AWARD WINNER: Third Place in the 2025 Ivey Women Investing in Leadership Case Writing Competition
This case presents Yasmene McDaniel as her hospital facility searches for its new CEO. McDaniel is interim CEO and has been readied for the permanent position. During this uncertain period, she experiments with strategies for developing leadership authority and questions how to maintain her motivation to secure the promotion. The case explores McDaniel’s progression from recent graduate to her appointment as COO of a major hospital facility, showing how professional aspirations and personal considerations shaped her career. The case then describes the careful attention the prior (female) CEO of the facility devoted to selecting and preparing McDaniel to succeed her. The dilemma is whether McDaniel should stay the course or prepare an exit strategy.