Special Report: The leadership skills transforming health care today, with Kate Atchley of the Haslam College of Business

Sponsored by Haslam College of Business

Health care organizations often promote their top clinicians into leadership roles with little preparation for the business side of the job, according to Kate Atchley, Ph.D., professor of practice at the Haslam College of Business at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. A brilliant cardiologist, she says, isn't automatically ready to handle capital allocation, payer economics or change management.

Megan Manzano, senior custom content specialist at Physicians Practice, sat down with Atchley, who directs Haslam's Executive Master of Business Administration (MBA) in Healthcare Leadership and Physician Executive MBA programs.

Atchley says the biggest change in health care leadership over the last decade is how interconnected the problems have become. That leaves leaders choosing between two legitimate priorities, such as clinician autonomy and standardization or patient access and clinician workload. She names the five skills she sees as essential for physician leaders: systems thinking, business fluency, leading through influence, change leadership and curiosity.

She also explains how organizations can build leaders earlier by giving promising staff gradually harder assignments and exposure to other parts of the organization, and offers her advice for physicians who want a bigger voice in how their organizations are run: "get out of your lane."

Don't miss our recent episodes on direct primary care, unanswered patient calls, defamatory online reviews and patient access to medications.

Music Credits:

Cup of Coffee by Ionics - stock.adobe.com

Editor's note: Episode timestamps and transcript produced using AI tools.

0:00 – 1:19 | Introduction. Austin Littrell introduces the special report and the guest.

1:19 – 2:21 | Meet Kate Atchley, Ph.D. Megan Manzano welcomes Atchley and lays out the pressures facing health care leaders, from reimbursement to workforce shortages.

2:21 – 3:25 | What's changed in a decade. Atchley says health care's problems are now so interconnected that leaders can't pull one lever without moving three or four others.

3:25 – 5:07 | Why clinical expertise isn't enough. Expertise in one domain is necessary but not sufficient for leading across many.

5:07 – 6:58 | Choosing between two valid priorities. Clinician autonomy vs. standardization, and patient access vs. clinician workload.

6:58 – 10:23 | Five skills physician leaders need. Systems thinking, business fluency, leading through influence, change leadership and curiosity.

10:23 – 11:49 | Building a leadership pipeline. Spotting potential leaders early and giving them gradually harder assignments before they step into the role.

11:49 – 14:01 | Get out of your lane. Atchley's advice for emerging leaders: learn enough finance, operations and strategy to understand the trade-offs.

14:01 – End | Closing thoughts and outro. Manzano thanks Atchley, and Littrell wraps the episode.