November 15, 2001 | Read Time: 2 minutes
Two years ago the American Cancer Society realized that many of the executives who lead its 18 autonomous divisions were nearing retirement age. According to the magazine Fast Company (October), the nonprofit organization communicated an unusual message to its 6,500-person workforce: Step forward if you are interested in being the head or chief operating officer of a division.
Ree Stanley, the group’s national vice president for human resources, said that the charity “deliberately cast the net wide” because it did not “want to overlook qualified people.” Forty-eight employees responded, ranging from an office assistant to the chief financial officer of one division.
Thus began a rigorous application process. First the candidates had to assess their leadership skills using 15 separate criteria. Then the applicants faced three intense review stages: one by a roundtable of division managers; another conducted by the applicant’s chief operating officer, subordinates, and colleagues; and a final review in which leaders from the society’s headquarters ranked the aspiring executives. In the end, only 19 people made the cut. Each one was considered “promotable within 24 months” or “immediately promotable,” says the magazine. The rest of the original applicants received “development plans,” so they could work to be stronger candidates the next time around.
The American Cancer Society has formed a set of goals that it hopes to fulfill by 2015. According to the article, these include slashing the cancer mortality rate by 50 percent, reducing the incidence of cancer by 25 percent, and making a clear impact on the quality of life of cancer survivors.
The emphasis on long-term planning, according to the magazine, explains why the organization dedicates so much energy to finding future leaders. The New England division’s chief financial officer, Thomas Sellers, who was chosen as one of the 19 finalists, told Fast Company, “That’s what decades of fighting cancer has taught us: think long-term starting now.”
The article is available at http://www.fastcompany.com.
