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.
