Whether you're in private practice or working with a health system, there are three key values to consider in leadership development and strategy.
1. Learn together with your peers: At Los Angeles-based Cedars-Sinai, spine surgery faculty meet daily to talk about their cases.
"You come in at 6:30 in the morning, and it's just due to dedication to the mission," David Skaggs, MD, co-director of said. "From a patient's perspective, you're getting four or five free opinions without even knowing about it. So every single surgery [they] are doing, [they're] presenting the pre and post op planning results to the seniors and spine faculty."
2. Think in three scales: Big picture, local and personal levels are how spine surgeon Philip Louie, MD, of Seattle-based Virginia Mason Medical Center, thinks about leadership. On the big picture and local levels, that involves surgeons advocating for their peers and having a patient-centered approach.
On the personal level is the ability to stay resilient and persevere.
"One factor that I’ve always appreciated in stellar orthopedic leaders is the ability to put their head down and work quietly towards goals, rather than always serving as an incessant loud voice," he said.
3. Speak the language of business: Understanding the needs of hospital administration helped Andrew Chung, MD, get an endoscopic spine program up and running at Sun City West, Ariz.-based Banner Del Webb Medical Center.
While the hospital's administration was supportive of the endeavor, Dr. Chung also said thinking about their perspective and communicating in the language of business helped win their backing.
"At the end of the day, they have to think about the financials," he said. "They've got to think about how this is going to help grow their finances over time and if it makes sense. If you're bringing something in that is only just going to suck money away from the hospital, at the end of the day, they have to keep the lights on and they're held accountable for making profits. Being able to kind of help them understand, 'Well, hey, there might be this upfront cost, but in the long run or in terms of, additional business that we'll be able to bring to the hospital, it will be fruitful.'"