One of the more significant ways to assure the future stability of any healthcare organization is to pass down core leadership competencies to the next generation of healthcare executives. Knowledge transfer, whether through sponsorship and mentorship programs or otherwise, is one of the keys to developing internal talent and assuring the future of the leadership team.
Recently, Kirby Bates developed the Nurse Executive Gateway to Knowledge in order to accelerate leadership development, support internal career progression, and deepen leadership bench strength. Here we will review what this program is, how it works, and how it can help your organization create and maintain top nurse executives for the long haul.
What Is the Nurse Executive Gateway to Knowledge?
In 2020, as the pandemic took hold and healthcare organizations faced new challenges, we took a step back and said, “we want to create a program that will support our existing programs, bring further value to them, and tap into new areas in order to support our clients’ ever-changing needs.” What followed was the development of our proprietary Nurse Executive Gateway to Knowledge program.
Our program is an innovative, empirical, and experiential advising solution that enhances transferable knowledge and executive relationship-building through:
- Evidence-based and experiential learning
- Individualized professional launchpads to support career progression
- Realization of leadership potential with a focus on executive presence and nursing financial management
- Optimization of nursing leadership alignment and performance through team relationship-building
- Personalized Nurse Executive Leadership Development Plan
- Expanded shared leadership structure to achieve organizational goals
How Does the Gateway to Knowledge Program Work?
The program itself is a 6-12 month-long conceptual model that provides nurse executives advising solutions that enhance the way leaders and their teams learn, with an emphasis on executive relationship-building.
It has five main pillars, called Spheres of Knowledge Transformation®, that drive its success: Leadership Knowledge Development, Nursing Operations Management, Essential Executive Relationships, Nurse Executive Team Leadership, and Executive Reset.
1. Leadership Knowledge Development
The first stage of the process is to develop leadership qualities within the candidate, regardless of their experience level. The last thing we want to do is spend time covering ground they already know or have experience with; so we meet them where they are and help them advance from there, better meeting the needs of their position and organization.
In this stage, we focus solely on the leader — their knowledge, expertise, etc. — in order to establish a foundational baseline so the rest of the program can be tailored to their needs. By tailoring the program to their needs, we more effectively drive their professional development and put them on a fast track to becoming a more successful leader.
This phase lasts 4-8 weeks and then gradually the focus moves from the “I” to the “we” — to true assessment, and operationalizing authentic leadership.
2. Nursing Operations Management
This phase covers all relevant financial terminology, or what one would call the “business of healthcare.” During this developmental phase, the leader is afforded opportunities to identify current projects and challenges they are facing. These challenges are then analyzed and worked through in a collaborative manner with the Nurse Executive Advisor. New skills and information acquired from the first phase are employed and reinforced in the process.
3. Essential Executive Relationships
We work with the leader to identify the essential executive relationships that they need to form within their organization. The leader must ask themselves the following:
- How do I plan for relationships?
- Are relationships included in my professional development plan?
- How can I work toward a partnership and make it more valuable, strong, and meaningful for both myself and my organization?
4. Nurse Executive Team Leadership
After working one on one with the leader, the leader and Nurse Executive Advisor then work with the team to impart the new knowledge onto them. This process is two-fold:
- The leader is responsible for bringing their team through the same journey of transformation.
- The leader performs the majority of transferring the new knowledge.
This not only sets the entire team up for success, it further solidifies the leader’s status and tests how well they were able to adopt new concepts.
As the team grows professionally, trust develops among the leader and staff, and further instills confidence within the leader. It also affords opportunity for the entire team to learn about each other so if there are barriers or misunderstandings, they are more easily resolved.
5. Executive Reset
In the final phase, the leader and their team take a step back to evaluate the entire learning process. By looking at the big picture, they are able to evaluate previous initiatives and how they were perceived, decipher what new information they’ve learned throughout the program, and identify what needs to be changed and how. Giving a new perspective to the leader is crucial in helping them decide whether they should move in a different direction.
Kirby Bates Is Your Partner in Creating Sustainable Healthcare Leadership Teams
The Nurse Executive Gateway to Knowledge program has already helped nurse leaders strengthen critical executive competencies to lead complex healthcare systems. This intensive executive development program incorporates expert nurse executive advisors, experiential simulation methodology, and situational analysis to support synergistic relationships. Kirby Bates recognizes that proactive, intentional professional development supports current and emerging healthcare leaders.
Contact us today to discuss how we can guide your leaders toward peak performance!