Toward a Better Model for Leader Development

Leadership development is broken—we need a new approach

Strengthening leader identification and development is a priority for many organizations. While recent big layoff announcements and a cooling of the post-pandemic job market have quieted the “global talent shortage” drumbeat, I’ve yet to find a senior leader comfortable with the volume or quality of their leadership development pipeline. A consistent message I hear sounds like: “We haven’t solved this problem yet, but we’re taking steps.” One of my CEO clients suggested an even larger dilemma: “I think we’re solving the leader identification problem in our firm. I lose sleep over how we’ll develop them.”

I agree with this CEO’s sleep-depriving concern. Our traditional methods for developing leadership talent in our organizations, including check-box training, loose mentoring, and limited access to coaching, need to be changed for a world where all organizations need to field talent able to help align, execute, and renew at the speed of change.

We need a different model for leader development.

Consider the clinic model of great healthcare organizations

Fortunately, there’s a robust, successful model in another industry to draw upon as we rethink how we develop the next generation of leaders for our organizations. It’s the Clinic Model in healthcare as practiced by organizations such as The Mayo Clinic.

Put on your analogical thinking hat and consider how we might adapt the powerful practices of these organizations in creating a leadership clinic model for this important development work.

A personal view to the clinic model

My view of the clinic model of healthcare comes from navigating challenging situations for myself and my son. At our most vulnerable moments, the approach of the Mayo Clinic and the medical and support staff thankfully created great outcomes. As we worked through those situations, I had a first-hand seat to observe the clinic approach in practice and wonder why it hasn’t been more widely applied in different settings.

Here’s what inspired me:

The needs of the patient come first. Every decision, test, and approach must pass this filter. This is an inviolable value.
There’s an owner for your situation backed by a carefully tailored team of specialists.
The team collaborates to evaluate, diagnose and prescribe a recommended best approach for your situation.
Monitoring and measuring outcomes and adjusting plans is part of the regular process over time.

You never lose track of the fact that you are the most important person in the process. I’m still humbled by the world’s leading practitioner in our area of focus—who happened to be the head of the department—gladly fielding questions from a concerned father (me) who had read every New England Journal of Medicine article on the subject. For most doctors, that’s a nightmare patient. For this doctor, it was welcomed. To top things off, this august professional remained with us until long after the clinic closed, answering my questions. Then he walked us out to make sure we could get past the locked gates.

The clinic approach breeds a culture that perpetuates excellence.

My favorite example of how well the culture and approach work at Mayo came from a student nurse changing the bedsheets. Far enough along in recovery to regain my curiosity, I asked her, “Why do you want to work here when you finish your program?” She turned and looked at me with an intensity that is hard to describe and offered words I will wager most readers have never heard about their organization. She said with confidence and commitment: “Because it is a privilege.”

Rethinking leadership development around a clinic model

The first step in creating a clinic model for leadership development is to embed three core principles in the culture of your organization:

Leadership development efforts are sustained initiatives taking place over the duration of the individual’s involvement in the organization.
Leadership development is personal and must be tailored to the unique needs and situations of the individual.
Leadership development takes a team.

Here’s how I envision the clinic model working:

The emerging leader is assigned a primary sponsor who is responsible for the individual’s development.
The sponsor works with the individual and current and former managers and coworkers to assess the opportunities and areas for development.
The sponsor draws upon a team of specialists for both diagnosis and defining an ongoing development regimen.
The sponsor and current manager collaborate to monitor and evaluate the emerging leader’s progress. Plans are adjusted accordingly.
When needed, training is identified for specific skill sets or for exposure to new thinking and approaches. Training is integrated into the plan—it’s not the plan.

This process is an ongoing endeavor where results are monitored and approaches refreshed based on the level-up challenges facing the emerging leader.

Much as the Mayo Clinic and other fine healthcare organizations do everything to meet the needs of their patients, the integrated, multi-disciplinary approach in our new Leader Development Clinic model focuses on delivering the right developmental tool or experience at the right time. Of course, the leader’s needs change over time, and the development experiences are tailored accordingly.

Why I love the leader development clinic approach:

I’m excited about the potential of this approach for helping us truly develop leaders versus traditional training-focused approaches that mostly hope they develop into leaders. Here’s why:

You have a responsible sponsor guiding and directing the individual and drawing upon other resources as needed.
The system, as envisioned, ensures the manager is accountable for their involvement in supporting the leadership development of their team members.
Monitoring and measuring outcomes is handled by the individuals able to adjust or refresh the approaches.
At all times, the emerging leader is engaged and empowered in their growth and development and on the receiving end of timely, honest diagnoses and recommended adjustments.

Practical concerns and unlimited opportunities

I understand the complexity and cost implications of this Leader Development Clinic model very well. There are a million obstacles. Realizing this model reflects a profound transformation effort.

The model places accountability on the shoulders of a sponsor—a new role—and the emerging leader’s manager.
The approach upends the performance evaluation and management systems in most organizations and steps all over the toes of several support groups in the process.
The approach demands the creation of new roles, processes, and enabling systems.

The Bottom Line for Now:

The internal political and change initiatives and roadblocks are mindboggling. Yet, the cost of perpetuating the status quo is an existential issue for your organization. If poor engagement, high turnover, frustration with managers, a lack of innovation and critical thinking, and toxic cultures are OK with you, do nothing. The market will ultimately fix things for you the hard way.

Alternatively, if you are excited about finding a way to embed leader development in your organization’s DNA and truly compete on the strength of your people, the Leader Development Clinic model is worth exploring. Start small. Experiment. Find a top-level champion for this experiment and then draw upon the talents and energies of others to build excitement and bring your version of the clinic model to life.

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I support the development of emerging leaders. To discuss a coaching or sustained development program for your team or organization, drop me a note.

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A version of this article appeared originally at SmartBrief on Leadership.