by a member of its Child Health Advisory Council (CHAC). This unique review can lay important groundwork for a successful leadership search outcome. In this conversation, CHAC members discuss goals and deliverables of these reviews; their experience doing the reviews; and their reflections on how these reviews would have helped in their own leadership searches.
Many of our faculty may not recognize the many roles they play that require leadership perspective and skills. It is a tremendously exciting opportunity to help our faculty become the most effective leader they can be. There are many ways that clarity and education can be provided around these leadership opportunities. This discussion will highlight many of the successful modalities that leaders in academic medicine have utilized in developing and mentoring leadership skills in faculty.
Innovative and effective education programs are essential to prepare students, residents, and pediatricians to address the dynamic social and health environment facing children. Often the medical education mission is undervalued for faculty advancement and under resourced to support educators. This conversation discusses how members of the Child Health Advisory Council advanced their medical education programs.
The Child Health Advisory Council™ experts offer insight on why philanthropy is a must have, not a nice-to-have in any academic leadership search process. In this discussion, you’ll learn the four types of philanthropy and how this plays into the development process. You’ll also hear about how incorporating philanthropy in the search process better prepares candidates for their role and demonstrates institutional commitment to their success.
