Tom DeCoster was there for the first Indiana Hospital Association Management Institute cohort in 1990. At the time, he was the founding director of IU Executive Education and helped create and teach the Management Institute.
Thirty-three years later, the core lessons he taught then still ring true for leaders today. DeCoster now serves as professor emeritus for Executive Education, helping leaders better understand themselves and their work. In the context of employee engagement, the mantra he tries to instill in them: “I do not need to be—nor should I be—the source of solution to every challenge.”
He says many participants must learn to let go to be more effective—a lesson that comes with maturity, experience, and a better understanding of themselves as leaders. That’s where the Management Institute comes into play.
Since its inception, more than 2,500 health care leaders have made their way through the program, including the 50th cohort in early 2023.
“The fact that IU Executive Education has sustained such a strong and positive relationship with more than 50 cohorts speaks well to our commitment to growing leaders, to superior classroom instruction, and to our partnership with IHA,” DeCoster says.
For current Director of IU Executive Education Sara Johnson, the 50th cohort represented a milestone not only for the IHA Management Institute but also for health care in Indiana.
“Together with IHA, we have trained thousands of managers who serve health care organizations across Indiana to the benefit of their patients and communities,” she says.
The courses through Executive Education have helped build a network of knowledge that has spread across the state, a ripple effect that isn’t lost on DeCoster.
“We’re in a foundational service industry,” he explains. “We have to keep our eye on the idea that the ultimate end goal is serving the patient. If one reflects on that, it’s very satisfying to know you are making a contribution to humankind, irrespective of whether you are in the direct line of the mission—like a nurse—or in a support role such as management.”
IHA President Brian Tabor says his organization prides itself on creating information- and connection-rich environments for its members. For the Management Institute, that comes in the form of having information pass not only from faculty to participants but also between participants and even to their colleagues after the program has ended.
“Our members come out motivated to go back and share what they’ve learned with others in their facilities,” Tabor says. “Sharing knowledge across diverse organizations has always been a core element of IHA and our members find value in coming together to share with and learn from each other.”
They also find value in the time-tested topics featured throughout the six-month program, including:
- Learning management styles
- Superior listening practices
- Building successful teams
- Critical HR practices
- Financial management
- Managing time and stress
- Successful interviewing
- Managing a changing work environment
- Developing high-performance employees
- Conflict resolution
- Becoming a top-performing manager
Tabor credits the commitment to adapting these tried-and-true lessons with helping the program flourish during the past three decades.
“The core curriculum is so solid that our member organizations come back time after time,” he says. “They consistently find value in this program.”
DeCoster says while those foundational topics have remained unchanged, how faculty address them has evolved to meet the modern needs of today’s health care system and a new generation of leaders.
“The classroom learning experience addresses the daily challenges health care managers face,” he stresses. “It’s not abstract. It’s not simplistic. It’s realistic. It recognizes the complexities they’re facing in a post-pandemic health care setting.”
Johnson stresses the program will continue to be refined as needed to meet the changing world of work.
“We will continue to provide training through both the lens of contemporary management practices as well as the timeless principles of management that continue to be important,” she says.
She adds her team is already in discussions to create an alumni series for Management Institute graduates as well as a more advanced Institute for more experienced health care leaders. If and when those plans come to fruition, she hopes to see familiar faces from the 50th cohort and many others.
The IHA Management Institute is open to IHA members and nonmembers alike. To learn more about the program and upcoming cohort, visit this link.
