Leadership Lessons They Don't Teach in Medical School
Leadership Lessons They Don't Teach in Medical School
Last year, a 7-minute speech took me to the semifinals of the World Championship of Public Speaking. Along the way, I learned seven lessons about communication that apply far beyond any contest stage. The first and most important: your only obligation when you speak is to the people listening. Not to your ego, your thoroughness, or your desire to be complete. This is Part 1 of a four-part series.
Doctors are trained to be right quickly and precisely. In leadership, that same reflex can quietly erode trust. This post explores why rushing to correct concerns often makes physician leaders less credible, not more — and what to do instead.
Physicians are trained to quickly reduce uncertainty. That instinct brings relief to patients and saves lives. But it quietly sabotages leadership. In modern healthcare, the rush to clarity often erodes trust instead of building it. This post explores why leadership begins not with answers, but with the capacity to hold ambiguity long enough for meaning to emerge.
Cynicism feels clever, but it drains trust and progress. This post explores why hope — disciplined and practical — is the real leadership strategy doctors need.
Doctors often describe today’s struggles as “moral injury.” But is that the whole story? In this post, I explore how the loss of leadership voice rather than 'moral injury' explains a large part of the frustration in modern medicine.