Corporate, Practical and Personal Physician Leadership Skills

To Hospital CEO’s and Administrators

Physician leaders make a difference. While leadership in general is a point of emphasis in difficult times, healthcare executives realize that there are limits to what an administrator with an MBA can accomplish when it comes to working with doctors on quality improvement, joint ventures, call coverage, and a whole host of other pressing issues. Doctors trust physician leaders who have a foot in both worlds—clinical and administrative and who can get a lot done.

The challenge of attracting effective physician leadership

Often times, physicians apply for a leadership position because of one of the following reasons:

• It is the next best logical step to move forward in their career.
• They rise to their positions, in large part, as a result of clinical, research, or academic success and/or reputation.

While this path generally ensures that a new or rising leader has a favorable work ethic, enjoys the respect of colleagues, and has a track record of significant accomplishment, it does not necessarily prepare him or her to be an effective member of the management team. They tend to overwork themselves due to their lack of awareness and practice of effective leadership skills.

Some of them think that leadership is all about business knowledge and strategy; however, that is just one part of physician leadership. Leadership is also about behavior, relating, communication, coaching, conflict resolution and empowering people; after all leadership is ultimately about understanding people and how to work with and through others.

In short, effective leadership is quite multidimensional requiring intelligence, emotional savvy, and flexibility to navigate beyond one's comfort zones to become well-rounded and more fully expressed. It requires the ability to respond to rapidly shifting circumstances which requires access to a full range of leadership behaviors most physician leaders haven't practiced enough.

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Most physicians who enter into a leadership role have very little training and practice of effective leadership and they experience challenges such as:

• They struggle with time
  Physician leaders are responsible for their management duties, clinical responsibilities and familial responsibilities, which can be tough to manage when one aspect demands more time than the others. They typically spend more time at work which leaves them less time and sometimes more conflict with family. Worrying about increasing patient volume, taking responsibility for the decisions they have to make, and ensuring they fulfil their role and commitments at home is draining on physician leaders.
  
  
• They feel they sit between 2 chairs. Physicians have knowledge and strong opinions about practice management that sometimes can be contradictory to administrators’ opinions and decisions. As the liaison between practice physicians and administrators the physician leader has to reconcile the needs of the clinical practice with the organization.
  
  
• They lack training in the business world. When physicians go through medical school, residencies and fellowship training, they focus on the clinical aspects of practicing medicine and aren't exposed to the business side of running a practice. This lack of knowledge and experience in business finances can put physicians at a disadvantage when they take their first step into leadership roles.
  
  
• They look at business / leadership “through their clinical glasses”
• Clinical glasses are the black and white glasses with lots of data as proof and backup. Leadership is an area with lots of color where physician leaders work with physicians and administrators on a variety of subject.
  
  
• They feel lonely at the top.
  Any executive knows that it can feel very lonely at the top and physician leaders don’t feel any different. Even though they are still practicing medicine, other providers look at them as the one who crossed the bridge to the administration. And hospital executives don’t recognize them as theirs because they are still physicians.

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What they really want is:

Leadership effectiveness
Physician leaders want outstanding results more than anything and they know that they can only achieve this when they have a toolbox full with best leadership practices and skills.

Be the role model / leader
Physician leaders want to be acknowledged as the valuable leader who they are. It requires them to model the behavior, skills, and the performance that they want to see in their physicians.

Have freedom around their administrative responsibilities.
Physician leaders want to learn to appreciate and enjoy their administrative responsibilities and the difference they make to the staff, patients and the program and the hospital.

Handle the pressures and demands of leadership with ease
Being a leader puts physicians in a higher category of effectiveness and responsibilities. They know that pressure, demands and conflicts are part of the game but they want to know the skills and methods to handle interpersonal and business pressure at any time.

Have a life.

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We know that no seminar can prepare physician leaders to achieve these results and therefore we developed the Balanced Physician Leadership Program - a 6-month COACHING program designed to develop personal and interpersonal competencies of effective physician leaders.

This is not the typical physician leadership program where you send your physician leaders for a three day seminar or three-week program delivered over a nine-month period where they learn the basics about management frameworks and strategies needed to improve patient care, organizational performance, and financial outcomes in your healthcare delivery system. Instead it is a hands-on, customized coaching program that addresses the fundamental skills for their leadership success.

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Further benefits include:

Effectiveness in every conversation where they leave their staff empowered and supported

Work-Life Balance – No physician leader can truly be effective and successful without a sense of work-life balance. Even though they have a lot on their plate, they still will be able to live a balanced life.

Relief from overwhelm and a sense of control and clarity – Knowing how to control stress, delegate tasks effectively and strategize their work will give them the space necessary to be a compassionate and effective leader.

The Balanced Physician Leadership program is an unmatched opportunity for physicians in a leadership position to delve into the specific and complex challenges of leading their peers. The program focuses on key competencies that are proven to be important for effective leadership for physicians:

• Self awareness
• Self-management
• Social awareness
• Communication and coaching
• Influence
• Creating and articulating a vision
• Teamwork

By developing these competencies, physician leaders strengthen their ability to meet the challenges of leadership while being a role model that demonstrates balance, performance, and collaboration. In addition, every assessment, activity, and feedback session allows participants to drill down into the areas that are personally most essential.

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What makes this program so unique:

1. It focuses on the fundamental skills of effective leadership. Business skills and organizational visions can never be fully leveraged without effective self-management and interpersonal skills.

2. Whole-life approach - The Balanced Physician Leadership program takes a whole-life approach to help physician leaders handle the pressures and demands of leading. Their personal contentment and work-life balance play an important part in their leadership effectiveness and performance.  

3. Personalized attention - With its comprehensive, personal approach, The Balanced Physician Leadership program allows physicians to re-focus their personal leadership power to drive future success of their department and your organization.

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What you and your physicians leaders receive with the Balanced Physician Leadership Program

Phase 1: Before the Program:
The Balanced Physician Leadership program is driven by detailed, personal leadership assessments that tailor the program to the specific needs of each physician. Prior to the program the physician will clearly identify measures for success and will go through a short orientation conversation to clarify their goals. The assessment process begins two weeks in advance and engages the participant as well as their executive, direct reports and peers. (360)

Phase 2: The 6 Month Program
The feedback of the assessment and the personal assessment create the customized agenda of this program. Topics will include:

• Leadership methods and styles
• Social and self awareness
• Effective communication
• Coaching vs. Managing
• Conflict resolution
• Stress control

If needed, physicians can also address:

• Effective presentation skills and
• Meeting facilitation

These topics will be covered in 2 coaching conversations each month which can be held in person ( Atlanta area), via phone or Skype and with the help of personal and peer feedback.

Phase 3: After the Program
6 months after completion of the program the physician will have a follow-up coaching session to share progress, possible set backs and future goals.

The Balanced Physician Leadership program is a program for your physician leaders where they can voice and resolve their personal challenges with leadership and where they will learn the tools for effective leadership while maintaining a sense of balance and contentment. We will customize the content, the format and the exercises to your physicians and we will guarantee you - this is one of the best investments you will ever make in your physician leaders!

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Here is how to find out more

If you have read this far you might be interested in taking the next step. If so, I invite you to contact me for a complimentary Balanced Physician Leadership strategy session.

In this session we will explore what challenges your physician leaders face, what kind of results you would like to see instead and whether this program may be of help or not. Whatever the outcome, you will leave the conversation with more clarity and excitement about what’s possible.

The conversation will take about an hour and can be done in person or by phone. Fill out the contact form below and I will contact you within the next 24 hours. I’m looking forward to speaking with you.

Best regards,

Iris Grimm

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We also recommend you to visit our presentation overview on physician leadership skills. It is an ideal presentation for your next medical staff meeting, association breakout session or retreat.