In a report released last month by the American Hospital Association, a survey of 1,100 healthcare executives revealed emerging “talent gaps” in hospital management. In the report, titled, “Building a Leadership Team for the Healthcare Organization of the Future,” the executives cited key gaps in their organization’s capabilities. Pinpointing the areas where more skills are needed:

54% said their management teams needed more experience leading nontraditional health partnerships, including strategic partnerships with payers and retailers

48% cited a need for greater talent in the areas of community and population health management

41% indicated a lack of experience in change management and transformational change

37% noted a deficit in advanced financial expertise

34% said their management staff lacked key skills in innovation and creativity

29% pointed to a shortfall in data analytics experience

In the AHA report (link below), healthcare organizations indicated they were actively working to close these talent gaps in a variety of ways. Many organizations said they planned to address these deficits “through the addition of new executive team positions to lead and galvanize support for initiatives in top strategic areas.” Evidence of this trend was noted in the report, which stated that “60 percent of survey respondents said the senior management team of their organization is larger today than it was three years ago.”

Other topics addressed in this informative report include:

Challenges to Achieving Strategic Priorities
New Leadership Roles, New Capabilities: The Emerging Health Care Organization
Traditional Roles Evolving
Broad Leadership Skills Needed
Overcoming Organizational Barriers
Building the Leadership Team for the Future Health Care Organization
Evaluating Board Composition

To learn more, the report can be accessed via the AHA website at: http://www.hpoe.org/Reports-HPOE/leadership-team-future-2014.pdf