Every high performer knows that natural talent only takes you so far. Even the most gifted leaders stop progressing without intentional, guided development. That’s especially true for physician leaders, who often step into administrative roles without the preparation they need to succeed. As a result, many skilled, well-meaning clinicians struggle to lead effectively amidst rising complexity and ambiguity in healthcare.
Recognizing that clinical expertise doesn’t automatically equate to administrative excellence, leaders at CommonSpirit Health Mountain Region have taken a proactive approach to nurturing leadership competencies in their physicians. In doing so, they’re building a resilient organization that can thrive in a fast-changing market.
Developing transformational physician leaders
Physician Enterprise leaders at CommonSpirit Health Mountain Region sought to create a bench of highly competent physician leaders, ready to serve as the needs of the organization evolve. Aiming to avoid ineffective training programs that fail to sustain meaningful change, they wanted a development program that could match the following criteria:
- Focused on critical competencies and challenges most relevant to physicians stepping into leadership roles.
- Administered by experienced coaches who’ve also served as physician leaders themselves.
- Designed for sustained impact, including permanent behavioral change.
- Applicable to real-world challenges physicians face as they arise, in real time.
- Blend of group and 1:1 coaching support.
- Long-term, repeated application of insights to real-life scenarios to turn theory into muscle memory (i.e., make change permanent).
To that end, CommonSpirit Health Mountain Region chose MEDI Leadership as its coaching partner, largely due to three factors:
- MEDI’s blend of executive coaching and healthcare expertise — the nation’s only coaching firm dedicated exclusively to leaders in healthcare.
- Track record of sustained behavioral change, and past success among CommonSpirit executives.
- Bench of healthcare executive coaches who’ve walked in physicians’ shoes.
Introducing the Physician Leadership Academy
The resulting program was the Physician Leadership Academy (PLA): a 12-month endeavor capped at 25 participants, 20 physicians and 5 executives. In the PLA, participants learn how to navigate highly ambiguous and complex scenarios. They also gain deeper insight into who they are as leaders — their personal style, preferences, quirks, tendencies — and how others experience them in the workplace.
In addition to quarterly, face-to-face group sessions, participants meet 1:1 with their assigned coaches to tailor development to their individual needs and career aspirations. PLA participants also engage with health system executives, who share about their roles, struggles, and future plans for the system.
Lastly, PLA participants are divided into teams, each with a project of their choice, which they work on throughout the year. The goal for that project is threefold: (1) learn how to work within the system, (2) interact with and develop relationships with system leaders, and (3) potentially implement their project systemwide.
Repeated successes fuel widespread interest
Encouraged by the program’s impact, CommonSpirit Mountain Region is now in its fifth annual Physician Leadership Academy. Participating physicians have remained engaged through the full length of the program; some have taken on system-level leadership roles, and the health system now has a waiting list of physicians who want a seat in the next class. Given the widespread interest, administrators can choose participants based on the region and needs of the organization.
In all, the Physician Leadership Academy fosters a level of engagement and growth among physicians that would not have been possible otherwise. It also provides the organization with a bench of diverse, competent physician leaders, ready to serve.
