VA Sierra Pacific Network (VISN 21)

VA Southern Nevada Health Care System (VASNHS) hosted the VISN-21 Leadership Development Institute Class of 2023

The 2023 class of the VISN 21 Leadership Development Institute (LDI) graduated Aug. 11 at the North Las Vegas VA Medical Center.

LDI is the premier leadership development program within the VISN aimed at mid-level managers and staff. The program is eight months long and broken down into two weeklong in-person sessions. Participants enjoyed their immersion into the leadership topics, getting face-to-face with all seven VA medical center directors in the VISN, team-building exercises, and presenting a Lean Six Sigma project.

“It's critically important that we're developing our leaders of tomorrow,” said Bill Caron, Director for the VASNHS. “This ensures that we're planning for succession.”

Ten of the graduates where from VASNHS. They were Eliza Acosta, Matthew Boetcher, Martina Harris, Carissa Hernandez, Polly Kong, Glyn Lorenzo, Eugene Olaiya, Jessica Payne, and Matthew Sorenson and Tricia Steeves.

LDI builds leaders by teaching the characteristics of good leadership and how to be a servant leader. “I really learned some of my weaknesses and my strengths, and to build upon those,” said Matt Sorenson. “I learned a lot more about honing the skills of servant leadership, understanding more effective ways of communicating, and how to drive the VA mission.”

This was a self-reflecting learning experience for some. The course gave them an opportunity to examine their own leadership style, functionality, and to develop the competencies, knowledge, and skills necessary to become future leaders within the Department of Veterans Affairs.

To those considering LDI, I could not recommend it more, said Carissa Hernandez. “What you learn is completely different—it’s a change of perspectives.”

The two-weeks of in-person course work was beneficial to the class, because they were able to learn from people from around the VISN and share different viewpoints from other services and facilities.

Martina Harris said “LDI gives you the opportunity to build relationships within your VISN and forge a career-long friendships.”

LDI is a competitive program intended for healthcare professionals who desire to develop the competencies, knowledge, and skills necessary to become future leaders within the Department of Veterans Affairs. To be considered for LDI, employees are encouraged to apply when the annual notice for applicants is released, which typically occurs in November. Then, a panel reviews each application package, looking for specific qualities and experiences that exemplify the potential to be a good leader.