March 28, 2008

Leadership Academy: Shaping the future of the MGH

Since its inception three years ago, the MGH Leadership Academy has made great strides in helping MGH managers build upon their skills and talents to become even more effective leaders. To celebrate the anniversary of the Leadership Academy and recognize its faculty, a special reception was held March 19 in the Trustees Room.

Carlyene Prince Erickson, director of Employee Education and Leadership Development, welcomed the guests with a brief overview of the Leadership Academy's mission, giving details about the curriculum and the pillars of the program: People Management, Process Management, Financial Management, Communications and Leadership. The Leadership Academy has grown from offering only nine courses in 2005 to now offering 23. Prince Erickson credited the incredible growth and scope of the Leadership Academy's educational offerings to the Steering Committee and Curriculum Committee for providing guidance and structure to the program for the past three years.

The heart and soul of the Leadership Academy — the 14 MGH faculty who teach the courses — were given special honors with a gift and a round of applause. "The reason the MGH is such a great institution is because we have the best managers," said Jeff Davis, senior vice president for Human Resources and founder of the Leadership Academy. "The goal of the Leadership Academy is to ensure our managers have the right tools and resources to be great leaders, and that would not be possible without the faculty who take the time from their busy schedules and full-time jobs to share their knowledge and expertise."

Peter L. Slavin, MD, president of the MGH, offered his congratulations to the faculty and staff of the program. "An important part of the MGH mission is education, and that goes beyond teaching our future doctors, nurses and other clinicians," he said. "That also means providing our managers with the educational resources they need to realize their full potential."

HEART AND SOUL: Leadership Academy faculty members Allison Rimm, Jim Noga and Bonnie Michelman