Leadership & Development Seminars

These seminars are designed to enhance the leadership skills and effectiveness and understanding of professionalism of Yale School of Medicine faculty. Each seminar is approximately 60 to 90 minutes in duration and incorporates didactic and experiential components. Seminars will be offered throughout the year on an open enrollment basis. Alternatively, each seminar can be delivered as a customized offering for a particular department, section, or program audience. Departments may request up to three faculty-focused seminar per year. If you are interested in presenting these workshops to your department, section, or program please contact the OAPD-Academic Professionalism and Leadership Team at oapd.acadprof@yale.edu or call 203-785-2101.

Listening as the Bedrock of Effective Communication: This session reviews the fundamentals of effective listening for communication, with ample time to practice new skills throughout the workshop.

Navigating Difficult Conversations: This session explores best practices when engaging in high-stakes/emotionally-charged conversations in the workplace, with ample time to practice related skills during the workshop.

The Art of Accountability: This session introduces participants to a seven-step model for “conscious accountability,” in which the power of relationships and commitment to outcomes are explicitly leveraged to achieve goals. The importance of effective time management to accountability will also be explored.

Self-advocacy and Managing Up: This session reviews effective ways of managing and advocating for oneself and explores communication strategies for conversations with managers and leaders. Participants will have ample time to practice new techniques during this workshop.

Leading Teams – Part I: This session stresses the importance of psychological safety, emotional intelligence, and other “soft skills” for effective team leadership. Participants will explore current opportunities for enhancing these practices on their clinical and/or research teams. (Seminar content will be customized for clinical and research teams.)

Leading Teams, Part II: This session explores the nuts and bolts of delegating work to others, setting expectations and providing feedback. Participants will have ample time to discuss current challenges and successes they may be experiencing with these facets of teamwork.

Managing Staff at Yale: Designed for the faculty member, regardless of rank or role, who is new to managing university staff, this session orients participants to the structures, processes and policies of Yale Human Resources, as well as other relevant departments.

Setting Leadership Vision: Participants will craft leadership vision statements in line with their deeper professional callings. Fundamentals of peer coaching will also be introduced, which participants will utilize to deepen understanding of their own and their peers’ professional aspirations.

Promoting Professionalism at Yale School of Medicine: This session explores the connection between professionalism and positive clinical, research, and education outcomes and reviews the School of Medicine’s shared vision of professionalism, along with the processes and available resources of the Office of Academic Professionalism and Development. Best practices for addressing unprofessional or disruptive behaviors will be addressed through scenario-based practice.

Leading Change Initiatives: Designed for the faculty leader charged with organizational change, this session explores recognized, contemporary change models and applies them to the academic medical center environment, with ample time for discussion and problem-solving.

Leadership During Times of Uncertainty and Change: This session explores feelings and responses that are triggered as faculty serve as leaders during moments of organizational, institutional, or larger social change. Techniques for managing the uncertainty of change will also be presented.

Introduction to Leadership for New Section Chiefs and Program Leads: This program is focused on providing new section chiefs and program leads in Yale School of Medicine clinical departments with an initial introduction to key leadership skills required for leading complex, diverse clinical teams. The program is also intended to facilitate a supportive network of clinical leaders that extends beyond the program, giving leaders ongoing peer support and resources for working through leadership challenges. Cornerstones of the program include didactic sessions focused on key topics relevant to stepping into a section/program leadership role (negotiation, building and co-leading teams, difficult conversations), small group peer coaching sessions to facilitate building relationships across departments and collaborative problem-solving, and 360 feedback/individualized development planning.