Healthcare executive mentorship benefits the protégé, mentor, organization, and more.

<h2>
  Mentorship pays off &ndash; for the prot&eacute;g&eacute;, the mentor,
  <em>and</em> the organization.
</h2>

<div>
  For the prot&eacute;g&eacute;, executive mentorship has been associated with a
  positive career trajectory, higher level of education, increased earning
  potential, improved job satisfaction, and even better health. For the
  mentor, the relationship provides opportunities to cultivate enthusiasm for
  teaching, contribute to the success of others, share knowledge and skills,
  practice empathy, and give of one&rsquo;s time. As for the organization,
  mentorship has been shown to enhance workforce engagement and performance,
  improve retention, confidence, and competency, encourage multidisciplinary
  collaboration, and promote learning opportunities.
</div>

<h2>Gaps in leadership skills</h2>

<div>
  Ideally, mentorship is part of your organization&rsquo;s succession plan, with
  those identified for future leadership roles benefit from the knowledge and
  guidance of current leaders. In this rapidly changing healthcare industry,
  however, new health executives may not always have the full range of skills
  required for progressive leadership upon assuming their new role in the
  organization. When accomplished and qualified professionals who have
  high-level technical or clinical skills but lack leadership training are
  promoted to executive positions, its critical to provide them with the tools
  they need to fill in any gaps in leadership skills.
</div>

<h2>The timeliness of building a healthcare executive mentorship program</h2>

<div>
  The challenges resulting from gaps in leadership skills are compounded by the
  uncertainty and stress of the current climate. Patients, families, providers,
  staff, and the community at large are turning to hospitals and other
  healthcare facilities to take the reins &ndash; and they&rsquo;re looking
  directly to leaders for assurance. Therefore, is essential to have leaders in
  place who feel confident, at ease, and in alignment with the
  organization&rsquo;s values and direction.
</div>

<h2>Building a healthcare executive mentorship program</h2>

<div>
  Mentorship can be the answer. Setting up a healthcare executive mentorship
  program now can serve to alleviate stress, unify leaders, and align
  organizational values, and strategic processes during this challenging time.
  Fortunately, there&rsquo;s no need to reinvent the wheel.
</div>

<div>
  The American College of Healthcare Executives has a thorough guide on
  mentorship which can be adapted to fit any healthcare organization&rsquo;s
  needs. The
  <a
    href="https://www.ache.org/-/media/ache/career-resource-center/mentor_guide.pdf"
    >ACHE Mentor Guide</a
  >
  is a 40-page downloadable PDF. The resource clearly defines goals, tools,
  expectations, myths, and roles of the healthcare executive mentor and mentee.
  It includes information on initiating contact, conducting meetings, building
  trust, working toward goals, summarizing learning, closing out the formal
  mentoring relationship, and celebrating the future.
</div>

<div>
  These tips, adapted from the ACHE Mentor Guide, can help you build a
  successful mentorship program within your organization:
</div>

<ul>
  <li>
    <strong>Consider Compatibility.</strong> Set up a system to determine who
    will participate as mentors and mentees and for making compatible matches.
  </li>
  <li>
    <strong>Mentorship tools.</strong> Encourage mentors to craft thoughtful
    <strong>questions</strong> that will help their prot&eacute;g&eacute;s
    reflect on experiences, articulate ideas, learn, and grow. Mentors can then
    use the strategy of <strong>restatement</strong> to support further
    exploration and observations by rephrasing mentees&rsquo; responses to the
    questions. Finally, mentors can use <strong>silence </strong>to allow the
    mentee time for processing as well as<strong> summarization</strong> to
    verify what was discussed during interactions.
  </li>
  <li>
    <strong>Respect Differences. </strong>It is critical to set up a mentorship
    program that considers, acknowledges, and respects differences in culture,
    age, gender, sexual orientation, religion, upbringing, and life experiences
    of both parties.
  </li>
  <li>
    <strong>Set Expectations. </strong>Both mentor and mentee should clearly
    understand and agree upon what the mentorship will entail. Confirm mutual
    understanding about compatibility, confidentiality, communication, time
    commitment, buy-in, ground rules, agenda, and goals for the relationship.
  </li>
  <li>
    <strong>Plan Programming.</strong> Supply the mentor and mentee with
    guidance for initiating the mentoring relationship, conducting meetings,
    setting ground rules, pursuing specific goals, developing an action plan,
    setting target dates, assessing progress, and closing out and celebrating
    the formal mentoring arrangement.
  </li>
</ul>

<h2>Moving forward with mentorship</h2>

<div>
  The tools needed to help emerging healthcare executives succeed reside within
  the organization &ndash; among the seasoned leaders. It&rsquo;s just a matter
  of building a formal mentorship program, initiating connections, and seeing
  results that will continue deliver into the future &ndash; for mentor,
  prot&eacute;g&eacute;, organization, and beyond.
</div>

<div></div>

<div>
  Find successful leaders for your organization with
  <a href="https://www.cejkasearch.com/contact-us">Cejka Search</a>.
</div>


The Meaning of Mentorship: Why Healthcare Executive Mentorship is Essential