Reeve, Claire E

Background Effective leadership is critical to the success of complex multidisciplinary healthcare organisations. As the organisation emerged from the global pandemic, Mayo Clinic recognised a need to transform its traditional, linear care model into a dynamic, platform-based approach to support its strategy. This required a new leadership model that could support and equip leaders with the skills needed to drive patient-centred healthcare transformation from within. Objective To develop and validate a new leadership competency framework capable of supporting future-ready leadership. Methods A multiphase, evidence-based approach was employed: (1) a visionary interview, goal setting and literature review; (2) focus groups with 23 leaders from across the organisation; (3) iterative competency framework development; and (4) a validation study involving a stratified sample of 129 physician leaders who rated competencies on importance and differentiation, and a qualitative verification by key stakeholders. Results Five core competencies with 23 behaviours were identified. The validation analysis established all behaviours as important for differentiating leadership performance. Stakeholder review confirmed the competencies were actionable and applicable across leadership roles at all levels. Conclusion The Leads Self, Leads Others, Inspires Others, Forward Thinking and Engages Others (abbreviated LLIFE) competency model positions a healthcare organisation to advance leadership excellence in a rapidly evolving healthcare environment that requires comprehensive transformation. It aligns with strategic goals, embeds values-based behaviours and supports continuous development, establishing a model that other healthcare institutions may learn from and adapt.

Background Excellence in healthcare delivery is dependent on individuals working together on a team. Objective We sought to enhance team performance by partnering with human resources (HR) to identify opportunities unrecognised by unit leadership. Methods 100 individuals representing a cross-section of the multidisciplinary team participated in an interview focused on teamwork conducted by an HR representative. Action plans were then developed and implemented. Press Ganey Survey results for the question, “Staff worked together to care for you/your baby?” were tracked to assess patient perception of teamwork. Results Between 2022 and 2024, we observed improvement in the per cent of patients who assigned the highest rating of teamwork, culminating in 100% of patients reporting the highest score in the final quarter. Conclusion The model of HR facilitated discussions with work unit team members identified barriers to optimal teamwork, led to the implementation of action plans and resulted in an improvement in our teamwork rating by patients.