Professional leadership training programs for dental faculty: Perspectives of the US dental school deans

Introduction The purpose of the study was to explore the influence of leadership training programs on career development and to gain insight into the perspectives on faculty training programs according to the current US dental school deans. Methods This prospective study analyzed the results of a questionnaire distributed to 67 active Deans of U.S dental schools using a survey instrument that explored the areas of leadership programs that were useful, the support mechanisms received from institutions, and the necessity to integrate formal leadership development programs into training programs for faculty and students. Results Among 33 participants (49.3% participation rate) in the study, 97% of responders strongly or somewhat agreed that leadership development programs could improve the quality of leadership and administrative skills. The respondents found that the most useful areas in leadership training were conflict resolution, communication skills, organizational change, diversity, inclusion, and belonging. The findings highlighted that critical barriers to accessing leadership training are financial support and lack of protected time for faculty. The results also showed that 73% strongly or somewhat agreed that the leadership training should be integrated into the predoctoral program and 87% into the postdoctoral graduate programs. Conclusion Participation in formal leadership development programs for faculty leaders in dental education is viewed as beneficial and could offer dental educators leadership training to better navigate the academic environment. The findings suggest the need to further explore the availability and effectiveness of leadership development opportunities for developing current and future educators and administrative leaders.