Renowned performance management expert establishes endowment for leadership development

Jacqueline and Dick Grote

After receiving care from Dr. Amit Khera, Associate Professor of Internal Medicine and Director of UT Southwestern Medical Center’s Preventative Cardiology Program, Dick and Jacqueline Grote began searching for ways to express their immense gratitude.

Dr. Khera’s 2014 diagnosis and subsequent treatment of Mr. Grote’s congestive heart failure saved his life. After much consideration, the Grotes arrived at establishing a gift that would improve the lives and careers of UT Southwestern leaders for generations to come.

“UT Southwestern has been our primary care provider for many years. But when my health crisis happened, the care and compassion I found from every staff member – surgeons, cardiologists, and nurses – was so excellent that I felt truly indebted to them,” said Mr. Grote. “Later on, when we began discussing which opportunity to give back would work best for us, the suggestion to establish a professional development fund was like a light bulb moment for me because I have devoted my entire life and career to performance management. It fit perfectly.”

Mrs. Grote said, “When my husband became frightfully ill, the team that Dr. Khera assembled worked seamlessly together to save his life. Ultimately, this endowment for leadership development is our way of personally saying thank you. It demonstrates our appreciation for UT Southwestern’s mission to improve health care, to educate the next generation of leaders in patient care, and to conduct internationally recognized research.”

The Grotes have chosen to create a multimillion dollar endowment gift through their estate, establishing the Dick and Jacqueline Grote Fund for Leadership Development at UT Southwestern. The fund will support efforts in performance management, talent management, and leadership development. Once established, it will also provide support for activities and programs that identify high-potential leaders, recruit talented physicians and researchers, provide individualized executive coaching for senior executives, and training for first-line supervisors and high-potential pre-supervisory candidates.

“The future Grote Leadership Development Fund will stand as a lasting tribute to the strong leadership and management expertise that has been a hallmark of Dick’s notable career,” said Dr. Daniel K. Podolsky, President of UT Southwestern. “We are deeply appreciative of the Grotes’ interest in ensuring that we have the means to develop future leaders at UT Southwestern, encompassing professional development for educators, mentors, and managers.”

Ivan Thompson, Vice President of Human Resources at UT Southwestern, said the Grote Fund will support initiatives embraced by the Medical Center.

“UT Southwestern employs a talented, diverse workforce through our top-rated schools, hospitals, dozens of clinics and care centers, and leading-edge biomedical research laboratories,” he said. “One of our high priority goals is to establish continuous resources for enhancing and supporting leaders in the scientific and broader communities, and to ensure we sustain that momentum in the future.”

Mr. Grote, President of Grote Consulting Corporation in Dallas, is an international leader, speaker, and consultant in the field of performance management, as well as being a member of the President’s Research Council, a group that supports promising early career researchers and physicians at UT Southwestern. Before establishing Grote Consulting Corporation in 1977, he worked as an industrial engineer and human resources professional at General Electric, United Airlines, and Frito-Lay. Grote Consulting has provided expertise to Fortune 500 companies such as Texas Instruments, JCPenney, Caterpillar, and American Airlines, as well as nonprofits such as CARE and the American Red Cross.

Mr. Grote has written several books, including the management classic Discipline Without Punishment, and The Complete Guide to Performance Appraisal. During his 40-year career, he has also been a regular commentator on National Public Radio’s “Morning Edition” program, and has published articles for The Wall Street Journal and the Harvard Business Review.

Passionate about both management and leadership in general, Mr. Grote is an advocate for programs that invest in building leaders. “Jacqueline and I are blessed to be doing something that has a very direct impact on people’s lives. I believe that leaders are born, but the development of skills is what separates and enhances them, influencing their ability to be great leaders,” he said.

In the meantime, Mr. Grote has already begun donating his consulting services to UT Southwestern’s Office of Human Resources – offering executive training on best practices in performance management and performance appraisal practices. 

Dr. Khera holds the Dallas Heart Ball Chair in Hypertension and Heart Disease.

Dr. Podolsky holds the Philip O’Bryan Montgomery, Jr., M.D. Distinguished Presidential Chair in Academic Administration, and the Doris and Bryan Wildenthal Distinguished Chair in Medical Science.