May 2025 -- Recently, Suzanne Currier, President of ICF Virginia, sat down with Gillian Myers, Talent Development Program Manager at Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters Health System (CHKD), to discuss an exciting initiative taking root within the organization. In 2023, Gillian joined CHKD with a clear goal: to cultivate talent and address a growing hunger for leadership development.

Recognizing the opportunity, and building on her background in learning and development, Gillian designed and implemented a leadership development program tailored for people leaders at CHKD. This program comprised four key modules, strategically focused on foundational leadership skills: Effective Communication, Building Trust, Delivering High Impact Feedback, and Inclusion.

Gillian's vision extended beyond traditional training. She recognized the powerful impact of coaching and sought to integrate it into the leadership development journey. Faced with budget constraints, she ingeniously piloted a coaching component by collaborating with members of ICF Virginia and others, who generously offered their expertise pro-bono to coach these healthcare people managers.

The pilot proved to be a strong success. Participants not only benefited immensely from the leadership development training but also derived significant value from the coaching sessions. They found a safe and confidential space to process their classroom learning, navigate people management challenges, and celebrate leadership growth with an objective and experienced coach.

Gillian's driving force behind her leadership work is a deep understanding of the critical role leaders play. Her vision is to equip those entrusted with the responsibility of leading staff to be more effective in their roles. She firmly believes that two primary factors contribute to employee turnover: a lack of investment in their development and the experience of having a poor manager. For Gillian, coaching emerged as a powerful tool to address both these issues head-on. It represents a significant investment in the professional growth of people managers, empowering them to flourish as leaders, plus become more effective managers to their teams. 

The positive ripple effects of this investment are already being felt. Leaders participating in the development program are experiencing career growth and evolving into more impactful leaders. Consequently, CHKD staff are benefiting from stronger leadership, which is anticipated to contribute to increased employee retention.

Building on the success of the initial pilot and program, Gillian has ambitious plans to embed coaching into CHKD’s high-potential development program and executive development initiatives.

When Suzanne inquired about the origin of her passion and the importance of investing in CHKD's leaders, Gillian shared a deeply personal experience. In a previous organization, she endured the hardship of working under a profoundly poor manager. This experience not only impacted her work and mental well-being but also diminished her passion for her job. Witnessing firsthand the detrimental impact of bad management on an individual and the wider organization fueled a powerful commitment within her. It ignited a mission to equip managers with the skills and awareness necessary to lead effectively and humanely, ensuring that others would not have to endure similar experiences. "No more crappy bosses" has become her personal mantra and guiding principle.

Suzanne resonated deeply with Gillian's passion for leveraging effective people management to enhance employee engagement and experience. She highlighted the extensive research conducted by the Gallup organization over decades, which demonstrates that "70% of variance in team engagement is determined solely by the manager."

Both Suzanne and ICF Virginia extend their sincere appreciation to Gillian and CHKD for their proactive investment in their people managers, recognizing the profound impact of effective and responsible leadership on their staff.

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Contact : Suzanne Currier, PCC : President ICF Virginia, President@icfvirginia.org