How does someone in the medical profession learn how to be a good leader—especially without formal training? It’s a question that has long fascinated Sayeed Malek, MD, FACS, assistant professor of surgery at Harvard Medical School (HMS), clinical director of transplant surgery at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and faculty member of the Leadership in Medicine: Asia Pacific program and director of the Surgical Leadership program at HMS.

“When I went to medical school, there was no perception of leadership being part of a core curriculum. We were taught how to examine and manage patients and treat them in the clinic, operating room, or office. The entire emphasis was on patient care,” he explains.

“Now, things have changed. There’s a growing realization that physicians and surgeons are thrust into leadership roles without knowing anything or going through any training on how to be a good leader—and that’s a problem.”

Malek is beginning to see programs put a formal emphasis on these skills, but it’s still an underdeveloped knowledge base among medical professionals. He says the challenge lies in how to effectively bridge the learning gap.

The Status of Leadership Training in Health Care

Because physicians have experience in leading other medical professionals before taking on formal management positions, they are the most obvious candidates for this training—but it’s not unique to doctors.

“Everyone can benefit from those skills,” says Malek. “As a leader, you need to know how to manage the finances of your division or your department, handle competing interests from your team members, resolve conflict, and lead. So-called soft skills like team management, conflict resolution, and negotiation are so important.”

Health care and medical professionals already have intensive training protocols, which can make it challenging to devote time to dedicated leadership training. “The key is knowing how to fit this training into their already busy schedules,” Malek explains.

Leadership in Medicine is a hybrid cohort-style training program that provides the opportunity for learners to enhance their leadership skills and expand their professional network. During in-person workshops, they engage in a dynamic exchange about the organizational challenges they face and gain diverse insights from faculty and peers.

How—and When—Medical Professionals Should Learn to Lead

Historically, medical education was often didactic in nature, with a lecturer at the podium delivering information and allowing students to ask questions at the end of a lesson. But Malek and other instructors are finding greater value in using Harvard Business School’s data-driven, evidence-based case study method, which maximizes collaboration and networking with peers.

In Malek’s experience, surgeons and clinician leaders are often aware that they need to learn these new skills. But medical professionals don’t have to wait until they’re at a senior level to do this training, he says. “I actually think teaching young or mid-level attendings and professionals is the sweet spot, where they have the motivation, and you can help them develop into good leaders.

Medical professionals who are transitioning or aspiring to faculty, management, or executive roles are often unaware that they have knowledge gaps due to their previous work as individual contributors. The challenge for these learners is to identify and address their blind spots.

A learner might find some aspects of training irrelevant to their position or skill set—but their direct reports may still have questions on those subjects, so it's important to learn about all aspects of leadership. "You’ll be better able to help your team if you know something about the topic that’s being discussed,” says Malek.

Applying the Learning in Health Care Leadership

Obviously, the goal of every continuing education program is to help students bring their training out into the world. But when it comes to leadership training, an important part of the methodology is to learn and grow with one’s cohort: listening to different leadership styles and learning how others have addressed management challenges in the past.

Malek finds that having a diverse student body deepens the quality of the conversation and among participants—and that their individual needs help drive the leadership coursework. For example, he cites medical standards as being particularly important for international students. “People in countries where quality and safety are still being developed are keen to learn what the state of the art is. It’s necessary for them to develop their own programs in their organizations and hospitals,” he says.

But Malek finds that a participant’s unique background and situation are far less important than their attitude and interest in applying their knowledge. Students work with faculty and peers on topics that they may have less technical knowledge about, and they also develop their own research areas through their capstone project. The key is to be open throughout the process.

Citing Carol Dweck’s theory on growth versus fixed mindset, Malek explains, “If you have a fixed mindset, you think, ‘I know all that I need to know. I’ve learned everything that I wanted to in med school, and that’s it. You can’t teach me anything.’ But if you have a growth mindset, then you know there are so many things that you still need to learn—and you have an opportunity to grow in so many directions.”