Archived Publications eBook: Confidence in the Development of your Futur | Page 18

Belcher notes that while ultimately the CEO has
complete accountability for the facility, from an HR
perspective, it is the CNO who is a primary partner for
her team. “We are looking for a close partnership with
our CNOs, so that when they have issues, they are
working closely with our human resources directors at
the facility level and here at the HSC.” The partnership
is so important that three years ago, LifePoint added a
chief nursing officer to its group level executive teams
that oversee the different regions. “Before, we only had
group presidents and CFOs. Frankly, our HR team here at
the hospital support center works more closely with
the group CNOs than we do with the group presidents
or CFOs on HR and talent development initiatives.”
Given the importance of nurses in its facilities, LifePoint
has also made the strategic decision to bring a new
focus to developing and training floor nurses who are
transitioning to the hospital nurse director level. “I have
heard consistently that we were promoting nurses
who were doing a great job with patients and colleagues
but didn’t give them the tools or resources once they
were in a leadership role,” says Belcher. “So we are
really focusing now to make sure we train and retain
those directors who will be there year after year, even
as the hospital’s executive leadership may change.”
“We are looking for a close
partnership with our CNOs, so
that when they have issues, they
are working closely with our
human resources directors at the
facility level and here at the HSC.”
18
Designing a Dynamic
Leadership Program
In 2006, LifePoint set out to identify its most successful
CEOs and the specific traits and competencies that made
them strong leaders. These early conversations have grown
into an advanced leadership profile. “We now have a profile
of what a successful LifePoint leader looks like, which includes
desired behaviors, competencies and experience,” says
Belcher. “We use that profile to recruit, select, train, and
develop talent within the organization.”
The leadership model includes 20 competencies focused on:
1. Core Values 3. Personal Mastery
2. Business Mastery 4. Relationship Mastery
The creation of the LifePoint leadership profile also led to
the LifePoint Learning Academy, a training program aimed at
new CEOs and other potential leaders within the company.
The model has been so successful that it is now being used
across all hospital “O” and director-level positions.
GIVING EVERY CNO
THE RIGHT LEARNING TOOLS
Belcher says the close partnership between human
resources and CNOs is grounded in a mutual interest
in meeting business goals. “We ask what results they
need to accomplish, what they need to make their jobs
easier and how we can help them address any gaps.
One clearly defined need has been on the learning
side.” Thus, talent development leaders and the
organization’s group CNOs have worked together to
successfully launch a nurse competency program on its
learning management system (LMS), an internally-
branded version of the HealthStream Learning
Center™. The nurse leaders use the LMS to track Joint
Commission and other clinical requirements, assign
different courses, and run reports. “The LMS is a
critical tool for us because we are now large enough
that we can no longer manage activity on spreadsheets
and know where we are in meeting different
requirements from regulatory agencies,” says Belcher.