Management of the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network: Traits to Guide Executive Leadership in the New Era

As part of Health Resources and Services Administration’s (HRSA) Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) Modernization Initiative, HRSA established a separate legal entity to serve as the OPTN’s Board of Directors and facilitate transparent and accountable governance. There is a gap in the literature assessing which characteristics transplant leaders believe are most important to successfully lead a system as nuanced as the U.S. transplant system. We conducted a survey of current and former national transplant leaders to better understand their attitudes surrounding OPTN executive leadership selection, particularly with regard to Executive Director selection.

We collected data from 67 participants across 5 leadership domains—leadership & people management, domain-specific acumen, knowledge, personality traits, and contextual experience—using a 5-point Likert scale, ranging from 1 (not at all important) to 5 (extremely important). We quantified average score, extreme values (percent 4 (very) or 5 (extremely) important), and consensus, further stratifying by gender and primary role at OPTN, and compared the average difference. Respondents indicated that the most important traits were ethicality, accountability, and transparency (average 4.81/4.78/4.69, consensus 0.87/0.86/0.82). Non-Board Members scored accountability and transparency slightly higher than Board Members (4.9 vs. 4.7, 4.9 vs. 4.6). Knowledge-based traits were considered relatively unimportant (average 3.36/3.30/2.70, consensus 0.63/0.58/0.67).

These survey results can be used to inform future executive leadership selection under the modernization initiative. When selecting executive leadership, specifically an Executive Director/CEO, decision-makers should prioritize candidates with a track record of ethical, accountable, and transparent leadership.