Leadership is not a lifetime achievement award.
That is the message UNMC Chancellor Jeffrey P. Gold, M.D., shared with the 27 graduates of the 2017 Interprofessional Leadership for Excellence and Academic Development (iLEAD) program.
“Leadership is a set of knowledge and skills that allows you to inspire other people to do great things,” he said, adding, “This includes the ability to free them to thinking broadly and creatively.”
See a list of all iLEAD graduates.
UNMC’s iLEAD program provides a framework for studying this type of leadership. A cohort of UNMC’s best talent engages in a highly interactive learning setting to push each other toward greater success. Leadership is practiced in large and small group exercises and simulations, and then applied in units across the organization through projects selected by each of the participants.
The structure of the program is designed to help faculty reflect on and actively explore and refine their own practice of leadership.
The graduates examined topics that included:
- personal and organizational strengths analysis;
- developing and refining a personal leadership style;
- leadership communication across silos and professions;
- leading change and evaluating risks;
- conflict resolution strategies;
- dealing with difficult challenges and people;
- building and leading teams;
- the art of negotiation;
- financial accountability and organizational investments;
- managing personal and team performance; and
- the impact of power, influence, and followership.
Graduates are already experiencing benefits of completing the program.
“I am soon to be inducted as President of the Association of Program Directors in Surgery. Thanks to the iLEAD course, I feel much better prepared to take on the national leadership role,” said P.J. Schenarts, M.D., professor of surgery. “The iLEAD course was the absolute best postgraduate educational experience I have taken.”
“iLEAD helped me identify and improve my personal strengths. I better understand who I am, how I think and react, and how to face adversity. In turn, this experience has given me a greater purpose both in my professional and personal life,” said Lisa Schlitzkus, M.D., assistant professor of surgery and associate trauma medical director.
“UNMC has been investing in growing leaders for nearly 20 years,” said Linda Love, Ed.D., one of the co-directors of the iLEAD program. “One of the most valuable components of our leadership development program is the rich and stimulating interprofessional dialogues that expand our perspectives of who we are as individuals, care providers, and as an organization-a future-focused academic health center.”