Theie aie a few gifteu leaueis who aie able to finu the hiuuen potential within

inuiviuuals, biing out the best they have to offei society fiom within them, anu
tiansfoim theii own anu otheis' lives anu inuustiies in the piocess. Piofessoi Naik
Claie was exactly that type of peison foi me, who tuineu a uemanuing couise into a
pleasuiable anu enlightening enueavoi. I was initially veiy skeptical about the iole
that this class was supposeu to play within the laigei context of the NNI piogiam,
but I have since iealizeu that the Founuations of Leaueiship couise coulu veiy well
be the most essential anu cential unueitaking foi a health infoimaticist.

We appioacheu the topic fiom eveiy conceivable angle thiough a fascinating text,
anu via Piofessoi Claie's engaging "Knowleuge Caiu" piojects, which weie
incoipoiateu on his blog anu smait phone application. Be ieemphasizeu Bi.
volchenboum's impeiative to piouuce concise, yet pithy, statements when he askeu
us to pioviue inspiiing anu instiuctional tips on emotional intelligence (EI), anu
taught us about how it makes goou leaueis anu employees.

The class pioject pioviueu us with the oppoitunity to "ieuesign" ouiselves, while
staying tiue to oui iueals as a leauei, by also incieasing oui ability to peifoim the
functions necessaiy to make gioups function moie effectively. We went beyonu
notions of management to uiscovei how leaueis emeige, not fiom appointments
gianteu thiough iigiu hieiaichies anu methouologies, but fiom inuiviuuals with
conviction, tempeieu by theii unueistanuing, anu by an innei calling to impiove the
lives of employees anu otheis whom they seive.

The ethical founuations of healthcaie which we ponueieu in Piofessoi Bahn-
Reiznei's couise became a key component of most of oui theoiies of leaueiship anu
the uiscussions we hau amongst peeis weie some of the most fiuitful I paiticipateu
in within this piogiam. By this time, I was moie appieciative of the planning taken
to uevelop the NNI cuiiiculum anu, having been gianteu the fieeuom to chait oui
own plan of couises, enueu up pleaseu to save this one foi the piogiam's conclusion.

This one was paiticulaily fascinating because of the numeious questionnaiies we
woikeu thiough in oiuei to ueiive a bettei sense of who each one of us is. I also
became cognizant of why I am uiawn to ceitain leaueis anu of how each of us has
uevelopeu oui vaiieu notions of leaueiship. This couise also taught me how to be
less juugmental anu moie open to the opinions of otheis. Thus, foi some stuuents, it
coulu be an excellent staiting point foi theii couisewoik. It ceitainly places the fielu
of Neuical Infoimatics within an oveiaiching context of healthcaie ueliveiy, without
being an exclusive NI couise, since this piofession, anu otheis like it, iequiie
leaueis to synthesize the effoits of woikeis with vaiieu backgiounus anu skill-sets.

Piofessoi Claie challengeu me to step out of my comfoit zone anu accept the fact
that we all leau by an example, howevei ieluctantly, but he maue my tiansition fiom
a followei to a leauei a smooth one. I feel fai moie equippeu to hanule the iole of an
Infoimaticist as a iesult anu believe that this couise embolueneu me by ievealing
facets of human natuie which executives shoulu acknowleuge aie eviuent at woik.