Dean’s Corner: Leadership Academy Expands in Upcoming Year
Drs. Cynthia Brown and Cathy Lazarus recently announced that the next cohort of an ambitious new program aimed at developing a strong cadre of future leaders from within the School of Medicine will launch in September, 2023.
The Leadership Academy is a year-long program piloted in September, 2022 with 35 participants,
all from within the department of medicine. Participants meet on the second Friday
of each month for two-hour sessions that cover a range of topics, including setting
priorities and maintaining focus, having difficult conversations, everyday bias, developing
others, teamwork, and driving change. Additional topics include emotional intelligence,
understanding yourself and honoring your personal bandwidth.
Feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, and the program will now be offered to all departments in the School of Medicine beginning in September, 2023.
Dr. Brown, head of the department of medicine, modeled the program after a similar successful program she was part of during her time at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB).
“I saw how successful and popular this program was at UAB,” said Dr. Brown, “and really wanted to duplicate that here for our faculty to provide them opportunities to fine-tune their leadership skills. Although we all have been through many years of training, this particular topic is not something most of us were taught in school.”
Current participants have indicated that the assessment tools used as part of the curriculum (360 evaluation; DISC, a communication styles tool; and the Thomas Killman Instrument, or TKI, a conflict styles instrument) are especially valuable. Participants have also expressed appreciation for the time to interact with peers and the dedicated time to step away from daily responsibilities to focus on these important skill sets.
“This program is an investment in our future,” said co-facilitator Dr. Lazarus, Associate Dean for Student Affairs. “We are working to build up the School of Medicine’s future leaders from within to continue our progress well into the next several decades.”
Beyond providing tomorrow’s leaders with the tools and resources to thrive, Drs. Brown and Lazarus hope the Leadership Academy serves to increase the specific leadership skills identified as critical to departmental leadership and build relationships across departmental boundaries.
In addition to expanding the leadership program to all SOM faculty, Dr. Brown, Dr. Lazarus and Dr. Michelle Moore, head of psychology and co-chair of SOM faculty development initiatives, will train this summer in administering and interpreting the DISC instrument so that this tool can be offered more widely as a stand-alone tool.
“The DISC assessment is very informative and helpful with communication in all settings,” said Dr. Lazarus. “We know the entire year-long curriculum is quite a commitment. With this training in place, anyone within the school can receive valuable insight and feedback to help with communicating with peers, the media, even within their own families.”
The Leadership Academy is funded by the Dean’s Office and the Chancellor’s Office.
“We are investing in this program because we want to provide the time and resources to our faculty to become the best leaders they can as they will be responsible for our future,” said Interim Dean Dr. Richard DiCarlo. “Investing in those who are already making a difference here is the best way to ensure a bright future.”
“I echo Dr. DiCarlo’s sentiments,” said Interim Chancellor Dr. Steve Nelson. “Our employees are our most valuable asset. This investment will have huge dividends for all of us.”