A pipeline for physician leaders

Many physicians lack the management training to be strong leaders. By creating a leadership pipeline, healthcare organizations can recruit early-career physicians and develop their skills so that they’ll be prepared for key leadership positions. Human capital strategy firm FMG Leading developed a leadership pathway that can help identify and address physicians’ skills deficits early on so they have the skills to advance as leaders.

Each level of FMG Leading’s leadership pathway has a specific focus and skillset. Those levels include:

• Individual practitioner. This level focuses on the technical proficiency of practicing physicians focused primarily on patient care who are part of a practice, group, or solo private practice.
• MD leader. This level aims to develop a physicians’ emotional intelligence. Physicians are expected to oversee and delegate work, and develop and coach others by running a medical group, hospital program, or an academic medical center.
• Market MD leader. This level focuses on communication and collaboration skills. Physicians at this level take on business responsibilities and oversee other physician leaders or the clinical staff.
• Group MD leader. Physicians at this level often serve as group presidents, chief medical officers for a corporation, or chairs of an academic medical center’s faculty department. Their business and clinical responsibilities require proficiency in strategy evaluation, portfolio assessment, and consideration of internal and external business requirements.
• Enterprise MD leader. Responsible for an entire enterprise, physicians at this level are in top leadership roles that require visionary thinking, detecting key external trends, strategic positioning, and the ability to develop mission-critical priorities.

Source: Harvard Business Review