Wellspring update: how to be a leader

What is Dr. Amy Randell’s one message to her peers after completing the Graduate Diploma in Pharmacy Leadership (GDPL) program at the University of British Columbia?

“Lead from where you are,” advises Randell, Teaching Assistant Professor at the Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador (MUN) School of Pharmacy and a 2024 recipient of a Wellspring Pharmacy Leadership Award grant from CFP.

In other words, anyone can be a leader and everyone can benefit from this “phenomenal” program, whether you’re currently a staff pharmacist or a senior executive, she says.

“I found the program especially valuable in shifting the way I think about leadership,” says Randell. “I went into it thinking it’s about being the person in the room with all the great ideas who leads because they have great ideas. But leadership is less about a formal position and more about who you are as a person, and how you conduct yourself.”

A big part of that self-conduct is bringing out other people’s strengths. “You want to strategically leverage each other’s gifts and perspectives to work towards optimizing team functioning and reaching those goals that everyone is working together to achieve,” says Randell.

Randell is eager to apply her learnings with pharmacy students this fall. “The focus will be less on just learning content and more on how learning the content empowers them to be good pharmacists. For example, shifting from ‘This is how we treat hypertension’ to ‘This is the role of the pharmacist in treating hypertension, and this is what we need to know to excel in that role’. So less about informing, and more about inspiring learning,” she says.

The GDPL is an 11-month program. Week one is onsite at the university, and the remaining course work is completed online. In addition to learning about personal leadership development, change management and team engagement, participants come away with a better understanding of current issues facing the pharmacy profession.

CFP has awarded Wellspring grants to more than 40 pharmacists since 2012, for a wide range of initiatives that foster personal development and leadership through study, experiential learning or mentorship. Applications are closed for 2026 and will reopen in March 2027.