Leadership Labs
Leadership Labs are boosters for your leadership practice that cover timely, actionable topics relevant to leading at UW Medicine. In each 60-90-minute session, leaders are introduced to a framework or strategy that can be used to enhance their leadership abilities and address common leadership challenges.
These sessions provide an interactive setting where leaders connect with other leaders, while gaining tools and experimenting with techniques relevant to their work. Most labs include group discussions and breakouts, so participants should join from a device with both a microphone and camera.
Benefits
- Focused time to replenish yourself as a leader and enhance your leadership practice
- Opportunities to engage in candid dialogue about leadership challenges with leaders from across UW Medicine
- Practical tools and strategies for addressing common leadership challenges while building your leader toolkit
What leaders are saying:
“What I found the most useful was learning from other leader’s experiences and perspectives.”
“I thought it was just right for an afternoon quick bite on leadership!”
“Having a framework made it seem less daunting, and I left with new methods I can apply!”
Who should attend?
If you supervise or manage staff, please join us! Leaders at all levels are welcomed.
Upcoming Zoom Sessions
Recognition that Resonates: Effective Strategies to Recognize Employees
Employee recognition resonates differently from person to person, yet it remains a key driver of engagement across UW Medicine. In this interactive session, you’ll explore practical, easy-to-apply strategies to recognize and celebrate your team in meaningful ways. You’ll also participate in small group discussions to exchange ideas, gain fresh perspectives, and learn from your peers. Join us to strengthen your leadership skills!
7/23/26 12:00PM-1:30PM (Zoom) Sign up -or- 7/29/26 12:00PM – 1:30PM (Zoom) Sign up
Past Sessions
This session explores practical, real-world strategies to strengthen collaboration across teams and departments—an area identified as a key opportunity through our workforce feedback. Through a dynamic panel discussion and live Q&A, you’ll hear directly from experienced leaders who are successfully building cross-functional partnerships, breaking down silos, and aligning efforts to drive shared results.
July 8 panel members:
July 16 panel members:
Whether you’re looking to enhance your team’s effectiveness, navigate cross-functional relationships more effectively, or connect with peers across UW Medicine, you’ll gain valuable insights you can apply right away. Join us for a meaningful conversation and leave with actionable ideas to strengthen collaboration, partnership, and engagement in your work.
Deciding How to Decide – Building Engagement Through Inclusive Decision Making
Workforce Survey results show a clear link — when staff aren’t involved in the decisions that affect their work, engagement drops. Here’s how we can turn that around. In this Leadership Lab, you’ll learn practical ways to lead consistently and inclusively in your decision making.
In this interactive session, you will:
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Discover a range of decision-making styles
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Identify when and how to involve staff efficiently
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Equip yourself with practical tools for ensuring understanding, ownership, and follow-through
By the end, you’ll feel confident choosing the right decision-making approach for any situation — and applying it to strengthen engagement on your team.
Handout: Deciding How to Decide – Building Engagement Through Inclusive Decision Making Handout (UW Net ID Required).
From Silence to Safety: Say It Sooner. Reduce Risk. Improve Care.
In high-stakes healthcare environments, silence can carry risk. This Leadership Lab equips people leaders with practical, everyday behaviors that foster psychological safety so team members feel empowered to speak up early, share concerns, and contribute to safer, more effective care.
Leaders will explore how psychological safety directly impacts patient outcomes, communication, and risk mitigation, while identifying common barriers -such as power dynamics and unintentional leader behaviors -that prevent open dialogue. Through real-world scenarios and applied practice, participants will build skills in intentional listening, inquiry, and response techniques that encourage transparency and trust.
Participants will leave with concrete scripts, tools, and a shared approach to creating environments where concerns are raised, heard, and acted on -strengthening team learning, reducing risk, and improving both patient and workplace safety.