Leadership Development Program

This program offers leadership training for surgeons to prepare them for the many roles they will take on in their careers.

Resident Leadership Development Program

  1. Interactive sessions introduce residents to concepts related to leadership theory, team building, and self-development. These sessions occur during protected educational time, avoiding scheduling burden and conflicting clinical responsibilities.
  2. Case-based discussion guides residents to generate strategies to practice their leadership skills during daily activities.
  3. This program teaches residents to master awareness of self and others within diverse teams. Using guided reflection, peer support, and enhanced feedback tools, residents will gain a 360° view of their leadership styles, strengths, and areas for improvement within the context of their current and future leadership performance. 

Early Career Leadership Development

This year-long series of development modules targets the interpersonal and leadership skills necessary to achieve professional and personal goals. Early career faculty members will work in small group cohorts based on a coaching model.

The Early Career Leadership Development Program promotes the development of fundamental leadership skills (ex. managing teams, working through conflict) using goal-directed tasks that are individualized to specific career needs and incorporated within a structured mentorship program. The program elements are intentionally broad to ensure these topics are relevant to all early career faculty.

Upon completion of this program, participants will be uniquely equipped to serve in leadership positions at the local, state or national level. This program will extend for faculty in later years of practice (Associate and Professor levels) with the existing Mid-career Leadership Development Program.

Leadership Development Program for Mid-Career and Senior Surgeons

Each cycle of this program includes approximately 25 mid-career and senior faculty. We have recently completed the 4th cycle, ushering more than half of the faculty through the program. We have found this program to become a key tool for reflection on departmental challenges and opportunities; a unique opportunity to build relationships across clinical silos; and a launching point for other faculty development initiatives.

The program is 8 months long and includes the following key elements:

  • 8 full day seminars and longitudinal learning: The backbone of the program was monthly Friday sessions where the entire group was present for didactics, experiential learning, and in-person group projects. For each of the 8 days, we made it a priority to include high quality didactics, engaging speakers, and content that would be valuable to our cohort. As shown below, these days were designed to support learning in each of our areas of competency, including leadership, team building, business acumen, and healthcare context.
  • 360-degree feedback and coaching: Each participant undergoes a 360-degree evaluation by their direct reports, peers, and supervisors. We also thought expose our faculty to executive coaching, as a tool for personal improvement. Each participant has two sessions with a coach to debrief and develop a personal improvement plan.
  • Longitudinal group projects: To enhance team building among the cohort, participants conduct group projects during the program. There are a broad range of group projects conducted, but they all aim in some way to improve the department of surgery using what was learned during the program. Many of the projects went on to launch new faculty development programs that are aimed to enhance faculty engagement and culture.
Competency Model for Mid-Career Leadership Development Program

Competency Model for Mid-Career LDP

  • Leadership: Vision, Strategy, Communication.
  • Team Building: Collaborative, Effective, Multi-faceted Teams.
  • Business Acumen: Finance, Marketing, Operations.
  • Understanding Context: Macro (Policy) and Micro (Michigan Medicine).

Please reach out to [email protected] with any questions or inquiries about the Leadership Development Program courses.