Physicians promoted into leadership roles need more than clinical expertise to succeed.
Sponsored by Haslam College of Business
Health care leaders face a series of challenges in their day-to-day—reimbursement pressures, workforce shortages, technological disruption, rising consumer expectations, and growing organizational complexity—yet organizations often promote top clinicians into leadership roles with little preparation for the business side of the job.
Megan Manzano, Senior Custom Content Specialist of Medical Economics sat down with Kate Atchley, professor of practice and director of the Executive Master of Business Administration (MBA) in Healthcare Leadership and the Physician Executive MBA at the Haslam College of Business, to discuss why clinical expertise is not enough when leaders must balance competing priorities. Atchley identifies five skills physician leaders need to help them succeed: systems thinking, business fluency, leading through influence, change leadership, and curiosity. She also describes how organizations can strengthen leadership pipelines by identifying individuals with leadership capability early; these individuals can then gradually be given more difficult assignments and exposure to different parts of the organization before they step into leadership roles.
For emerging leaders, she advises them to stay curious. Learning other facets of the job like finance, operations, and strategy help frame organizational trade-offs. Those who understand patient care best can have a stronger voice in how health care organizations are run.
