Early careerists in healthcare management: What is the perceived importance of and participation in leadership development programs?

The offering of leadership development programs in health care organizations has become common, and is seen as a way to increase leadership competencies and provide for succession planning. These programs are offered by many organizations, including public health organizations and hospitals. These programs include a variety of specific activities, including mentoring, 360 degree performance appraisal systems, leadership development training, personal development coaching, and job enlargement, among others. While availability of these programs is widely acknowledged, there is little understanding of how entry-level and junior administrative staff view these programs in terms of importance, and their participation levels. To determine the relationship between offering of, perceived importance of, and participation in various leadership development program activities by administrative staff in various health organizations, we surveyed recent graduates of a bachelor in health services administration program. The sample included graduates from the years 2004-2011 who are employed in an administrative position in a health services organization. We used an online survey administered by Qualtrics approved by the IRB of the authors' institution, and had a total of 153 respondents to the survey (70% response rate). The most important leadership development activity identified by respondents is tuition assistance to pursue advanced degrees, followed by 360 degree performance appraisals, job enlargement through special assignments, and formal leadership development programs. However, the offering of these activities varies widely, with between 30% and 74% of organizations reportedly offering individual program activities. Findings suggest that organizations should identify how to meet the needs of their entry-level and junior administrative staff, in order to meet their expectations for leadership development. Moreover, health services organizations should focus leadership development activities that will assist in reducing the identified gap between what is important to junior staff and what they are offered.