Emerging Leaders QHC Pilot Cohort Officially Launched
Judy MacDougall, Manager of Organizational Development, and Sarah Corkey, Director of Quality and Interprofessional Practice, understand the importance of QHC investing in its own people and providing leadership growth opportunities to staff – and they were thrilled to be the ones to create the Emerging Leaders program to help develop leaders among the ranks of QHC staff.
The Emerging Leaders QHC Pilot Cohort has officially launched after being postponed due to COVID. Participants of the program benefit from a variety of instructors and leadership development topics, with the goal of giving high performing staff the support and resources they need when the opportunities to advance to the next level become available to them.
During the early stages of building the course, Sarah and Judy discovered that the content being developed could not only assist in building leaders among nurses, but also benefit members of interprofessional teams, regardless of discipline or department, since they also play a role in making sure that patients are as safe as they can be and are provided with the highest quality of care.
Sarah noted that diversifying the course topics to attract participants beyond the typical nursing staff has been beneficial for the class.
“The diverse group we’ve got is adding to the conversation, as opposed to a more homogenous focus, where we tend to do the same thing. Having people that aren’t embedded in the process, and encouraging an environment of asking questions, has been great.”
Along with diverse participant experiences, the class provides participants with the opportunities to build relationships and a network with future leaders, which will benefit them in the future as they establish a strong set of connections.
Since the class is a customized program, Sarah and Judy were able to merge two elements of leadership training: the principles, behaviors, and traits of leadership, as well as a guide for the participants through a progression from their own experiences of leadership, to operational, patient safety, employee health and diversity leadership.
Sarah and Judy hope that participants will take away a set of personal development skills as well as a sense of direction from the class. They hope that participants will continue to pursue leadership in their respective units, and have opportunities to provide leadership in areas of employee health, safety and inclusivity.
The leadership development series, with its official first class on September 21, 2021, is held monthly, wrapping up in June 2022.
