Healthcare Leadership Succession Planning: Twenty-Five Strategies

Abstract

An aging workforce, shrinking talent pool, and intensified competition will put healthcare organizations under increasing pressure in the years to come. The benefits of succession planning have never been more apparent. Yet many organizations do not have a concrete plan, even for senior leadership positions. This article argues that most leaders are not sufficiently proactive and disciplined about creating and implementing an effective succession plan. It describes what a succession plan is, why it matters, and why it is a challenging task. It also offers healthcare leaders, administrators, and managers 25 practical and effective succession planning strategies and explores the top reasons that succession plans fail. This article then describes the most effective strategies for handling employees who are passed over for promotions so they don’t become bitter and jaded. Finally, this article shares a nine-box matrix and explains how managers across the organization can use this tool to assess talent for succession planning.