Design and Implementation of a Leadership Development Program for Early-Stage Investigators: Initial Results.

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, and Management. An anonymized survey was sent to participants before and after completion of the program, and the 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 < .05).

DISCUSSION: 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.