Lecturers at the Resident Leadership Academy (RLA) are both internal and external to Mayo Clinic. Each speaker is considered an expert in her or his field. For example, Financial Basics is taught by the CFO of Mayo Clinic Rochester, and Marketing in Medicine is taught by Mayo Clinic’s CMO.

In addition, RLA participants get close exposure to many high-level leaders. These so-called “context” speakers are both physician and non-physician leaders who share their personal leadership journeys with the class and engage in a Q&A session.

The purpose of these sessions is to introduce participants to various leadership styles, gain a greater understanding of what a “day in the life” of a senior leader looks like, and help young leaders strategically position themselves for future leadership opportunities.

Each year, we balance physician and non-physician leaders. In the past two years, context speakers have included:

• Each of Mayo Clinic’s three CEOs
• Three university presidents
• Twp medical school deans
• The president of the American Medical Association
• The current CMO of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee
• The CEO of Hennepin County Medical Center
• A former physician policymaker in the Obama administration