Advanced Health Leadership
Course Overview
Saudi Arabia’s health sector is undergoing one of the most ambitious transformations in its history. Vision 2030 has placed healthcare reform at the center of the Kingdom’s national agenda — demanding leaders who can navigate large-scale change, build high-performing organizations, and deliver measurable improvements in quality, safety, and patient outcomes.
This intensive four-day executive progra
Key Takeaways
The Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto is consistently ranked among the world’s premier business schools. It is Canada’s leading center for healthcare leadership development, with unique expertise in developing health leadership and management effectiveness. Rotman’s Advanced Health Leadership Program has been running for over 18 years, developing health executives in the areas of change management, systems thinking, emotional and political intelligence, and Integrative Thinking™. Rotman brings unparalleled depth in strategy, leadership, and healthcare management — making it the ideal academic partner for this program.
Course Outline
→ Understanding why most change initiatives fail — and the conditions required for success in complex health systems
→ Adopting a systematic approach to change: applying leading change management frameworks to health organizations
→ Developing strategies and tactics for working effectively with individuals and groups, both inside and outside the organization
→ Stakeholder mapping and engagement: identifying change agents, coalition builders, and resistors within Saudi health systems
→ Designing a change implementation roadmap aligned to Vision 2030 health sector transformation priorities
→ Interactive case workshop: planning a major reform or restructuring initiative in a Saudi healthcare context
→ Defining organizational culture in health: what it is, why it matters, and how it drives patient and safety outcomes
→ Elements of a high-performance culture: learning, psychological safety, reporting culture, innovation, and accountability
→ What it takes to build and sustain desired cultural elements in large Saudi hospital networks and MOH organizations
→ Linking Vision 2030 strategic objectives to frontline work and individual team contributions
→ Managing organizational change — designing effective change communication and turning resistors into champions
→ Understanding the human dimensions of change: navigating resistance, uncertainty, and emotion in health organizations
→ Domains of quality and patient safety: understanding the landscape in Saudi and international health organizations
→ Application of quality improvement tools: process mapping, fishbone analysis, run charts, and PDSA cycles
→ Understanding, defining, and designing improvements to address quality-related issues and patient safety events
→ Applying the Model for Improvement within the Saudi accreditation context (CBAHI, GAZT, MOH)
→ Building a sustainable QI culture: moving from compliance-driven to learning-driven quality systems
→ Healthcare Site Visit: guided visit to a leading Toronto health institution to observe world-class QI frameworks, patient safety practices, and interprofessional collaboration in action (visit details subject to availability — see Site Visits section)
→ Structuring teams to achieve organizational goals: removing barriers and enabling high-value work
→ Coaching and mentoring rising leaders — developing the next generation of Saudi health executives
→ Reflecting on personal leadership style, emotional intelligence, and its impact on team performance
→ Risk Management in health organizations: identifying, escalating, addressing, and reporting organizational risks → Emergency Preparedness and operational resilience: frameworks for health organizations in complex, high-pressure environments
→ Healthcare Site Visit: guided visit to a leading Toronto health institution to observe operational excellence, risk management, and largescale team-based care (visit details subject to availability — see Site Visits section)
→ Capstone: personal leadership action plan — each participant leaves with a concrete implementation plan for their Saudi organization
Who Should Attend?
→ Chief Executive Officers, Chief Operating Officers, and Medical Directors
→ Deputy Ministers, Directors-General, and senior MOH officials
→ Directors of Quality, Patient Safety, Risk, and Clinical Governance
→ VPs and senior managers within large hospital networks (NGHA, KFSH&RC, MOH groups)
→ Clinical leaders — physicians, nurses, allied health professionals — moving into executive roles
→ Directors of Strategy, HR, and Operations in health organizations