Abstract
A national survey was conducted to determine the current state of senior executive perceptions of recent entrant managers within corporate headquarters, hospital systems, and freestanding hospitals. The survey was constructed based on leadership interpersonal competencies and competency-based career development programs. The goal of the study was to determine the perceptions that senior executives have about the interpersonal skills of recent entrants. A total of 676 respondents returned the survey, representing 31 percent of the mailing sample. In a follow-up study to 368 matriculating graduate students to determine their knowledge gaps in the transformation, execution, and people domains of the NCHL competency model, it was determined that the “people competency” received minimal attention in comparison to competencies in the transformation and execution domains. Graduate students did not recognize that their interpersonal skills needed enhancement. The conclusion is that impressing upon students that interpersonal skills are important to their long-term career success requires reinforcement at the graduate school level.