The Evolving Leadership Development Agenda in Health Care: A Commentary

Health care in the United States is on the verge of substantial change. Health reform legislation, and the goals it seeks to pursue, are likely to drive transformational change across many corners of the health care system. Preparing for and navigating these changes will, in turn, require health care leaders to learn new approaches to many of the core parts of their jobs (Clark, Savitz, & Pingree, 2010; Shortell & Casalino, 2010). The sheer magnitude of change and uncertainty also seems a likely driver of the uptick in CEO retirement, which rose almost to an annual rate of 18% in 2009, the highest rate increase since the American College of Health care Executives began tracking the statistic in 1981 (American College of Healthcare Executives, 2010). Taken together, these trends suggest the need for leadership development and succession planning has never been greater.