Day one of the six-session LEAD Academy, held Sept. 7 at Verdugo Hills Hospital, introduced more than 30 attendees to the basics of successfully developing leadership qualities as a manager/supervisor.

LEAD Academy is uniquely designed to help empower recently hired, newly appointed or previously untrained health care leaders to better understand and use their strengths. LEAD is built on the underlying principle that effective leadership requires productive relationships to support excellence in patient care, sustainable business objectives and a safe patient environment.

Originally launched in March 2012, LEAD Academy attracts a cross section of attendees─from nurse leaders and human resources personnel to administrators and education trainers and more.

Follow-up surveys show a high satisfaction rating, with the program scoring an average of 4.5/5 among participants.

“I found this class very helpful,” said one participant. “We exchanged our experiences and learned from others, besides getting great information from the instructor. It was a great and very practical class.”

The fall session in Los Angeles is led by Pamela Cunningham, a highly regarded Six Sigma Black Belt trainer skilled at blending the technical with the human side of high performance who regularly conducts leadership training for clinical and non-clinical managers for health care organizations.

The next session in this series, set for Oct. 5, presents Leadership Communication Best Practices and Coaching Employees to Higher Performance. Attendees will learn ways to enhance leadership communication along with techniques to adapt communication styles to meet employee and organizational needs. Participants will also address performance goals and ways to facilitate coaching to maximize employee performance.

Register today for the remaining Los Angeles LEAD Academy sessions. Sessions in the Inland Empire are also available. Visit www.hasc.org/lead-academy for more information.

The cost per session is $250. Enrollment is limited to 30 participants per session. Participants completing all six sessions earn a certificate.