Plan a program leadership retreat
We’re all off and running! The new chiefs have started, new trainees have started, and schedules are generally stable. Recruitment is on the horizon, but it feels suddenly, albeit briefly, like a little bit of a reprieve.
Think about using this “downtime” to plan a program retreat! If you didn’t have a chance to hold one in the Spring, it’s not too late.
We plan a half-day program retreat that our HR department organizes and facilitates. The program director, chiefs, and program coordinators all participate.
Last year, prior to our get together, we all took the Myers-Briggs personality exam, which determines your preferences for decision-making and. We also all read the book, Crucial Conversations.
During the retreat, we reviewed the results of the personality exam, and talked about each of our operating styles, including introverts vs. extroverts, thinkers vs. intuitives. We also discussed how each of us approaches problem solving, planning, and conflict management. HR also lead a discussion about the lessons in Crucial Conversations, and participated in some role-playing exercises.
We did several group problem solving exercises that were illustrated the “typing” in Myers-Briggs, which were both fun and funny.
The goal of the exercise, in addition to general bonding, was to lay the ground work for how we, as a group, will navigate any conflicts that might arise during the year. We identified clearly, in our group meeting, what each of our strengths are as well as how we are inclined to handle conflict. We agreed, in this amicable setting, to some ground rules for negotiating future issues, including discussing issues quickly and openly, maintaining a loyalty to our team, and appreciating and finding the humor in our differences in addition to our strengths.
You are probably asking yourself the following questions:
Did we have conflict during the year? Definitely!
Did we use the tools we learned during the training? Definitely!
Were we better able to resolve issues as a result of our training? I believe we were.
Would we do this again? We are!
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Diane Farineau
Diane W. Farineau is the director of administration for graduate medical educational and faculty affairs at the University of Virginia Health System in the Department of Medicine.
Diane has written 35 posts.
Comments
We have also used the Myers briggs personality inventory as part of our student, coordinator, resident and faculty retreat activities, and have selected Crucial Conversations as our approach to teaching mutual respect & combating disruptive behavior programs. Glad to hear similar approaches being used successfully!
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