January 21, 2005

MGH paves way for tomorrow's health care leaders

What makes a good leader? That question is asked routinely by companies and organizations seeking the right formula to train managers. While there are varying opinions on what makes an effective leader, the MGH is launching a Leadership Academy that will help answer this question for managers throughout the hospital. The MGH Leadership Academy will help hospital managers refine their skills and talents to become even more successful leaders. The Academy will officially launch with the premiere of its
e-learning content program called ManageMentor Plus, in partnership with Harvard Business School Publishing. This course will be held Feb. 23, from 10 to 11 am in the O'Keeffe Auditorium.

Peter Slavin, MD, presidnet of the MGH, left, and Prince-Erickson

"Our number one priority is to ensure that the Academy's curriculum meets the needs of all managers, regardless of where they are in their career development," says Carlyene Prince-Erickson, director of Employee Education and Leadership Development. In addition to the online content that will be available on every manager's desktop, initial course offerings will include an executive seminar series facilitated by members of the hospital's executive leadership team as well as classes, workshops and online self-tests. Planning also is underway to launch a book club this winter. "We recognize time is a luxury for our managers. The content of this program is designed to be accessed in a variety of formats, whether in the traditional classroom environment or late at night from a home computer," says Prince-Erickson.

The Academy evolved out of a recommendation from the hospital's Strategic Planning Task Force on Workforce Issues that identified the need to share best practices among managers. The Training and Workforce Development team in Human Resources spearheaded development of the Academy under the guidance of a seven-member steering committee co-chaired by Jeff Davis, senior vice president for Human Resources, and Prince-Erickson. One of the first tasks of the steering committee was to develop a framework for the Academy to articulate the foundation or "pillars" of management and leadership at the MGH. The five pillars are people management, process management, financial management, communications management and leadership.

The members of the steering committee also led a series of focus groups with approximately 90 MGH managers at all levels of the organization to elicit their perspective on the skills and competencies necessary to be a successful leader. From these focus groups, 75 competencies were identified.

As part of the Academy, a new classroom will be located in the Training and Workforce Development Suite at 100 Charles River Plaza, second floor. The room will be configured to facilitate peer-to-peer learning and will be available to managers to reserve for meetings. When the room is not reserved, it will be available for managers to use as a study lounge. A leadership library is being created as another resource for managers.

"We're fortunate to have such incredibly talented managers whose knowledge and expertise we can tap to shape the curriculum," says Prince-Erickson. "The Academy will be a place for an exchange of ideas and best practices. It's just another way the MGH fulfills its teaching mission and commitment to excellence."