When Nicklaus Children’s embarked upon its second iteration of the 100-Day Workout Plan, a trend emerged.
“We saw there were certain leaders who were rising up and embracing the program, embracing change, and performing at a higher level,” says Dawn Javersack, senior vice president and chief financial officer. So, the Leader Effectiveness and Accountability Program (LEAP) was born.
Workout team leaders designated as LEAP leaders were given more autonomy to manage their teams, from project development and mentoring to follow-up and tracking of results. They also work more closely with senior management to clear hurdles and streamline implementation.
Ultimately, the hospital wants to empower team members who have completed three workout cycles as LEAP leaders to drive their own self-initiated improvement projects.
Aftab says the hard and soft skills acquired through this program are priceless to its participants — and to the organization, especially for training up leaders amid a challenging workforce environment.
“I know many organizations invest in leadership-development programs for bench building or succession planning where there’s a curriculum or a coaching program, but there’s not a whole lot of the practical real-life management and leadership we see with LEAP,” says Saima Aftab, MD, chief strategy officer and vice president of business development. “Even if we put all the cost savings aside, from a cultural, team building, and leadership development perspective, this has been incredibly powerful.”
