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The UVA Health Leadership Institute (HLI) is a new program dedicated to providing lifelong learning opportunities for UVA Health team members to grow their leadership skills. The institute will serve team members from across all health system entities — at different phases of their careers — with in-person and online learning options. In doing so, HLI will bolster our culture of fostering mentorship, advancing career development, and growing leaders from within the institution. 

UVA Health cardiologist and Senior Director of the Health Leadership Institute Mike Valentine, MD, talks to Connect about the institute’s launch, driving forces, and what team members can look forward to in the months and years ahead. 

How did the UVA Health Leadership Institute (HLI) come to be?

Valentine: The seed for the institute grew out of team member feedback during the strategic planning process and echoed in the results of the 2022 Employee Engagement Survey. We had hundreds of people tell us they needed more opportunities for growth. They said, “We need somebody to help us develop skills to be better at our jobs, grow our careers, and make UVA Health the best place to work.” 

We took a 30,000-foot view of UVA Health to see what programs existed that could meet the needs identified by our team members — and while there is no shortage of quality leadership programming around Grounds — there is no umbrella organization to pull them together, market them, or develop new programs. HLI is a chance to unite all seven UVA Health entities through current and future leadership training. Our goal is for HLI to become a world-class leadership institute dedicated to training leaders in healthcare. 

I think it’s also important to note that HLI has very enthusiastic support from our most senior leaders, including UVA Health CEO Dr. Craig Kent; the Health System Foundation board; the Board of Visitors; and UVA President Jim Ryan. 

How will the HLI support the unique needs of leaders in healthcare?

Valentine: Healthcare is at a crisis point on multiple levels, especially following the Covid-19 pandemic and what happened to healthcare workers across the world. If we’re going to find the creative solutions to our biggest challenges, people must have the skills to effectively work together and affect change. 

HLI will focus on training leaders to be successful in all healthcare settings, which are unique and specialized. We also will bring together leaders from all corners of the organization to foster greater understanding of the tremendous scope of operations required to run an academic health system.

One of the key initiatives of the One Future Together |Health and Hope for All strategic plan is to make UVA Health the best place to work. How will HLI support this goal?

Valentine: People are looking for more opportunity for growth and personal satisfaction in their careers — they’ve told us. If we can help team members enhance their own skills and teach them how to work better with their teams, then teams will work better. 

A downstream benefit is that in successfully training leaders, HLI will enhance the organizational culture at UVA Health, making it an even more desirable place to work. If we can develop a best-in-class culture, then more people will want to be here, and more of the people who are here already will want to stay.

What can team members expect from HLI in year one? And in five? 

Valentine: As we recently announced, we’ll kick off our very first cohort class for emerging leaders this November (learn more and apply). By the end of year one, we hope to offer everyone at UVA Health an opportunity for their own personal growth. This could be a multi-week, cohort class, self-paced online course, or range of other things. 

A key indicator of success will be our culture, as I just mentioned. In three to five years, we want all UVA Health team members saying, “We’re functioning better as a team, as a division, and as an organization, and I’m more satisfied in my work.”

Our near-term focus is, of course, on supporting our own people and culture. Long term, our vision is to become a destination for healthcare leadership training, attracting learners from around the globe. We have numerous, very engaged partners from across Grounds — Darden School of Business, Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy, and McIntire School of Commerce are all very interested in healthcare and excited about the opportunity to partner with us and help us grow our offerings. With these partners, we feel we can develop an institute that’s second to none. 

Tell us about the first cohort class launching this fall. What kind of candidates are you looking for?

Valentine: Applications are open now for the first leadership class of 25-30 participants that’s slated to launch this November. This class will meet monthly through June 2024 and is geared for early- and mid-career (5-10 years of healthcare experience) emerging leaders from all parts of the health system — we want wide and diverse representation from across UVA Health. 

More specifically, we’re looking for people who are excited about UVA Health and their future here and have a desire to learn, improve, and advance in their career as part of a strong leadership team. We’re looking for people who are problem solvers and believe UVA Health has a good culture and they’re motivated to make it even better. 

I want to emphasize this first cohort is just that — the first. We don’t want anyone thinking, “If I don’t get into the first class, there’s nothing for me.” There absolutely will be many opportunities for team members as HLI is established and grows!

To learn more about the UVA Health Leadership Institute and to apply for the first cohort class, read the HLI Frequently Asked Questions on Connect.