Developing Leadership in the Face of Adversity

By Wout Van Impe, Partner and Team Director
Region: Belgium

Sector focus: Healthcare

THE COVID PANDEMIC COMES WITH A MULTITUDE OF PROBLEMS FOR ORGANISATIONS, ESPECIALLY IN THE MEDICAL LANDSCAPE. IN THIS CASE, MERCURI URVAL CAME IN TO HELP A HOSPITAL REVAMP ITS MANAGEMENT TEAM TO BECOME MORE ROBUST. THE PANDEMIC FUNDAMENTALLY RAISED THE BAR FOR LEADERSHIP AND MADE THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GOOD AND NON FIT FOR THE FUTURE LEADERSHIP MUCH MORE VISIBLE.
THE MISSION? EQUIP THE HOSPITAL TO MEET CURRENT AND FUTURE NEEDS BETTER. THEY WANTED STRONG LEADERSHIP BOTH INTERNALLY AND EXTERNALLY. THE EXECUTIVE BOARD WISHED TO REVIEW THE LEADERSHIP TEAM IN LIGHT OF CHANGING CONTEXT AND FUTURE NEEDS.
AS A TRUSTED PARTNER, OUR JOB WAS TO ENSURE THAT THE HOSPITAL WAS ADEQUATELY MANAGED IN THE FUTURE, HAD THE RIGHT IN-HOUSE LEADERSHIP, AND COULD CONTINUE TO DEVELOP NEW. THE BIG QUESTION WAS; “DO THEY REALLY HAVE THE RIGHT LEADERS ON BOARD TO TACKLE THE FUTURE CHALLENGES LINKED TO THEIR FUTURE SUBJECTS?”
AFTER DISCUSSIONS WITH THE CLIENT, THE CONCLUSION BECAME VERY STRAIGHTFORWARD. NO. THE RELATIONSHIP WITH THE CLIENT WAS CONSTANTLY UNDER PRESSURE BECAUSE OUR RECOMMENDATIONS WERE NOT ALWAYS WHAT EACH BOARD MEMBER WANTED. HOWEVER, OUR RECOMMENDATIONS WERE VERY CLEAR AND SHARP.
WE DID A TON OF ANALYSIS TO KNOW WHAT LEADERSHIP MEANT IN EACH ROLE ( CONTEXT AND SPECIFIC EXPECTED RESULTS ). WE ALSO EMPHASISED THAT THERE IS NOT A GIANT LINK BETWEEN PERSONALITY AND LEADERSHIP, WHICH OUR ASSESSMENT UNDERSCORED. EACH CANDIDATE GOT ASSESSED ON A PERSONALITY QUESTIONNAIRE, COGNITIVE EXERCISES, AND REFLECTION DOCUMENTS (EXPLORING THEIR TRACK RECORDS, STRATEGY APPROACH, AND MUCH MORE).