Career Paths of NHS chief executives

The organisational need

IES conducted research for NHS Yorkshire and the Humber (NHS Y&H) to understand more about the career paths of chief executives in the region. The key drivers for the research were to raise awareness of the diversity of career paths within the current chief executive community and aspiring leaders, as well as to inform leadership and talent development policy and practice. This research feeds into NHS Y&H’s strategic framework for leadership and talent development, by encouraging and growing future talent that understands and reflects both the diversity of the locality and the communities it serves and can lead the NHS in the challenging times ahead.

The project

The key aims of this research were to:

• make visible the multiple and diverse routes to becoming a chief executive in the NHS – to illustrate that one size does not fit all
• identify the key career-enabling factors and other pivotal experiences that current chief executives have experienced along their own personal career journeys
• gather career insights and practical examples both to inspire and guide the future senior management pipeline
• promote wider understanding within the existing chief executive community about each other, and enhance existing networks and relationships.

IES collected both hard and soft data from chief executives: an online survey followed by telephone interviews to drill down into aspects of their careers in greater depth.

The outcomes

The research benefited from a very interesting and diverse set of personal accounts from some very self-aware leaders. They candidly told of being primarily driven by wanting to make a difference, rather than being financially driven by the promise of bumper bonuses. The findings showed there is no single ‘best’ route to becoming a chief executive, and the figure below illustrates the diversity of their entry routes into the NHS.

Key research headlines

• NHS leaders need to be true to themselves and have strong personal values.
• All kinds of people can become NHS leaders with many different kinds of career paths.
• Aspiring chief executives need personal development support, challenging work and a range of career experiences along their journeys.

Publications

• Career Paths of Chief Executives: Personal journeys and reflections: pen portraits and stories – to inspire and guide future leaders and to be shared within the existing chief executive community.
• On becoming an NHS Chief Executive: Insights from those who are: a companion ‘pocket book’ containing practical hints and tips on how to make it to the top – to help future chief executives navigate their future careers.
• Career Paths of Chief Executives: Research report: framing the key findings and issues that emerged from the research to inform the development of future leadership and talent management, with recommendations for all NHS organisations in NHS Y&H to consider.