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The purpose of this study is to connect the effects of a leadership development intervention to team outcomes and show the leader is a conduit to improve teamwork behaviors of team members. The authors fulfill this purpose by describing and evaluating the effectiveness of a leadership development intervention in a health-care setting.

The authors describe and empirically evaluate a nine-month cohort-based leadership development initiative where leaders participate in multiple hands-on workshops and coaching sessions. During the intervention, leaders were provided opportunities to practice new skills and were encouraged to apply them to their team.

The findings suggest that through learning and practice, leadership behavior improved, and this behavior led to better follower and team outcomes. More specifically, leaders who were trained had followers who felt they had more guidance in developing their careers, and these leaders had teams who engaged in more teamwork behavior. Further, findings support that program engagement matters; participants must fully engage in the program for direct reports to experience benefits.

Connections between factors of leadership training and the effects on leader, follower and team outcomes are discussed further through teamwork theory. The authors describe the implications of the leadership development intervention from the perspective of both leaders and teams. In doing so, the authors connect the behaviors of leaders to teamwork outcomes by considering how the leader learned effective teamwork skills during the leadership development intervention.

The purpose of this study is to contribute to the existing literature on the importance of mentorship in academia, particularly in higher education. Specifically, this study aims to address the research gap related to academic mentorship from a gendered perspective. The Productive Mentoring Framework and relational–cultural theory theoretically support this study.

In this qualitative descriptive study, purposive sampling was used to recruit 19 participants for semi-structured interviews and a focus group. Two research questions guided this study: (1) How do individuals who identify as women describe the importance of mentorship in academia? (2) How do individuals who identify as women describe mentorship in academia from a gendered perspective? Using Braun and Clarke’s (2006) thematic analysis, a total of six themes emerged, with three themes identified for each of the two research questions from the data: (a) guidance and support, (b) personal and professional development, (c) inclusive and accountable relationships, (d) empathetic and supportive mentorship, (e) interpersonal connectivity and (f) gender empowerment and advocacy.

The research findings suggest that the participants held perceptions of gender disparity within academia. Additionally, empowering interpersonal relationships with other women and supportive environments were crucial in overcoming challenges and developing personally and professionally in higher education institutions. Future research is recommended to explore the perspectives of women supporting women and the perception of gender disparity in academia.

While successfully addressing the research questions, this study has limitations. One limitation was that this study had a relatively small sample size of participants who identified as women, which limited the focus of this research. Another limitation was that interview and focus group participants did not mention working with mentors who fall outside the traditional binary of male and female. Finally, limitations can occur in qualitative research as there is potential bias in the data analysis process. However, member-checking and codebook verification were utilized to minimize this constraint.

There are practical implications from the research for mentoring practices in academia. Since the results indicated benefits to women, institutions could prioritize mentoring programs, especially pairing same-gender mentors and mentees. This helps new employees navigate academia. Mentoring fosters interpersonal connectivity, improving academic culture. By supporting mentoring relationships and professional friendships, leaders positively impact dynamics within institutions. Gender disparities and systemic barriers call for advocacy within higher education. Mentor training programs should address these issues, providing a platform for solutions. Administrators' awareness may support efforts to improve equity.

The study is original in its focus on academic mentorship from a gendered perspective, as described by women in academia, notably higher education.