Physician Leadership

Why the Transition from Clinician to Organizational Leader is Difficult for Some Physicians

Nearly all care delivery in a healthcare organization flows through their physicians, who are usually viewed as the de facto leaders in almost all clinical settings. As such, physicians have a disproportionate impact on the delivery of care and have a disproportionate responsibility to lead change, according to Selth Wolk, MD, MHSA, Senior Consultant at NuBrick Partners.

In his editorial for HCA Healthcare Journal of Medicine, “The Need for Physician Leaders,” Wolk discusses this disproportionate impact and the critical need for healthcare organizations to develop strong physician leaders.

Data Highlights Characteristics of Physician Leaders

By their nature, physicians possess the qualities of excellent leaders. Highly intelligent, life-long learners, a result of their heightened curiosity and scientific thinking, these inherent traits drive innovation and out-of-the-box problem solving. The same traits that might direct a person to pursue a career in medicine are the same that, it would seem, make them a perfect candidate for executive healthcare leadership.

From medical school, through internships, residencies, and continuing education, physicians invest thousands upon thousands of hours perfecting their craft. As a result, healthcare organizations often assume that …

Stock Up on Compassion: Leading through Crisis

Over the course of just a few short weeks, COVID-19 disrupted the lives of millions across the globe. In the wake of this new reality, leaders have had to adapt quickly and change course significantly from where they were headed prior to the crisis. Understandably, it’s been a struggle to for leaders to guide themselves, their teams, and their organizations through these challenging times.

Throughout our many conversations with leaders since the start of this pandemic, we’ve been struck by their vulnerability to sharing their experiences and challenges. This open exchange is how we remain resilient, by leaning into all that’s happening and gifting the lessons we’ve learned to one another and sharing the tools and tactics which have helped us along the way.

Physicians standing in line with arms crossed

Developing Physicians to Become Enterprise Leaders

With industry shifts over the last decade, the dynamic between physicians and their administrators has strained and many physicians feel, now more than ever, that they have less of a voice in how healthcare is administered. Because of this, progressive healthcare systems have resolved to create more opportunities for physicians to play a leadership role in the extended administration of an organization.

Physician leadership development is a complex term and an even more complex process to implement. An effective organization does not simply expect physicians to conform to a tight executive mold, but rather the organization must model its system to adapt to a new era of leader advocated needs.