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INFORMATION FOR

α-LEAP Coaching Skills Program

The α-LEAP Coaching Skills Program is a multimodal training designed to foster the flourishing of individuals working in healthcare and academic medicine.

Deeply rooted in principles of positive psychology and interconnectedness, the α-LEAP Coaching Skills Program teaches academic medical faculty how to coach while preparing trainees to receive coaching.

In doing so, α-LEAP builds upon existing research indicating that improved well-being, reduced burnout, and enhanced engagement and resilience accrue to healthcare practitioners who receive and/or provide coaching to others in the academic medical context.

Why α-LEAP?

Credit: Maya Szatai
Paradigm Problem

The apprenticeship model of training has not prepared our professionals to draw upon personal and collective fonts of courage, reflection, interconnection, and sense of calling.

Academic medicine is at a crossroads. Research funding is increasingly uncertain; clinical demands are ever-expanding; and the teaching mission is inadequately compensated. To work within and through this complexity, healthcare practitioners, faculty, and trainees must draw upon personal and collective fonts of courage, reflection, interconnection, and sense of calling.

Unfortunately, our “apprenticeship model” of training has not prepared our professionals to do so. While academic medicine excels at training individuals to master a broad range of technical skills, we do not adequately foster the holistic and humanistic capacities of our practitioners.

The α-LEAP model of training addresses this gap head-on. Through focused listening, engaged inquiry, and evocative exploration of deeper aspirations, α-LEAP supports faculty and trainees alike to identify, articulate, and act upon the deeper commitments and interpersonal connections undergirding their work.

Sow & Harvest Together

Credit: Maya Szatai
Feast

α-LEAP encourages a paradigm beyond hierarchical apprenticeship, to one of sowing and harvesting the fruits of our shared labors, together.

The α-LEAP Coaching Skills Program also recognizes the strong interdependence of individual and collective well-being across the academic medical ecosystem.

By centering each person’s unique strengths and fostering the simultaneous development of faculty and trainees, α-LEAP promotes movement away from corrective, top-down modes of feedback to enhanced recognition of emergent, mutual flourishing.

Participants--even those at the earliest stages of training--are encouraged to identify their values, intuitions, wisdom, and skills; to articulate the myriad contributions they are poised to make; and to leverage their capacity to support the growth and generativity of self and others.

In this way, α-LEAP encourages a paradigm beyond hierarchical apprenticeship, to one of sowing and harvesting the fruits of our shared labors, together.

Partnering with Us

  • For Faculty

    Discover innovative ways to enhance both your professional potential and that of others through the α-LEAP Coaching Skills Program. Over the course of four 2-hour sessions, you will immerse yourself in the fundamental mindsets and communication skills essential for adopting a coaching approach within academic medicine.

    No prior coaching experience is necessary, making this program accessible to all faculty members eager to grow and support others. Through this structured and supportive program, you will gain the confidence and competencies to make a significant impact within your academic community.

    Following the α-LEAP training proper, faculty become members of our α-LEAP Collaborative, gaining ongoing access to coaching materials, mentorship from similarly-trained peers and moderators, and an invitation to partake in our annual α-LEAP Collaborative retreat.

  • For Trainees

    Are you ready to take your participation in your career to the next level? Coaching is a transformative process that empowers you to articulate and engage in your full career potential. The “Ready to Receive Coaching” component of the α-LEAP Coaching Skills Program is designed specifically for trainees, offering you the tools you need to thrive in your academic and professional journey.

    In this three-hour training, you will explore ways to break free of the apprenticeship mentality by identifying your values and strengths and learning how to assume an optimally collaborative, strengths-based perspective when interacting with coaching-inclined mentors, advisors, and supervisors.

    Please note that this training is ONLY available to trainees in departments committed to building internal coaching programs. Our team is happy to answer any questions you may have about this policy.

  • For Programs and Departments

    Programs and departments can use the α-LEAP coaching skills in ways most organic and promising to their contexts:

    One department may build an internal coaching program for residents that matches α-LEAP-trained faculty and trainees; another may train faculty to enhance mentorship processes across scientific labs. Some trainees may receive the α-LEAP “Ready to Receive Coaching” either to orient fully to a new coaching relationship or with the aim of shifting their own mindset. In the hopes of vitalizing culture, climate, and morale, other programs may be focused on harnessing the coach approach to promote leadership development and/or systems-level change.

    Whatever the aim, our team consults with department and program leads to leverage the coach approach to enhance their teaching, research, or clinical missions. Opportunities to evaluate and disseminate outcomes are also explored.

Join Our Community

Credit: Maya Szatai
Ecosystem

The α-LEAP Coaching Skills Program recognizes the intricate interdependence of individual and collective well-being within the academic medical ecosystem.

We’re working to build a vibrant community of practice committed to fostering growth, collaboration, and systems-level change. We believe in the power of the coach approach to create an academic medical community that is increasingly generative, sustainable, and empowering for all.

To join us, please:

  • Drop us a line at aleap@yale.edu. Someone from our team will get back to you as soon as possible.
  • Email the Program Lead, Daryn H. David, PhD, PCC, Yale Child Study Center, OAPD, OCE, at daryn.david@yale.edu