LIFT (Leveraging Internal Female Talent)
Challenge
Women comprise 82 percent of our workforce, but were not well-represented in our senior leadership positions.
Actions
We created a leadership development program, LIFT, for high-potential female leaders. The goal is to increase the number of female team members who are change-ready and resilient, and viewed as viable candidates for higher level leadership roles within the organization. By deepening our pool of highly talented women, Novant Health continues to ensure the success of its business.
Novant Health identified 24 women from across various dimensions of diversity to participate in this year-long, inaugural class of female leaders. Components of the program include individual and group coaching, leadership skills clinics, leader assessments, action planning, executive and senior leader sponsorship, and action-based learning. In addition to demonstrating leadership competencies, the participants are gaining knowledge, skills and exposure in the followings areas:
- Confidence and courage: Expressing a point of view as well as demonstrating assertiveness, emotional control and belief in one’s talents.
- Executive presence: Exhibiting poise, energy and optimism.
- Communication: Formal and informal presentations, meeting behavior and one-on-one interactions to ensure the building of healthy relationships.
- Leadership and influence: The ability to build trust, motivate others, create followership, and create a positive and inclusive work environment. The ability to lead change anchored in the Novant Health mission, vision, values, people credo and promise.
- Broad knowledge of Novant Health, its executive and senior leaders, and its business challenges.
- Strategic opportunities to become more impactful in their current role and career
- Deeper and wider internal network for support and guidance.
Outcomes
Since beginning LIFT, some 30 percent of the participants have been promoted to higher level positions within the organization. In addition, prior to the implementation of the LIFT program, the CEO expanded his executive team such that women now make up 30 percent.
Contact
Teresa Holloman
Quote
It is important to create an inclusive environment and have the necessary voices of females in the room and at the table. In our organization, many of the female leaders have backgrounds in nursing, social work and business. These leaders help the organization to stay focused on achieving our mission and growing our business by keeping the patient at the center of every conversation. Having a more focused, formal program such as LIFT is helping to develop our female talent in an accelerated way.