Insider Trends in Physician Leadership (From Coaching 35 Health Systems)
Sandy Scott, FACHE, MPA
I coach physician leaders to drive patient-centered change — and achieve their impossible goals with ease
When's the last time a simple shift made a profound impact on your organization??
For most, it’s been too long and here’s why:
The healthcare landscape is shifting beneath our feet, and our physician leaders are expected to guide with composure and foresight.
Yet, the strategies and tactics needed for leading change weren't part of their medical training.?
The good news is:
Developing highly-effective physician leaders is less about gathering credentials — it's more about unearthing the potential that already lies dormant within.
Here's a quick, actionable overview of the 2024 physician leadership development landscape.
We just launched a physician leadership development partnership with our 35th system – so I’m feeling inspired to share key insights I’ve uncovered.
This is for anyone who's focused on:
If that sounds like you — let’s dive in.
The secret to clinical leadership lies in bridging the gap between frontline challenges and strategic goals.?
Like seasoned navigators steering ships through rough seas — effective physician leaders guide their teams through the uncertainties and complexities of healthcare, ensuring that strategic goals are met in the face of frontline challenges.
Here’s how leading healthcare systems invest in their physician leaders with targeted development interventions:
Embrace Progress Over Perfection????? ?
In medical practice, perfection is critical — but in admin roles, it can be paralyzing.? Effective leaders focus on continuous improvement?rather than perfect solutions, which supports them to?break free from feeling helpless?and establish a culture that celebrates practical, incremental progress.
??? Shift from "How" to "Who"
It's easy to get caught in the trap of believing that working harder and more efficiently is the answer.? This approach is unsustainable.? Instead, they should shift from figuring out "how" to solve every problem — to identifying "who" can help solve it.? By building and empowering their teams, leaders multiply their impact and reduce their own cognitive burden?at the same timm.
Recognize and Leverage Resourcefulness? ???
Leaders within complex systems frequently overestimate their challenges and underestimate their own capabilities.? They’re more powerful than they realize.? Developing a coaching mindset?helps leaders recognize their influence and defines a clear path to close skill gaps.? The most effective leaders are energized by their work, which happens when they align their approach with their strengths and core values.?
??? Learn Through Real-World Experience?
Traditional leadership programs are often too theoretical and detached from the daily realities of physician leaders.? Sustainable?behavior changes happen when leaders apply new skills in real-time, receive immediate feedback, and make meaningful progress on their existing responsibilities and challenges. Clinical leadership development must be a hands-on process designed specifically for busy physicians.?
Cultivate a Culture of Ownership? ???
Effective clinical leadership isn't about blaming our circumstances or having all the answers — it's about asking the right questions and guiding others to implement solutions. By focusing on ‘problem-framing’ and leveraging coaching skills like feedback?and accountability, leaders turn their teams into active, engaged partners with a vested interest in the success of the team.
??? The Hidden Engine of Success? ?
From tech moguls to world-class athletes, top performers have always sought out coaches to hone their skills and amplify their impact.? Why should healthcare be different?? Our highest-performing physician leaders deserve the same strategic advantage of unlocking their full potential.?
While software platforms and internal coaches are cost-effective, external coaches are often more effective due to their confidentiality, unbiased perspective, and deep expertise.
Linking Strategies to Tactics???? ?
Effective leadership requires toggling between big picture and immediate actions — a.k.a. "the balcony and the dancefloor."? Strategy without action lead to stagnation, while action without strategy leads to burnout.? ?Real achievers don't get bogged down in details, and instead?oscillate between visionary thinking and gritty execution.
The biggest challenges faced by physician leaders stem from a lack of meaningful growth opportunities
Half the battle of clinical leadership is naming what the challenges are in clear terms.? Aligning teams around what the challenges are is absolutely necessary before you can even hope to address and overcome them:
Victim mindsets are sabotaging leaders’ potential? ???
Some clinical leaders feel helpless and adopt a victim mindset within the system, leading to a cycle of blame that limits their ability to solve challenges efficiently. The overwhelming complexity of the healthcare system, especially for emerging leaders, can create a perceived insurmountable barrier.? Recognizing that many have legitimate issues with bureaucracy, this mindset impacts overall performance, retention and recruitment — making it difficult to attract the high-performing clinicians needed to achieve strategic goals.
???? A transactional approach to leadership is limiting collaboration
In times of stress, leaders may adopt a transactional approach to leadership, overly focusing on compensation, job security, and other concerns. It's understandable given the high demands and limited resources in healthcare, and?this mindset —combined with resistance to administration—? undermines collaboration, strategic thinking, and innovation. This lack of trust in administration can drive leaders to focus solely on immediate, tangible concerns.
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Overwhelm is killing strategic growth ????
Leaders are overwhelmed and frustrated by competing demands from various sources (e.g., health systems, medical colleges, teams, personal ambitions). Many struggle to prioritize educational, research, and clinical productivity expectations.? ?Considering the increasing rate of change in healthcare, this reaction is completely valid.? Without a new approach to leadership, “working harder and more efficiently” will yield the same results. The absence of a clear, strategic framework to manage these demands exacerbates frustration.?
??? Skill gaps are undermining team performance & succession planning
Many medical training programs don’t equip leaders with critical team-building skills (e.g., acknowledgment, influence, feedback, accountability, clean agreements), resulting in poor team cohesion. Leaders often try to change things beyond their control, which creates more complexity. Where they have influence, they aren’t using it effectively to lead their teams towards common goals.? Many organization’s don’t have a pipeline or bench strength of physician leadership talent, let alone succession plans for key clinical leadership roles.? To get to where they are today, physicians have invested intense time and effort into their technical training —?and when it comes to leading change, emotional intelligence and competence tends to be the limiting factor.??
Imposter syndrome is rampant? ????
Many physician executives feel disconnected from their role or experience imposter syndrome. They need to be more confident in making decisions, especially when working with upper leadership, and improve in negotiations and difficult conversations.? The transition from clinical to executive roles can be daunting without proper support and training.
??? Traditional leadership programs create more work?
Previous leadership development efforts often don’t address unique challenges effectively. Traditional programs create more work for physicians, relying too much on self-accountability and lacking methods to track tangible outcomes. This lack of clear, measurable goals and outcomes can hinder progress and motivation. Bottom line: most programs aren’t tailored to the specific needs and challenges of clinical leaders. This shortfall stunts the vision for innovative and efficient patient-centered clinical excellence.
Disillusionment is limiting engagement? ????
Motivating physicians who are disillusioned with the current system is challenging. There’s significant resistance from those entrenched in outdated practices, making it hard for HR to engage them in non-clinical initiatives. Disillusionment often arises from repeated exposure to systemic inefficiencies and failures. The lack of visible, immediate benefits from non-clinical initiatives can reduce engagement.
??? Bureaucracy is blocking progress
Efforts to bridge the gap between administrative goals and clinical realities are often thwarted by bureaucratic inertia. Distributing resources fairly between clinical and non-clinical staff remains a persistent challenge. Resource allocation decisions are frequently made without sufficient input from frontline clinicians, creating friction and misalignment.
The most successful healthcare systems understand the key to their success is strategically investing in physician leaders.?
In 2008, Cleveland Clinic launched a coaching program for physicians.? In 2020, they estimate the program was responsible for saving the system $133,000,000 in retention alone.?
By unlocking their leadership capabilities through coaching, leading healthcare systems transform highly-effective physicians into highly-effective leaders who bridge the gap between clinical practice and strategic goals — driving real change from within, that’s grounded in clinical excellence and outcomes.??
When a system properly invests in physician leaders, here’s the results they get:
Confident leadership identities ??
Physicians see themselves as significant influencers within their teams and the broader organization, using proven leadership skills and tools that equip their teams to solve their own challenges.? By becoming deeply self-aware, recognizing their strengths and blind spots, they use this understanding to enhance their interactions and decisions. This self-awareness forms the foundation for authentic and effective clinical leadership.
????Systemic thinkers who take ownership
A prioritization of systemic and strategic thinking results in improved academic, research, and quality metrics. A powerful ripple effect is created when influential physicians role model the results of individual ownership — and as a result, systems fast-track operational efficiency and become models for modern clinical leadership.
Strategic alignment & productive dyads? ????
Leaders align the system’s financial motivations with their strategic goals related to quality patient care and academic innovation. They build strong relationships with administrators, creating partnerships that advance the strategic interests of both the healthcare system and affiliated institutions.? This alignment is crucial for fostering a cohesive, high-performing culture.
????Attracting and developing top talent with less effort
Leaders sharpen their own recruitment abilities, sparking a “talent flywheel effect.” Investment in leadership development attracts and retains high-performing clinicians who seek out organizations that prioritize their people.? This approach not only builds a strong pipeline of future leaders but also enhances the organization’s reputation as a destination employer.
Culture of coaching and sustained growth ??
A continuous personal (and team) growth "flywheel" is driven by integrating a coaching culture into daily work.? This proven framework accelerates their ability to drive growth and outcomes, sustaining results over the long term.
We believe physicians have some of the best knowledge, experience and perspective to actually fix our broken healthcare systems.
That's the #1 reason healthcare systems are hiring coaches in 2024.
They’re investing in their physicians, to retool their skills and shape the future.
They’re reimagining their physicians’ strengths and finding ways to leverage them for this next chapter.
They’re being pushed and held accountable by someone who’s only interest is their organization’s growth and success.
With a coach, physicians have a confidential place to address the root causes of their self-imposed limitations - so they melt away like butter.??
If you're ready to bridge the gap between clinicians and administration —by unlocking your hidden leadership capacity— the time to take action is now.?
The world is waiting for you.??
To the not-so-distant future,
Whenever you're ready, here's 3 ways I can support you: