DECEMBER 2016

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Practice Updates

Education Practice
The fundamental premises of state-funded higher education are changing. Today's public college and university leaders should possess certain leadership traits in order to adapt to changing funding, technology and political dynamics. Senior partner Lucy Leske presented with Robert O. Davies, President of Murray State University in this recent AASCU webinar, sponsored by Witt/Kieffer.

IT Practice
Members of Witt/Kieffer's IT practice attended and contributed their expertise to the recent CHIME16 Fall CIO Forum held November 1-4 in Phoenix, AZ. Principals and IT practice co-leaders Hillary Ross and Chris Wierz attended the Forum, where Chris led a focus group related to CIO career evolution and participated in the panel titled "Avoiding CIO Minefields: An Honest Discussion." Additionally, former Witt/Kieffer senior vice president and IT practice leader Linda Hodges was honored with the 2016 CHIME Foundation Industry Leader Award.
Spotlight
Witt/Kieffer Gives Back Through Make-a-Wish Foundation
As the holiday season  approaches, Witt/Kieffer is once again participating in the Make-a-Wish "Send-a-Wis h" program. The
Foundation gran ts wishes to children with life-threatening illnesses. The firm is pleased to make a donation on our clients' behalf to the Make-A-Wish Foundation in their community. Participation in this program aligns with Witt/Kieffer's mission of supporting organizations committed to improving the quality of life.  

 

 

Happy New Year, and enjoy your holiday season!

Feature Story
Witt/Kieffer CEO and Chair Charles W.B. Wardell, III 's article, " 9 Leadership Principles You Can Believe In ," presented in Chief Executive Magazine, evaluates the roles leaders play in organizational success. Wardell indicates, "Being a leader is not about being the smartest, bravest or boldest. It has more to do with being directionally correct and surrounding yourself with people who compensate for your gaps."   Wardell then redirects leadership to fundamental values to achieve long-term success. He urges leaders to rely on engagement, collaboration, accountability and synchronization with employees to cultivate new instincts, new habits and a greater rate of success. In light of an evolving world, Wardell's principles serve as a blueprint for leaders' success. 
Thought Leadership
The Best Search Committees Search committees for college and university leaders are varied and imperfect by nature, notes Witt/Kieffer senior partner Zachary A. Smith, Ph.D., in a recent Chronicle of Higher Education    article . Nevertheless, there are qualities that all good committees share, he believes: a strong chair, a good plan, an emphasis on diversity, and more. All new search committees can benefit from keeping these traits in mind, he writes.
Lawyers: The new player emerging in the health system C-suite Hospitals and health systems have been beefing up their legal departments over the years, but now are also recruiting lawyers for important C-suite roles, says Witt/Kieffer's Werner Boel, leader of the Health Law practice. "Legal experience is no longer limited to the general counsel role," he explains to Tamara Rosin of Becker's Hospital Review.
Chief Diversity Officers Expanding Their Roles in Higher Education and Healthcare  Chief diversity officers (CDOs) have come to be viewed as essential for the success of any major organization's diversity and inclusion efforts, and yet, across industries, the role is still being shaped and defined. In higher education, CDOs are making a difference but need institutions to provide them with meaningful support, writes senior partner Oliver Tomlin in  Diverse: Issues in Higher Education . In a recent interview, Tomlin also told Lena Weiner of HealthLeaders Media CDOs are making a difference in healthcare in three critical ways, which he explains throughout the article .  
Career Corner
In her article, " The Importance of Mentoring for Higher Ed Leadership" for HigherEdJobs.com, Mercedes Chacon Vance explains that mentoring is a beneficial mechanism for senior leaders to provide guidance to staff seeking to obtain new or higher positions. As mentoring affords unique opportunities of sharing knowledge and ideas for both parties involved, Vance delivers a compelling case for utilizing different mentoring styles to facilitate the growth of current and future leaders in higher education. 

The strategic role of revenue cycle management (RCM) in hospitals and health  systems requires the acquisition of leadership personnel that are equipped with the right skills. In "3 Essential Skills Hospitals Need in RCM Leadership," an article in Becker's Hospital Review  by Kelly Gooch, David Boggs, head of WK Advisors, shares his experience on the importance of obtaining skilled leaders to ensure the  success of health systems. 
Blog Bits
In a recent blog post, Why Healthcare CEOs Make Sense for Corporate Boards,  Jena Abernathy , leader of the Board Services practice,  argues for the strengths of healthcare CEOs and other healthcare  administrators that could benefit their membership on  corporate boards. She states that their market savvy, innovative spirit and expertise in the business side of healthcare all lead to essential skills necessary for board members.
Behavioral health is an important part of overall health, but only recently have health systems been looking more
strategically at integrating behavioral health leadership as an essential component of their  population health initiatives. Jim King explains the need for executives to lead this initiative in this blog post: Make Way for the Chief Behavioral Health Officer .
In this blog post, Hillary Ross notes that as the healthcare industry continues to evolve, executive positions evolve with it. One such position is the Chief Health Information Officer (CHIO). Ross summarizes a recent article she wrote with Zachary Durst, describing the essential qualities of a CHIO.
Subscribe to Witt & Wisdom for regular blog updates.
Witt/Kieffer Growth
Witt/Kieffer welcomed several new consulting staff members to the firm in recent months:
 
Christopher Colenda, MD, MPH will serve in an of counsel capacity to the firm's Academic Medicine and Health Sciences and Healthcare practices. He supports the recruitment of presidents and CEOs, deans, departmental chairs and other senior level positions for academic medical centers. Dr. Colenda is president emeritus of West Virginia University Health System.
Benjamin Kenney, senior associate in the Witt/Kieffer Academic Medicine and Health Sciences and Healthcare practices, has more than 10 years of business experience, including several years in executive search. Ben is based in the firm's Oak Brook, IL office and identifies leaders on behalf of academic medical centers, hospitals and health systems and not-for-profit institutions.

Melinda Morton is a senior associate with WK Advisors, a division of Witt/Kieffer, and is based in Massachusetts. Melinda has more than 15 years of experience supporting talent acquisition for hospitals, healthcare systems and physician practices. She has recruited for healthcare leaders from director level to C-suite executives.
Katy Young, senior associate in Witt/Kieffer's Sports Leadership practice, is based in Dallas, TX. Katy is a trusted and influential expert in collegiate and professional executive search who has a vast network of relationships throughout the industry. She has also worked with clients across professional sports as well as major events and venues.

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