OETIS Chronicle
The Office of Education, Training, & International Services
In this issue: ‣ SBP Leaders Program ‣ GSBS Student-Mentor Retreat ‣ Travel Guidelines ‣ Recent GSBS Graduates ‣ Upcoming Events & More!
SBP Leaders Program: Preparing Future Scientific Leaders By Diane Klotz, Ph.D. (Director, OETIS) “They don’t teach you ‘this’…” is probably the comment I hear most often from faculty when they encounter a challenge related to managing their team members. This comment, and a desire to provide “this” to postdocs before they find themselves in that same position, became the driving force behind the creation of SBP’s postdoc leadership development program. Several years ago OETIS led a pilot postdoc leadership development program comprised of 3 general modules that focused on 1) understanding yourself, 2) understanding others, and 3) communication and conflict resolution. The pilot program received such high reviews that OETIS decided to expand the program over the course of an entire year to include more leadership-focused content. In August 2016 the inaugural SBP Postdoc Leadership Development Program (aka. “SBP Leaders”) commenced. Twenty-eight postdocs from across the Torrey Pines mesa, committed to a year-long program and to each other as a cohort, came together to learn about being a leader and develop their leadership talents. The foundation of SBP Leaders is the concept that there is no single right way to lead a team, and the program is anchored in the premise that before you can understand the needs of your team you must first truly understand yourself as a leader, manager, and fellow team member. Towards those basic principles the SBP Leaders program guided the inaugural group of postdocs through exercises that challenged them to think about what kind of leader they want to be, assess their own behaviors and the perceptions they have of others, and practice what they were learning through sharing their own experiences and discussing (cont. on p. 2)
“This was an excellent program. I grew a lot in the last year because this course forced me to assess my behavior and understand the differences in others. I am confident now to take on more responsibility and step into leadership roles. I am encouraged to continue to grow as a leader.”
2016-2017 SBP LEADERS PROGRAM COHORT
OETIS Chronicle
FY2017 Q4 | Page 1