Design and Implementation of a Leadership Development Program for Early-Stage Investigators: initial results

Abstract

Introduction:

Leadership skills are essential for a successful career in medical research but are often not formally taught. To address these gaps, we designed a leadership development program for early-stage investigators.

Methods:

A 9-month virtual program with monthly 2-hour interactive sessions was designed, covering topics such as Leadership in Research, Mentoring, Building Diverse and Inclusive Teams, Managing Conflict, Influencing without Authority, Grant Administration & Management. An anonymized survey was sent to participants prior to and after completion of the program, and results were compared using the chi-squared test.

Results:

Over a 2-year period, we selected two cohorts of 41 and 46 participants, respectively. After completion of the program, 92% of survey respondents indicated that the program met their expectations and 74% had made use of skills they learned. Participants enjoyed meeting new people and discussing common challenges. There was an increase in participants’ perceived understanding of personal leadership qualities, mentoring, communication, conflict resolution, grant management, and collaboration with industry (p<0.05).

Conclusion:

A leadership development program for early-stage investigators led to a significant increase in participants’ perceived understanding of personal leadership qualities and competencies. It also offered participants the opportunity to meet other researchers in the institution and discuss common challenges.

Introduction

Leadership and management skills are essential for a successful career in medical research but are often not formally taught^1,2. Despite extensive research training, many postdoctoral fellows and early career faculty have gaps in leadership and business skills^3,4. Successful investigators are expected not only to excel in their science but also serve as financial administrators, skilled communicators, managers and mentors and leadership skills help researchers to effectively function within teams and their institution^5,6. Most studies on leadership in healthcare have focused on physicians, and there is a paucity of information on leadership programs for early-stage investigators in biomedical research.

To address these gaps, we designed a leadership development program (LDP) for early-stage investigators, to teach leadership and management skills. This 9-month program aimed to prepare investigators for the challenges inherent in establishing and maintaining a successful research program. We hypothesized that the LDP for early-stage investigators would enable and support researchers to establish and enhance core competencies necessary to lead effective research teams across the institution. In this short report, we describe the design and short-term outcomes of the program.

Methods

The LDP for early-stage investigators was established by the Center for Faculty Development (CFD) at our academic medical center in 2020 with the goal to provide the next generation of investigators key leadership skills necessary for a successful research career.

The curriculum was designed based on existing leadership literature which emphasizes the importance of teaching both subject matter expertise (task-oriented knowledge) and relationship skills⁷. We selected sessions that address these competency areas and added sessions based on a needs assessment of the most frequent requests of early-stage investigators, including research finance, career options in industry, and conflict management

The sessions were taught by subject matter experts within and outside the institution, who were selected based on their expertise in facilitating leadership development and their reputation.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the program was administered virtually with an optional in-person peer-mentoring component in the second year.

A call for applications was sent to graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and faculty at our institution via electronic newsletters. Applicants were asked to submit, along with their curriculum vitae, a letter of intent describing how the course would advance the applicant’s career, the applicant’s short and long-term goals, and what the applicant believed to offer to the other attendees. The application also required an endorsement letter from the applicant’s immediate supervisor. A review committee consisting of basic and clinical researchers reviewed applications and selected the participants with a focus on applicant diversity, department, and research area.

The 9-month program was designed to have monthly interactive sessions which were conducted synchronously via the Zoom platform, with interactive components using the chat, polling, and breakout room functions. Sessions included a didactic component and discussion sessions (Supplemental Material). Most sessions required pre-coursework, such as reading or completion of pre-session surveys.

During the second round of the program, a peer-mentoring component was added. Small groups consisting of 6 participants, assigned by the directors of the LDP, met monthly in-person or on zoom. Specific instructions relevant to each session with guiding questions were provided with the goal to dive deeper into the content of the monthly sessions and to build community among the participants.

Evaluation

The impact of the LDP was assessed by the method of Kirkpatrick⁸. We collected attendance and feedback after each session. Participants also completed an anonymized survey on the impact of the program prior to and after completion of the program. Perceived confidence in the competencies taught was assessed on a 5-point Likert scale (ranging from not confident, slightly confident, fairly confident, somewhat confident to completely confident) and non-matched answers from before and after completion of the LDP were compared using the chi-squared test. The study was approved by our Institutional Review Board, which waived the need for informed consent.

Results

We received 103 applications for the first round and 89 applications for the second round of the program and chose 41 and 46 participants, respectively. There was almost an equal number of women (49%) and men (51%) participating in the program. By design, most participants belonged to early career faculty (61%) and postdoctoral fellows (36%), with a small number of graduate students (3%). All selected participants completed the program with average attendance of 84% for each session (range: 68% to 96%).

Fifty-seven percent of participants (50/87) completed both the pre-and post-program survey. Following completion of the program, 92% of participants indicated that the LDP met their expectations and 74% had made use of skills they learned in the program. There was a significant increase in participants’ perceived understanding of skills taught in the program (p<0.05) (Figure 1). Based on surveys sent after each session, the following sessions were deemed most useful: leadership in research, managing conflict & difficult conversations, and influencing without authority. Eighty percent of survey completers met with their peer mentoring group between one to four times during the course of the program. Qualitative feedback indicated that participants enjoyed meeting new people and talking with others about common challenges and insecurities. Many participants were able to successfully apply conflict management skills at work and home. Participants were also able to provide critical feedback while maintaining a positive culture and promoting trainee growth.

Figure 1.

Survey responses indicating participants’ confidence in leadership competencies as fairly confident to completely confident before and after completing the Leadership Development Program for early state investigators.

The virtual format of the sessions allowed many to balance family/childcare responsibilities with the course and made it easy for researchers at different locations to participate. Participants suggested having additional in-person networking events outside of the formal sessions. Participants liked the length and frequency of the sessions and appreciated pre-work assignments. Once-a-month sessions allowed participants to think about their leadership role throughout the course.

Discussion

Effective leadership skills are vital to the success of medical researchers. Researchers need to be experts in the financial management of grant budgets, be able to build and lead collaborative teams, serve as problem solvers and skilled communicators, and mentor the next generation of researchers^5,6. While academic medical centers and health systems invest significant resources in leadership development for physicians and other health professionals^9–11, there are few programs that specifically focus on researchers, who require training in research finances, such as managing a grant budget, on how to collaborate with industry and strategies to advance their research program. The Center for Faculty Development at our institution therefore created a LDP for early-stage investigators to prepare the next generation of research leaders for the inherent challenges required to establish a successful research program.

We designed our curriculum based on a needs assessment of our research community on the skills required for both basic science and clinical researchers. The once-a-month sessions, complemented by pre-work assignments and peer-mentoring sessions, allowed participants to think about their leadership role and apply concepts learned throughout the course. This format is consistent with prior studies that have shown that active learning methods such as seminars, group work, discussions and reflections, contribute to the success of leadership development programs^9,12.

This course targeted early career investigators, who require management and leadership skills to be future leaders. Results from our survey showed that the implementation of an LDP led to a significant perceived knowledge gain, confidence, and high overall program satisfaction. There was a significant increase in participants’ perceived understanding of personal leadership qualities and the core competencies taught during the program. Participants especially valued sessions on leadership in research, managing conflict & difficult conversations, and influencing without authority. We therefore devoted significant time to discussions and exercises around conflict management and difficult conversations. At the completion of the program, most participants had made use of the skills they learned in the program.

The virtual synchronous format, comprised of didactic and interactive sessions, allowed researchers to balance family/childcare responsibilities with the program and facilitated participation of researchers from different locations. Additional in-person networking opportunities, were added in the second cohort through the implementation of peer-mentoring groups. Participants appreciated the opportunity to meet other researchers in the institution and discuss common challenges.

The main limitation of our study was the lack of objective assessment of the skills and competencies of the program as the results were based on participants’ self-reported confidence levels and the lack of a control group. However, the main purpose of this short report was to describe the design and implementation a new virtual LDP with an in-person peer mentoring component. Longer-term studies are needed to assess the impact of the program beyond the individual level. Strengths of our study include the detailed description of an LDP for early-stage investigators which can be easily implemented at other institutions, and its evaluation using surveys.

Conclusion

Our LDP for early-stage investigators led to a significant increase in participants’ perceived understanding of their own personal leadership qualities and skills required to develop and manage a research program. The course also gave participants the opportunity to network with other investigators across the institution and discuss common challenges and problem-solve possible solutions. Future studies are necessary to evaluate the long-term impact of the program.

Lessons for Practice.

• Leadership and management skills are essential for a successful career in medical research and need to be formally taught

• Leadership development programs for early-stage investigators should include didactic seminars and the opportunity for unstructured discussion of common challenges

• Leadership programs can be administered virtually with an optional in-person component focused on social interactions and networking