Table 1.

Curricular design of the Leadership Development Program.¹

Development of the curriculum: The curriculum was designed based on input from participating surgeons regarding their motivations and desired goals for a leadership program. From this information, acquired before the start of the program, 4 major domains emerged on which the Leadership Development Program was structured and implemented.
Timeline for the curriculum: In-person sessions took place 1 full day per month for 8 consecutive months. Longitudinal team projects were coordinated outside of the 8 core sessions over the duration of the program.
Domain	Description	Elements in the Program	Real-World Examples
Leadership	Learn effective communication and conflict resolution skills. Develop a compelling vision to motivate others.	1 full day of didactics on “Leading Organizations.” Longitudinal independent reading assignments. 360-degree evaluations completed by all participants. 2 sessions with an executive coach to debrief on 360 evaluations and to generate a personalized leadership action plan.	Enhancing Regional Collaboratives – Interviews conducted with physicians to understand their engagement with quality collaboratives in Michigan.
Team Building	Learn to foster collaborative, effective, and diverse teams.	2 full days of didactics on “Building Diverse Teams” and “Innovation.” Longitudinal independent reading assignments. Longitudinal team projects with an 8-month deliverable (at program conclusion) as well as a 2-year plan to integrate the project into real-world activity within the Department of Surgery.	Reducing Coordination Failures – Video ethnography used to better understand failures with care coordination.
Business Acumen/Finance	Learn about the basics of finance, marketing, strategy, and operations	3 full days of didactics on “Understanding Financial Statements,” “Capital in Healthcare Systems,” and “Introduction to Operations Management.” Group exercise with hospital Chief Executive Officer to teach how to interpret financial statements in healthcare. Division administrators reviewing financial statements from the Department of Surgery.	Case study on building a new ambulatory surgery center. Focused business plans for expanding clinical programs, such as a hand surgery program.
Healthcare Context	Learn local context (e.g., organizational structure, policies, and procedures) and acquire a greater understanding of health policy context.	2 full days of didactics on “Healthcare Policy” and “Strategy in Healthcare.” Multiple sessions with local leaders in healthcare related to many topics including the other domains (i.e., Leadership, Team Building, and Business/Strategy).	Didactic session on surgeons’ roles in accountable care organizations.

¹Content of Table 1 was adapted from Jaffe et al., 2015.¹⁰