Front Line Supervisors Program Helps New Leaders Put Skills Together

The deadline for applications is April 28

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Prior to being promoted to the role of administrative coordinator for the Department of Head and Neck Surgery & Communication Sciences in 2021, Irish Hamilton had the raw materials to thrive in her new leadership role.

In college, she played point guard on the East Carolina women鈥檚 basketball team, giving her invaluable experience directing a group. Later on, as a staff member at Duke, she鈥檇 been in her unit for nearly 22 years, leaving her well-versed in how things got done.

But when it came time to assume her new supervisory role, in which she oversees a group of staff assistants, her new responsibilities still represented a challenge.

Irish Hamilton, administrative coordinator for the Department of Head and Neck Surgery and Communication Sciences.

鈥淚 was like a deer in headlights basically,鈥 Hamilton said. 鈥淲hen you鈥檝e never done something like this, you have to try and learn on the fly.鈥

Hamilton learned how to take her experiences and skills and put them together to become a more effective leader with the , which is offered by Duke , a unit in Duke Human Resources.

Offered at no cost, the program is open to new managers with at least three years of continuous service to Duke. The deadline for manager nominations and application packets is 5 p.m. April 28.

The Front Line Supervisor Program is designed to develop 老牛影视 and 老牛影视 Health System staff members in entry-level supervisory roles such as administrative leads, shift supervisors or team leaders. The program, which is part of the , offers instruction in business acumen, people management, project management and more.

鈥淚鈥檝e always been a team player and didn鈥檛 want to think I was any different from the others,鈥 said Hamilton, who was part of the program鈥檚 2021 cohort. 鈥淏ut I also understood that, as a supervisor, I did need to separate myself just because of the fact that I was a leader. But being in this helped me better understand that role and showed me how to balance that.鈥

Grady Arnao, associate director of admissions for the Fuqua School of Business.

The six-month program is a mix of classroom coursework, individual coaching and a series of personal assessments. Participants will gain an understanding about their own leadership style, how to tailor it to fit the team they lead and how this knowledge can be applied to real-world work situations.

鈥淭his is a very deep experience,鈥 said Assistant Director of Duke Learning & Organization Development Gina Rogers, who organizes the program.

Grady Arnao, associate director of admissions at the Fuqua School of Business, took part in the 2021 edition of the Front Line Supervisors Program. In addition to learning how to make the most of his leadership style, Arnao said the program opened his eyes up to the importance of understanding the individual journeys of his team members. As a manager, he said, it鈥檚 his responsibility for his team to achieve its goals, and for individual team members to move toward theirs, too.

鈥淭his program was able to give me a lot of perspective about how to work with people from different walks of life, and it helped me along the way, too鈥 Arnao said.

Find a list of professional and technical development course options at the

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