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Mentoring and Sharing Expertise

also in this issue:
Perspectives from CEOs, page 6
The Hospice Legacy Project, page 23
HospiceChoices.com, page 50
line
NHPCOs
News
March 2006
Inside: National
Hospice Gala
p. 46
3
Narch 2006
3
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Leadership Succession Planning:
Critical for the Hospice, Patients and Incumbent
continued on next page
By Larry Beresford
W
hat if your hospices CEO sufered a fatal
car accident, a heart attack or an incapaci-
tating illness? What would be the immedi-
ate and long-term efects on staf morale, on patient
care and on the communitys confdence in the agencys
services? Perhaps less dramatic, but no less critical to
the agencys future, is when a CEO accepts a job ofer
in another community or at a larger agency and gives
a months notice. For other hospice executives, retire-
ment inevitably lies in their future, whether planned
for or not.
Some hospice and palliative care executives have been
in place since their agencys founding, in some cases for
20 years or more. Others are so closely identifed with
their agencys image and reputation in the community
that its hard to imagine the agency continuing without
them at the helm. But thats what this article based
on interviews with more than a dozen leading execu-
tives, retirees and consultants proposes to do.
It asks every hospice leader to imagine what will hap-
pen when they are no longer running their agency, and
then to consider what they can prudently do, starting
today, to make that transition as painless and purpose-
ful as possible for the organization and its clientele.
While policies and strategic plans are important parts
of leadership succession, there is also the intangible
realm of mission, values and hospice philosophy that
equally needs to be transmitted to the next generation
of leaders. Te importance of the interdisciplinary
team and patient autonomy, considering the patient
and family together as the unit of care, facilitating op-
portunities for personal growth at lifes end, treating
staf the way you want them to treat patients these
are some of the values hospice leaders want to see
carried on after they leave. Additional perspectives on
that intangible legacy are ofered by leading executives,
current and retired, in the vignettes that accompany
this article.
One might assume that hospice professionals, if
anyone, would appreciate how transitory human
3 3
Essential Steps to Succession Planning
Leadership transitions can be either expected
or unexpected; plan for both, and commit to
the process.
Bring the key leadership of the board of direc-
tors (or, in a health system, corporate supervi-
sors) in line with the need for formal plan-
ning for leadership succession. Explain to key
constituencies that this is a prudent task and
doesnt mean the current executive is plan-
ning an imminent departure.
Commit a plan to paper, including how it is
to be communicated to various constituen-
cies.
Explore and defne the essential tasks and skill
set for the hospices next CEO. Tat could be
very diferent than the current leaders written
job description. Focus on the qualities of a
leader who can run the organization as it will
be or needs to be not just as it is now.
Tie the leadership succession plan to the hos-
pices other strategic planning activities and
frameworks.
Look for potential leaders within the current
staf. Get internal candidates to work outside
of their comfort zones on new projects in ar-
eas that will prepare them for broader leader-
ship. Build the agencys leadership team and
develop its ability to respond to crises and
absences.
For CEOs, dont hold the agencys internal
workings and secrets too close to your chest.
Share your thinking processes with the lead-
ership team and let senior managers attend
board meetings, make presentations and build
relationships with board members.
Develop an emergency plan to provide con-
tinuity and stability during an emergency
such as the sudden death of a CEO. Consider
identifying an interim CEO from within the
organization, the current board or a consult-
ing frm, as a way to preserve continuity dur-
ing a transitional period.
Stay fresh in your job by maintaining frst-
hand contact with the agencys services and
clients. Hospice executives need to walk in
the shoes of their clinicians, to move from the
ofce to the feld occasionally, advises Mary
Taverna, CEO of Hospice of Marin in Lark-
spur, CA. Visit patients, sit and listen. Be ex-
posed to the product your agency provides. It
helps you keep the balance in this work.
1.
2.
3.
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existence can be and how life-altering events can hap-
pen at the most inopportune and unexpected moments.
But how many of todays hospice leaders have thought
or planned for how their agency would function if they
were to be hit by the proverbial truck while crossing the
street tomorrow?
Last spring, Bob Clarke of Furst Group, Rockford, IL, in
partnership with NHPCO, surveyed leaders of 200 ran-
domly selected hospice and palliative care organizations
(NewsLine, 2/06). Eighty-two percent of the respondents
were over age 45 while 42 percent were over 55, which
already suggests the need to plan for future hospice lead-
ers to replace the current generation. Yet only 38 percent
had a succession plan, and only 37 percent of those that
did had committed their plan to paper. Forty-fve percent
said their board of directors had approved the plan and
slightly less than half said their agencys executive staf was
aware of the succession plan.
From my vantage point, succession planning in hos-
pice is not being fulflled as well as it should, Clarke
says. Te hospice feld is at a crossroads today. Te vast
majority of the organizations are small, and I see them
as inexperienced in dealing with change at all levels.
However, in a volatile environment of growth, merger
and acquisition activity, the emergence of new pallia-
tive care models and heightened competition, there is
a danger that hospice values could get lost or diluted,
Clarke says. Look what happened to managed health
care, where founders and early leaders committed to
the concept of managing the health of populations were
replaced by those who focused primarily on the bottom
line, with signifcant fallout for managed cares public
image.
I hope hospice people dont lose the mission. At the
same time, no margin, no mission, Clarke says. As
Baby Boomers start to reach retirement age in 2006,
there isnt a next generation of leaders primed to take
their places. If you dont bring up new leaders with the
right values, others will take advantage of the vacuum.
And some of them may not share the same values and
motivations.
Succession planning is defnitely one of the current
buzzwords in our business, adds NHPCO president/
CEO, Don Schumacher, who left a 13-year position
at Hospice and Palliative Care of Western New York in
2002 to assume leadership of NHPCO. NHPCO has
been involved in a series of meetings in recent months to
explore the issues, he said. Were trying to encourage
people in their current jobs to look at how to plan for
their organizations future, rather than leaving a potential
void. Some of NHPCOs initiatives include the Manag-
er Development Program, the Hospice Physician Leader-
ship Development Program, and plans for an Executive
Leadership Fellowship Program plus specialized ses-
sions at conferences, including expanded leadership tracks
and coaching sessions. (See page 39 for details.)
From the individual psychological perspective, theres
the whole dynamic of letting go of a position of power
and prestige, and how to do that gracefully. You want
to make sure you dont set it up so that the person who
comes after you fails, Schumacher says. Te strongest
message I can give is that the current leadership of hos-
pice is aging in place. We all need to fnd a way to transi-
tion ourselves into a successful retirement. For all of the
transitions we see every day in hospice, sometimes mak-
ing those changes in our own lives is the most difcult.
What Is Succession Planning?
Succession planning is a deliberate and systematic efort
to ensure the continuity of the organizations leader-
ship, retaining its intellectual and knowledge capital for
the future while creating opportunities for meaningful
career advancement for staf. Te recent sudden death
of McDonalds CEO Jim Cantalupo highlighted how
important this kind of planning can be. Te aging of
Americas workforce in general and of hospice CEOs, in
particular, underscores the need to plan for leadership
transitions that may come sooner than we wish.
Te frst step is to acknowledge that transition planning is
important and inevitable, and that unplanned transitions
could happen at any time, Clarke says. Have a frank
discussion with yourself, and then with your board, as to
what the future holds. Ten develop a set of criteria for
whoever holds this role. Look at who is in the organiza-
tion today with potential to replace the current leader.
Recruit people with leadership ability. If its a smaller
organization and theres no one who fts the bill, at least
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5
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5
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identify what the ideal candidate would look like. Te
worst you can do is not talk about it, Clarke says.
Planning for the future also needs to happen at the
board level, with the CEO guiding the discussion. Suc-
cession planning can identify new skills and strategic
directions for the next leader even, in some cases,
a need to refocus the current leaders priorities. Future
leaders may already be employed by the agency, and suc-
cession planning can be further applied to the position
of each member of the senior management team and
their potential replacements.
Future leaders may beneft from planned exposure to
new experiences, roles and training but frst the orga-
nization needs to spell out what qualifcations it expects
from the next leader. Grooming future leaders doesnt
have to take a lot of time, if you do it gradually, Clarke
says. Realistically, with some planning, you can put me
out of business as an executive search consultant.
Consultant Jeannee Parker Martin, president of Te
Corridor Group, agrees that not enough hospices have
done serious succession planning, although more have
started in recent months. How the actual succession
plan unfolds may be beyond the departing CEOs con-
trol, but if there is a plan, the organization is more likely
to follow it. I also see CEOs starting to think: What
happens to me after I leave? Some people have had a
hard time letting go of critical activities or believing that
anyone under them could really take over, Martin says.
Is a national search to identify a replacement to fll a
vacant CEO position the best direction for a hospice?
Not necessarily, says Martins colleague Carolyn Simons,
managing director of Executive Search at the Corridor
Group. On the other hand, there may be good reasons
for the agency to follow a new direction or seek a new
skill set for the next executive in such areas as informa-
tion management, palliative care development, commu-
nity relations, fundraising or facility management. Or
else the next leader may inherit a fnancial and organiza-
tional crisis requiring drastic action. Too often, however,
an externally identifed replacement for an established
leader of the agency is set up to fail.
Often its better if you can hire from within. Internal
candidates are already part of the culture, Martin says.
Another advantage is that its cheaper. Someone from
the outside will be in a much better negotiating posi-
tion for higher salary and benefts. An outsider will also
require more time to learn the local market, the com-
petitors and other nuances of the business.
Tere are good examples of where grooming of future
leaders is going on, with both internal and external
coaching, Martin adds. I am currently mentoring a
COO who discusses issues with me to build compe-
tence and confdence prior to discussing the same issues
with the CEO. Part of Martins role is to report back
to the organizations board on the identifed candidates
progress in preparing for greater responsibilities.
Planning for a Graceful Exit
Two years ago, when I was 58, I realized that I had to
take a look at this issue, relates Susan Telli, CEO of
Hospice Care of Southeast Florida in Fort Lauderdale.
I have watched a lot of women, non-proft executives
in their late 60s, who could not let go. So for the last
two years I have been planning for my own retirement.
I wanted to make sure that when I left, people would
be cared for the way I wanted them to be cared for, by
people with a passion for hospice care. At our December
meeting, the Executive Committee signed of on my
succession plan, a seven-page document with defni-
tions, phases, goals and objectives.
I have in mind a young woman, a nurse who has done
public relations work while raising small children. She is
socially well-connected, poised, bilingual, able to move
in any social crowd, with all the necessary traits of good
leadership, including fnances, Telli says. Te plan is
for fve years of gradually accelerating experience, so
that when I step down, she will be prepared, Telli says.
NewsLine looks at succession planning from the per-
spectives of seven current and retired CEOs begin-
ning on the next page.
Special thanks to Marcia Lattanzi Licht and True Ryndes for their guid-
ance during the planning and development of this article. Tanks also to
Ann Luke and Lily Kelly Redford of the Center for Creative Leadership
for sharing their perspectives. LB
Larry Beresford, author of this story, is a freelance writer who has written
numerous articles on end-of-life care. He resides in Oakland, California.
Larry can be reached at larryberesford@hotmail.com.
continued on next page
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6
I
n May 2005, Sarah
Gorodezky stepped
down after eight years
as CEO/executive director
of Hospice of Napa Valley.
For many of those years,
she was also fghting illness
and once even conducted
agency business from her
hospital bed during a Medicare survey.
I didnt want to transition from director to patient
of hospice care, says Gorodezky, who has relocated
to Santa Barbara. I had attained many of my goals in
Napa. It was a good time to let go, even though it never
really feels like it. It was time to let someone come in
with new energy, she explains.
I built our organization from 18 employees to over
100, launched a second product line, adult day care,
and completed construction of a new facility that would
house both programs with room to grow. But its not
just about size. I was in a community where you could
see the impact of everything we did, she says. Doing
what I needed to do for my own health dictated a lot of
the choices I made as director. Fortunately, our clini-
cal director could take charge when I was unavailable.
I might have quit earlier if I didnt have people I could
count on in the organization. Ten, when it became too
much, thats when I decided to retire.
When Gorodezky stepped down, the hospice board
employed a consultant from Te Corridor Group as
an interim director for six months so that it wouldnt
be rushed in its search. Te board was committed to
getting someone with hospice experience, from the non-
proft realm. Te staf was clear that they didnt want to
train their next executive about hospice they wanted
someone they could learn from.
Diferent people have diferent ideas of succession plan-
ning, Gorodezky observes. For some its identifying and
preparing someone to take over the job. For me, it
meant trying to make sure the foundation of the orga-
nization was strong and people were in place so that the
organization continues, regardless of transitions at the
top. Te most important thing we do is service, she says.
I miss the work. Id be a liar if I said I didnt. But liv-
ing for my family is a big piece of being able to let go.
Gorodezky, who previously directed hospices in Madi-
son, WI, Oakland, CA, and Nashville, TN, as well as
the Northern California Hospice Association, adds, I
had a fulflling career. Now Im involved on the building
committee for a local hospice and on the board of the
California Hospice Foundation.
Te legacy Gorodezky hopes she transmitted to her staf
in Napa is to remember that its the patients death, not
ours. Remember that the patient and family are the unit
of care not just in your words but your actions. Treat
all people with dignity and respect diferent cultures,
traditions and family dynamics. Im sure some of the
staf sometimes rolled their eyes and said, Tere she
goes again with her stories. Gorodezky would illustrate
the values by sharing her hospice experiences dating
back to the 1970s, when she served on the board of
directors of Hospice of Santa Barbara.
If I hear about one more dysfunctional family, I swear
Ill scream, she says. We all come from dysfunctional
families. Now that Im a patient, I see this issue of mak-
ing judgments about people in a new light. Why did
they wait so long to come to hospice? Why did they go
through that last round of chemotherapy? Well, you
have to walk in that persons shoes to know why they
made those choices. Sometimes in hospice we lose sight
of that.
J
oAnn Davis, who has been
CEO of the Hospice and
Palliative CareCenter in
Winston-Salem, NC for the
past 11 years, has given her
non-proft organizations board
of directors ample notice of her
future retirement. Ive been
with the hospice for 21 years.
For good or ill, my imprint is stamped on this agency.
Likewise, my dream is that the agency will continue to
grow in whatever direction is right after I leave, she
says. Te board would be happy for me to stay, but its
no secret that I plan to retire. Tey have acknowledged
that it is their job to pick a successor.
Davis has ofered to help the board in that search,
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7
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understanding that she will not make the fnal decision.
When Im gone, Im gone. In the meantime, I need to
be grooming senior management people for leadership
positions pushing them to grow and broaden their
roles within the agency while looking closely at how
they perform. I told the management staf: Im not able
to anoint anyone to be the next director, but I can try to
groom all of you so that any of you could do my job.
Davis succession planning began by attending a two-
day seminar on the topic ofered by the North Caro-
lina Center for Non-Profts. Tis year she is working
with key board members to defne the essential skill
set for the CEO position. My hope is that my succes-
sor would be named and on board to shadow me for
two months before I leave. Any more than that could
become tedious, she says.
I dont care if the hospice is for proft
or nonproft, as long as it honors the
mission that were in business to make
life better at the end of life. As competi-
tion increases in many communities, we
need to recognize that hospice care is a
business. But at the same time, we cant
ever lose sight of the reason why were
here. Tis requires a successful balanc-
ing act by the executive, she says. We
also need to protect and seek out the
communitys faith that we can make a diference in the
last days of their loved ones life. Were given a privilege
to be part of the family at that time. Our credibility is
upheld by the community allowing us to be there. Wed
better not abuse that privilege, Davis says.
I really fell into this job, not knowing what it entailed.
Now I have a $20 million operation, three remote sites
and a 16-acre campus. I have stretched every brain cell
in my head three-fold. It has been the most wonder-
ful part of my life. Im not stupid enough to think that
when I leave, it wont hurt, she says.
I came on the staf originally on the business side. My
predecessor, Deborah Dailey, taught me a lot. When
she left, I was interim director for fve months while the
board did a search. I said to them: I can do anything
in this agency except clinical work. Im ready for this
job. I found areas where I didnt have expertise and
hired people who did. I audited courses at Wake Forest.
I keep telling people in this organization: Dont niche
yourself; expand yourself.
C
laire Tehan founded
the organization now
called TrinityCare
Hospice in Torrance, CA, back
in 1978 and has been closely
identifed with it ever since
through the challenges of
an Operation Restore Trust
audit and as a national leader
in developing AIDS services. She retired in June 2005,
following six months of planning with the hospice
board and senior staf, and six months prior to that
thinking about it and mapping a plan
for her retirement and career transi-
tion. I thought a year was too long to
be a lame duck. I wanted to be totally
focused on this job until the day I left.
My legacy was to leave an organization
that could move on and grow, she says.
More than anything, the organization
was in great shape when I left very
strong, not listing. We had also com-
pleted our fve-year strategic plan.
Tehan herself entered a new career as an
executive coach and management consultant, drawing
upon her years of experience while seeking additional
training in coaching. She identifed in advance a po-
tential replacement candidate within the agency, Terri
Warren, and deliberately groomed and prepared her for
the position. Te health system-based hospices board
of directors still conducted a national search for Tehans
replacement, but Warren was able to land the position
based on her experience and preparation.
Terri is the best ft for the culture of this hospice. She
is smart and able to work with the two boards and the
health system that this hospice reports to. She was an
excellent candidate more in the style of me than any
external candidate, Tehan says. She had worked for a
number of years managing our AIDS services and for
a short period she was our vice president of operations.
She was evaluated and she made the cut.
Tehan participated in the job interviews, along with the

I dont care if the

hospice is for proft
or nonproft, as
long as it honors the
mission... to make
life better at the end
of life.

continued on next page
8
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8
CEO of the health system. I think it was good that a
national search was conducted. Te job could have just
been transferred to someone within the system. It was
an encouraging sign for TrinityCare Hospices board.
Ten, when Terri was chosen, it put her in a stronger
light starting out.
Tehan says she didnt have a formal list of seasoning ex-
periences for Warren. Once she was selected, I started
a running list in my head, but mostly it was ad hoc. In
the last three weeks, she came everywhere with me, and
everywhere we went I would give her my perspectives
on the people we met with. Tat handing over of es-
sential, unwritten information is invaluable. In the past
year, Warren had also been responsible for two major
initiatives: implementing an electronic medical record
from redesign of the care plan to train-
ing of staf on laptops, and establishing
a new pharmacy contract and relation-
ship with the local hospitals pharmacy.
Transitions are always challenging,
Tehan says, and theres a tendency to
read ulterior motives into any change.
I was very deliberate in the whole
process, communicating my decision
with a letter to the board and staf. I
still got questions like: Is the hospital
forcing you out? I made the rounds of
all our ofces and met with all the staf to explain my
reasons for leaving, she says. I knew there would be
a signifcant reaction when I announced my plans, and
in fact it really upset a lot of people when they found
out. Tis organization had weathered a lot of upheavals
over the years, and I was the one constant. Needless to
say, life goes on and the organization is functioning very
well with Terri as the new leader.
O
rganizational culture
can be vulnerable
to transitions such
as a change in leadership,
notes David Simpson, CEO
of Hospice of the Western
Reserve in Cleveland, OH.
His organization has long
emphasized the concept of the trans-disciplinary team,
one further step in the direction of true integration and
teamwork from the usual hospice interdisciplinary team.
Te trans-disciplinary team approach is extraordinarily
rooted throughout this organization. Teams and
not just clinical teams are managed by a team leader
with the ability to hire and fre. My own ofce is a team
room, with fve other people in it. I can imagine that
another CEO might not do things the way I do, Simp-
son says. On the other hand, inclusive change processes
are another cornerstone of the organizations culture.
Any manager from within this organization would
understand how to implement a change process so that
staf wouldnt feel disempowered during a transition to
a new leader.
Starting ten years ago, Simpson pushed his senior man-
agers to start working on a succession
plan that could function in the event
that the CEO is unable to perform his
or her duties with the plan spelling
out the alternates strengths, weak-
nesses and proposed steps to address
growth areas. Updated in March 2005,
the plan promotes continuity and ease
of operations when leaders resign, are
temporarily absent or experience an
emergency.
Te original purpose was to let people
know whos covering when I or anybody is gone from the
ofce, Simpson says, although it has evolved from that
starting point. Te chief fnancial ofcer and the chief
operating ofcer are both designated to fll in for Simp-
soneven when he is just traveling and cant be reached
with authority to make executive-level decisions. Tey
and six other senior managers have since defned their
own succession plans for who could fll in for them in an
emergency.
Two years ago, the person who was our head of de-
velopment sufered a heart attack, accompanied by
memory loss. Te continuity just wasnt there, even, for
example, where she kept the key to her fling cabinet.
We learned some things from that incident and, as we
discussed it, we realized we hadnt gone far enough in
our planning. But our strategic plan commits us to be-
ing a learning organization, he says.

I can imagine
that another CEO
might not do things
the way I do.

continued from previous page
continued on page 43
Simpson, 62 and CEO of the hospice since 1988, has
steered its growth into one of the largest hospices in the
country. I would like to see myself retiring in fve years.
Until a few years ago, I always said there is no internal
candidate who is qualifed and would want the job.
Now I say there are staf members who could be pro-
vided career development opportunities in preparation
for assuming the CEOs role, he says.
No one walks in the door 100 percent ready to be CEO,
he adds. But sometimes an astute CEO can identify a
diamond in the rough. Tere is an unexpected candidate
within Hospice of the Western Reserve who in Simpsons
opinion possesses essential leadership traits. He has encour-
aged that individual to take on project management assign-
ments and attend management development seminars.
When I look around at my peers at National Hospice
Work Group meetings, there will be a lot of succession
at large hospices in the next few years. Are we invest-
ing enough in the young people who will be our future
leaders? Simpson says. Based on where I was profes-
sionally in 1988, theres no way I would be qualifed to
run a complex organization like this, with a $70 mil-
lion budget. Development of the feld created what we
became as leaders. A certain amount of audacity and
ability to learn on the job was essential.
H
ospice of the
Wood River Val-
ley in Ketchum,
ID, has adopted a policy
addressing what to do in
the event of an unexpected
vacancy of the executive
director, how to convene an
emergency meeting of the board of directors and del-
egate essential areas of responsibility to keep the vol-
unteer-intensive agencys service delivery intact. It also
defned a companion process for the subsequent execu-
tive director search.
Carolyn Nystrom has been executive director of the
Hospice of the Wood River Valley since 1990 and
heads a paid staf of four, with signifcant volunteer
participation and a comprehensive community outreach
program supported by fundraising. Te hospice does
not participate in the Medicare program. Nystrom has
no current plans to retire and, in fact, remains closely
identifed with all aspects of the hospices services.
However, she has encouraged the board of directors, in
regular meetings and at its most recent annual retreat,
to grapple with succession issues and implement a plan
over the next three to fve years.
For us, its not about replacing me but about continu-
ing or sustaining the organization and our contract
with our community and donor base, Nystrom says.
Te hospice routinely surveys diferent segments of the
community for perspectives on its services. In 2006,
it will focus this process more specifcally on what the
community values from the hospice. Respondents will
be asked what prompts them to donate money or make
referrals and what they would want to preserve or
change in the event of a change of leadership.
Tis can be a clear strategic opportunity for making
changes. Te board will have a better understanding of
who we are as an organization in the eyes of the com-
munity. Are there things were doing now that we dont
even need to do any more? Were trying not to force
the information to ft our preconceived notions. If we
started hearing things about what we ought to be doing
diferently, wed start making the changes now, she says.
It will also tell us what to look for in a future leader,
and what is the best way to accomplish that, especially
since it will be hard to fnd a single person to replace all
of Nystroms clinical, administrative and community
outreach roles. We dont want to be panicked in our
decisions, which is why we want to begin to look at the
issue now, so we can take our time. Its really the same
kind of planning as if we wanted to build a new build-
ing, she says.
If I could pass on a legacy to my successor, it would be
the passion for patient care the energy and optimism
that I believe are essential to create a supportive care
environment in hospice, Nystrom says. In hiring new
staf, look for people who are, as part of their core, opti-
mistic, energetic people, happy in their lives and excited
about each day. Ask what are their interests and hobbies
so that you can see that they know how to take care of
themselves, she adds. Tat passion and optimism, I
believe, needs to permeate our organization, and be re-
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43
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fected to our community so that people are attracted
to hospice and hospice is something people want to be
part of. Tats what our community thinks of us.
D
orothy Pitner
Healy, presi-
dent and CEO
of Midwest Palliative and
Hospice CareCenter, now
headquartered in Glenview,
IL, was hired in 1990 as ex-
ecutive director of Hospice
of the North Shore, which had a census of fve patients.
Today the agency ofers a continuum of palliative and
end-of-life services, with fve distinct product lines and
a total census of 1,200 patients, 420 of them enrolled
in hospice. I remember thinking when I took this job,
either Im going to make something out of it or Im out
of here.
Pitner Healy says one of her biggest assets was her prior
experience in other healthcare but non-hospice set-
tings, including nursing education, along with an MBA.
Teres another whole world out there that we can
learn from, she says. When I started with this agency,
I took a road trip to visit some of the felds leaders,
including Betty Schmoll in Dayton, OH, Gretchen
Brown in Lexington, KY, and Jack Lee in Southern
Illinois. I made a deliberate efort to learn from them.
I remember driving up to Betty Schmolls place, seeing
their beautiful residential facility and thinking: Tis is
what hospice could be. Today we have our own build-
ing debt-free and inpatient unit and we have
realized that dream.
Pitner Healy plans to work two more years, although
she has been thinking about her retirement and succes-
sion planning for the past fve. As part of our long-term
strategic planning and my role as CEO, I want to take
the processes currently in place and better defne and
enhance these systems. I am also excited to hang out in
our new building for a couple more years, she says.
I think its extraordinarily important to have a plan for
leadership succession, and not wait until the last min-
ute. Someone in my position needs to do as much as
possible at the board level to help the leadership under-
stand its role on this issue. Our board has assigned an ad
hoc Succession Planning Committee, which is part of
our overall governance plan. Weve also started talking
about retirement packages for me and for my succes-
sors. Tats not an area that most nonproft boards have
much experience in, she says.
Pitner Healy believes its better to identify a future CEO
candidate from within and expose them to the nuances
of the job. Were in a competitive environment. Some-
one from outside the community, with all the talent in
the world, wont know the players, she says. I have
been grooming someone to take my place. Te board is
aware that I have a candidate although, of course, there
are no promises, she says.
During our staf and volunteer orientations, I always
give a strong cultural statement about the industry and
who we are as an organization. We have always been
a cutting-edge organization that prides itself in being
visionary. Part of the legacy I hope to leave part of
what has made us successful is that we should not
be afraid to take risks or admit when we are wrong, if
our decisions are driven by the desire always to put the
needs of our patients and their families frst.
P
eg Gilmour helped
to found and then
led a community-
based hospice in Nashua,
NH, in the early 1980s
through its merger with
two larger home care agen-
cies. After a few years under a new CEO, the combined
organization again was looking for an executive and
Gilmour tossed her hat into the ring, winning the posi-
tion and staying there until her retirement in 2003.
I dont think we did a good job of talking about or
planning for succession before I left, she says. But one
thing that allowed me to retire comfortably was feel-
ing that I had created a strong leadership team not
geared for succession but for my need to have function-
ing, high-performing managers. I had been consciously
developing the leadership team. We struggled at frst
with getting the right ft on the team. Te organization
grew quite a bit and some people left because their lives
changed, she explains.
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Marketplace
Wed talk about unexpected losses on the team, Gilm-
our says. In fact, I once tested the team with a longer
vacation by going to India for three-and-a-half weeks. Of
course they did fne. When it came time for Gilmour to
leave, one of her managers applied for the job and ended
up leaving the agency when she didnt get it. Another
manager, who had come on board with the expectation
that she would grow into my job, over time it became
clear that she wouldnt. I was able to talk to her: At this
time in your life, this would not be a good job for you.
She was able to let go of that expectation, Gilmour says.
Te board did a national search and ofered the job to an
external candidate who accepted and then changed his
mind. We were back to square one and Id already had my
retirement party. So we regrouped, hired a search frm and
restructured the search committee. Te chair of our board
applied for the job someone with strong healthcare
background. She got the job and is still there today.

Resources
Books
Efective Succession Planning: Ensuring Leadership Continuity and
Building Talent from Within by William Rothwell (American Manage-
ment Association, 2000). Grow Your Own Leaders: How to Identify,
Develop and Retain Leadership Talent by William Byham, Audrey
Smith and Matthew Paese (Financial Times Prentice Hall, 2002).
Growing Your Companys Leaders: How Great Organizations Use
Succession Management to Sustain Competitive Advantage by Robert
Fulmer and Jay Alden Conger (American Management Association,
2003). Te Leadership Pipeline: How to Build the Leadership-Powered
Company by Ram Charan, Stephen Druller and James Noel (Jossey-
Bass, 2000).
Articles
Who Will Take the Wheel? Prepare Your Agency to Survive
Without Top Leaders by Carolyn Simons, Success in Home Care,
May/June 2005, p. 31-35. Te CEOs Real Legacy by Kenneth
Freeman, Harvard Business Review, November 2004, p. 51-58.
Surveys
For more information on NHPCOs 2005 Hospice and
Palliative Care Leadership Survey, contact Bob Clarke at Furst Group,
815/229-9111 (bclarke@furstgroup.com).
Executive Leadership Services
Te Corridor Group: Jeannee Parker Martin
(Jmartin@corridorgroup.com). Te Center for Creative Leader-
ship, with campuses in Greensboro, NC, Colorado Springs, and San
Diego: 336/545-2810 or www.ccl.org. Furst Group: Bob Clarke
(bclarke@furstgroup.com).
Volunteers: Tanks for Taking the Time to Care
Item # 820608
Every recipient will be inspired by the
photos of volunteers generously helping
others and by the quotations from world
renowned individuals.
Volunteers: Tanks For All You Do
Item # 820610
Give volunteers this charming gift book with
quotations about the importance of giving from
world-famous individuals.
Hospice Volunteer Translucent Pen
Item # 820661
Tese afordable purple ballpoint pens are the perfect
way to show your appreciation.
Top Marketplace Picks for National Volunteer Week April 16-22
Thank those hospice volunteers who make such a difference in the lives of others.
Hospice Volunteer Tote Bag
Item # 820665
Tis sturdy tote bag is perfect for the busy volunteer!
Angel Volunteer Lapel Pin
Item # 820081
Honor your volunteers with this lovely
antique gold pin. Let them know you appreciate their
acts of kindness.
Hospice Volunteer Lapel Pin with Lotus
Item # 711770
Tis pin features the words hospice volun-
teer on white beneath the hospice lotus in
green enamel on gold.
To place your order, visit
nhpco.org/marketplace or call 800/646-6460.
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News||oe Narch 2006