One of the premier programs of NCHL, the Leadership Excellence Networks™ (LENS) is an institutional membership group for leading healthcare organizations that recognize that leadership development and talent management programs are integral to their strategic goals. LENS organizations seek to advance leadership and organizational excellence in their own institutions, support NCHL’s mission to advance leadership throughout the field, actively share their experiences with other LENS members, and collaborate on various inter-organizational initiatives. Senior leaders from LENS member organizations participate in a variety of shared learning activities and joint initiatives through a council structure.
Senior leaders from LENS member organizations participate in a variety of shared learning activities and joint initiatives through a council structure.
* Full, Premium LENS Member
† Leadership Development Council
‡ Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Council
§ Well-being Council
~ Talent Metrics, Analytics, and Planning Council
The Leadership Excellence Networks brings tremendous value and impact to the industry.
Cornerstone elements of the program include:
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This committee oversees the work of LENS and the various councils.
Hospitals and health systems have a responsibility to ensure a diverse, equitable, and inclusive environment for their employees and patient communities. Underrepresentation of minorities within health systems, equitable care, and building a sense of community throughout the neighborhoods that the health system serves are some of the challenges that need to be met to eradicate these disparities. The Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Council works to identify best practices to continue erasing these disparities and racial inequities in healthcare by:
1. Working to ensure the health of the community that the organization serves, through health equity programs, community partnerships, and employment opportunities
2. Supporting staff and raising consciousness around racial and social injustice movements
3. Peer-sharing and learning opportunities among member organizations
Today’s healthcare organizations recognize the need to develop the next generation of leaders to respond to the challenges of volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous environments. The Leadership Development Council focuses efforts on:
1. Leadership coaching – providing opportunities for coach certification and continued education
2. Peer-sharing of health system approaches to leadership development
3. Education on leadership development best practices
4. Opportunities to engage in research to advance the pragmatic practice of healthcare leadership
With personnel expenses often exceeding 50% of total health system operating costs, effectively measuring, predicting, and managing talent needs is essential to the successful pursuit of high-value care. The Talent Metrics, Analytics, & Planning Council focuses on:
1. Sharing experiences with specific approaches to talent metrics and analytics, identifying areas of need, and looking for alternative approaches
2. Strengthening capabilities for assessing future workforce needs
3. Discussions on the latest literature surrounding people analytics and talent acquisition
Leaders increasingly recognize how important staff well-being is to organizational success. However, there are few clear practice guidelines to inform organization-level efforts, and there is tremendous variation of practice across organizations. Even the definition of well-being can vary widely across organizations, making identifying successful practices all the more difficult. Launching in 2021, the primary goal of the Well-being Council is to help organization leaders make more informed decisions about how to invest their limited resources for maximum well-being impact. The Council-driven agenda will focus on gaining clarity in several areas, including:
1. Focus/philosophy: how health systems are defining well-being, and their approaches to it for different groups (e.g., physicians, clinicians, staff)
2. Organizational structures/staffing: how health systems are organizing their well-being activity
3. Outcomes: developing greater consensus on what/how to measure the impact
4. Education/implementation: accelerating dissemination of new learnings regarding items (1) – (3) and supporting the adoption of emerging best-practice guidelines broadly across the field
The LENS Executive Briefings is a monthly communication that provides highlights of current leadership development-related articles and publications. The briefs focus on topics such as succession planning, talent management, coaching, clinical leadership development, leadership competencies, behavioral change, cultural competency, performance improvement, and measuring learning effectiveness. The briefings are created as a member benefit for NCHL’s Leadership Excellence Networks™ (LENS) and Council senior leaders. An example of a recent Executive Briefing is provided below.
For the fifth year in a row, the National Center for Healthcare Leadership (NCHL), is offering our virtual and accredited International Coach Federation (ICF) coach training program. The course also meets HR Certification Institute ® (HRCI) credit hours with the same standard as ICF. Stay tuned for information regarding the lauch of the 2023 cohort in fall.
Throughout the year NCHL hosts a variety of events. Some events are limited to members-only, while others are open to anyone with an interest in the content. In addition to online virtual events, NCHL also hosts in-person events. Visit the pages linked below to learn more. LENS member benefits include access to these events and are based on membership level. To learn more about these events, visit the NCHL events page.
For additional information and to learn how to become a LENS member, please contact LENS Senior Manager, Shawn Sanford at lens@nchl.org.