The Challenge

“During a challenging time of transition, La Piana facilitated enlightening conversations and navigated cultural change alongside us to understand where we were and where we aimed to go, and then provided us with the tools and guidance we needed to achieve key goals. Leadership transition is hard work and it doesn’t happen overnight, but with support for the entire team (not just the leader), it can be successful.”

After 25 years of service, Colorado Access’ long-time CEO transitioned the organization to incoming President and CEO, Annie Lee, JD. Though the organization had consistently delivered as a key partner to the State in driving toward a healthier Colorado, Annie saw the opportunity to ignite the organization and staff by both building on their successes and reimagining their roles in transforming health care. Annie called on La Piana to assist in putting her vision into practice.

Colorado Access focused on several areas of growth:

• Leadership Structure. Colorado Access sought to restructure and expand its leadership team to foster better collaboration and strategic planning and to establish a specialized Strategic Leadership Team.
• Decision-Making. Colorado Access aimed to enhance its decision-making processes to improve efficiency and accountability, introducing new models, including the DARCI framework, to streamline decision-making, clarify roles, and enhance accountability mechanisms.
• Organizational Culture. Colorado Access wanted to build on existing organizational culture development work to further realize its cultural vision. Analysis of existing culture survey led to a facilitated process to align staff toward the organizational vision and mission, setting the stage for future culture and programmatic work.
• Programmatic Expansion. Colorado Access prioritized addressing social determinants of health in its communities, launching a comprehensive SDOH plan.
• Working Toward Greater Impact. Colorado Access endeavored to enhance impact and efficiencies through implementation of a metrics framework, implementing an Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) framework with mid- and executive-level management.

The Solution

The key to a successful leadership transition is a flexible and nimble support system. La Piana was happy to provide that support to Colorado Access during its transition. What began as an organizational structure conversation, took shape to navigate various elements of the organization’s culture and programmatic work. Today, the Colorado Access team is working diligently and with more efficacy to support the health and wellbeing of Coloradans. We are proud to have worked with Annie and the entire Colorado Access team.