Leadership Support Program (COVID-19)

Giant hands holding tiny office workers

COVID-19 has presented unprecedented challenges to all aspects of our lives and with these unique challenges, leaders need confidential sounding boards to process. To address this need, Faculty Development has developed a Leadership Support Program to provide confidential one-on-one emotional first aid for leaders across the institution. 

Program Details

The Leadership Support Program is intended for faculty and staff who manage employees here at the University of Michigan. The program is specifically for leaders who are looking to decompress from the additional stressors presented by the COVID-19 pandemic. This program is not the same as counseling, nor is it a crisis resource. Leadership Supporters have received training on how to provide compassionate emotional support and refer you to additional information and resources, as needed. These supporters regularly work with leaders and understand the expectations of our Michigan Medicine leadership.

If you are a member of the Michigan Medicine community not in a leadership role, please reach out to the Office of Counseling and Workplace Resilience for additional services.

Program Logistics

  1. Participants are connected with a trained Supporter within 24-48 business hours of completing the Leadership Support Program intake form. 
  2. Your Supporter will contact you in order to schedule your first conversation (roughly 45 minutes).
  3. During your conversation, feel free to utilize the time to best benefit you. If appropriate, your Supporter will provide additional resources that could be helpful.
  4. 2-3 weeks from your initial conversation, your Supporter will briefly check-in with you to see how things are going.
  5. If additional support is needed at a later date (e.g. different event, etc.), simply re-engage by completing the Leadership Support Program intake form.

Disclosures

The Leadership Support Program is confidential. The only exception to confidentiality is if a Supporter learns that you may be an immediate risk of harm to yourself or another person, in which case we will work with our mental health partners to make sure you get access to appropriate emergency services.

This program is not the same as counseling, nor is it a crisis resource. Supporters have received training on how to provide compassionate emotional support and refer you to additional information and resources, as needed.