Healthcare Tech Organization
Scaling Leadership Capability in a 700-Person Healthcare Technology Organization Through Peer Learning, Peer Coaching & Peer Accountability Partnerships
The Case for Change
Discover how ADVAgo partnered with a growing healthcare technology organization to scale leadership capability through peer learning, peer coaching, and leadership development in the flow of work.
Industry: Healthcare
Function: Technology
Organization Size: Approximately 700 Technology Professionals
Location: United States
Engagement: 12-Month Peer Leadership Development Partnership
Services Provided:
Leadership & Talent Development Strategy • Leadership Program Co-Design • Microlearning • Facilitated Learning Circles • Peer Coaching • Peer Accountability Partnerships • Leadership Facilitation
The Situation:
High-performing technical experts had stepped into people leadership roles, bringing deep technical expertise but limited opportunities to develop the leadership skills needed to guide people through change, navigate difficult conversations, strengthen collaboration, develop others, and model those leadership behaviors across teams.
Leadership capability and leadership development weren't scaling at the same pace as the organization. At the same time, taking leaders away from their work for traditional training wasn't a viable option. Like many organizations, they faced a common reality: nearly half of leaders (49%) report they don't have time for leadership development.
The Innovation and Talent team recognized that despite investing in traditional leadership development, they weren't seeing leadership behaviors consistently transfer into day-to-day work. They wanted to build a leadership system where leaders developed while working on real business challenges, creating shared leadership behaviors that spread across teams and strengthened the organization as it continued to grow.
Our Approach
Together with the Innovation and Talent team, ADVAgo co-designed and launched a 12-Month Peer Leadership Development Partnership that enabled leaders to develop while working on real business challenges.
The partnership combined four interconnected elements that reinforced one another throughout the year.
Microlearning:
Short, focused learning experiences introduced practical leadership concepts that leaders could immediately apply in their day-to-day work.
Facilitated Learning Circles
Leaders met regularly in facilitated Learning Circles where they explored real workplace challenges, learned from one another's experiences, strengthened communication skills, and built shared leadership practices.
Peer Coaching:
Between Learning Circle sessions, leaders met one-on-one with a peer coach to work through current leadership challenges, practice coaching skills, and support one another's development.
Peer Accountability Partnerships:
Each leader built an ongoing accountability partnership with a peer. These conversations encouraged reflection, reinforced commitments, and helped leaders apply new leadership behaviors between sessions.
Together, these experiences created leadership development in the flow of work. Leaders learned together, coached one another, held each other accountable, and immediately applied new leadership behaviors with their teams.
What Changed?
Leadership Behaviors Became More Consistent
Executive leaders observed more leaders taking ownership of challenges, communicating with greater confidence, addressing conflict directly, and applying shared leadership behaviors across teams.
Peer Coaching Became Self-Sustaining
Leaders consistently identified peer coaching as one of the most valuable parts of the partnership.
Many continued meeting with their peer accountability partners after the partnership concluded. Others introduced the same coaching approach within their own teams, extending the impact beyond the original group.
Collaboration Strengthened
As relationships developed across the organization, leaders shared ideas more openly, sought perspectives beyond their own teams, and built stronger partnerships across functions.
Engagement Remained High
Although the partnership was delivered virtually, participation remained consistently strong throughout the year because every Learning Circle and coaching conversation focused on the real work leaders were already doing.
"We've never experienced this level of professionalism, engagement, or practical impact from a leadership development program, especially at this scale."
Executive Leader, Healthcare Technology Organization
Why This Worked
Leadership development doesn't happen because leaders attend training.
It happens when leaders have opportunities to learn, practice, reflect, and support one another while navigating real business challenges.
Microlearning introduced practical concepts.
Learning Circles created space for shared learning and reflection.
Peer coaching strengthened communication and problem-solving.
Peer accountability partnerships helped new leadership behaviors become part of everyday work.
Over time, leaders developed stronger relationships, a shared leadership language, and greater confidence leading themselves, their teams, and one another.
Who This Is For
This approach is designed for organizations that:
Are growing faster than leadership capability.
Promote technical experts into people leadership roles.
Want leaders to solve problems instead of escalating them.
Need stronger collaboration across teams and functions.
Are building shared leadership behaviors across the organization.
Believe leadership development should happen while leaders are doing real work.
Ready to Explore What's Possible?
Every organization is different.
That's why every Peer Leadership Development Partnership is co-designed around your people, your business priorities, and the outcomes that matter most.