Abstract
The current complex and rapidly changing health care environment calls for new approaches to leadership, particularly for clinical leaders as they assume greater responsibility for identifying and managing the clinical leverage points that create value. The chief nursing officer-chief medical officer dyad as a co-leadership model is one such approach. Catholic Health Initiatives is a large, complex health care system in the United States that has embraced this partnership-based model. On the basis of Catholic Health Initiatives experience, attention to the design of such partnerships is critical for their success, and a number of guiding principles have emerged. In addition, leadership development interventions, with attention to both the individual and the partnership, can play a critical role in supporting the evolution of strong and effective clinical dyads.