The Leadership Excellence Networks (LENS) is a collaborative of US hospitals and health systems dedicated to strengthening leadership and organizational excellence through communities of practices focused on the advancement of diversity, equity, & inclusion; leadership development; well-being; and talent metrics, analytics, and planning. Senior leaders from LENS member organizations participate in a variety of shared learning activities and joint initiatives through a council structure.
Learn about leadership and organizational development issues in a collaborative environment alongside leading healthcare institutions. Stay on the cutting edge of evidence-based practice by joining our Leadership Excellence Networks (LENS), one of three premier programs led by the National Center for Healthcare Leadership (NCHL).
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 healthcare industry through:
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. Nevertheless, health disparities and inequities persist amongst historically marginalized and vulnerable populations. 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:
Leader Participation
Members of this Council include Chief Diversity Officers, Directors of Diversity & Inclusion and Program Managers within the DEI departments.
Today’s healthcare organizations realize they must support the evolving needs of their current leaders and develop the next generation of leaders in increasingly volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous environments. Leadership Development Council will focus efforts on:
Leader Participation
Members of this Council comprise senior level leaders and professionals who oversee learning & development, a health system’s leadership institute, talent management, or organizational development & change.
With people-related expenses often exceeding 60 percent of total health system operating costs, measuring, predicting, and managing all things “people” is essential to the successful pursuit of high-value care delivery. The Talent Metrics, Analytics, & Planning Council focuses on:
Leader Participation
Members of this Council include senior-level professionals who oversee workforce planning, people analytics, or similarly related disciplines. Those just starting their journey building these functions or have been doing so for a decade are welcome to engage and learn.
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 tremendous variation of practice across organizations. As the industry experiences a historic shift in the workforce, identifying effective and evidence-based strategies to recruit and retain an engaged and healthy workforce is paramount. Launched 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 across their organization. The Council-driven agenda will focus on gaining clarity in areas including:
Leader Participation
Members of this Council are typically responsible for well– practice guidelines broadly across being at the enterprise level. This may include, for example, chief wellness / well-being officers; chief learning officers; leaders of employee health and employee assistance leaders
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.
The National Center for Healthcare Leadership (NCHL), is proud to offer our virtual and accredited International Coach Federation (ICF) coach training program for another year. The course meets HR Certification Institute ® (HRCI) credit hours with the same standard as ICF. The 2023 cohort will launch in June 2023. We will partner again with the Healthcare Coaching Institute and its acclaimed faculty. The certification course will be conducted virtually and be led by DJ Mitsch, one of the first 25 Master Certified Coaches in the world and Past President of Global ICF. The master coach faculty provide a highly experiential training format with a course that has been crafted over the past 25 years. The specific focus in healthcare makes this a perfect fit for our members. NCHL members are offered a substantial discount in registration as a benefit for their membership.
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, Ren Lovegood at lens@nchl.org.