Why Should Anyone Be Led by You? 

Are you aspiring to be a physician leader, not just a manager or administrator?  Some of the necessary ingredients for leadership include vision, energy, authority, and strategic direction.  But true inspirational leaders share four unexpected qualities.  From authors Robert Goffee and Gareth Jones, writing for the September-October issue of the Harvard Business Review, here are the four qualities of effective leaders:

1. They selectively show their weaknesses.  By exposing some vulnerability, they reveal their approachability and humanity.

2. They rely heavily on intuition to gauge the appropriate timing and course of their actions.  Their ability to collect and interpret soft data helps them know just when and how to act.

3. They manage employees with “tough empathy”.  Inspirational leaders empathize passionately—and realistically—with people, and they care intensely about the work employees do.

4. They reveal their differences. They capitalize on what’s unique about themselves.

According to Goffee and Jones, these four qualities can be honed by almost anyone willing to dig deeply into their true selves.  

To read the full article, “Why Should Anyone Be Led by You,” download it directly from the Harvard Business Review site.

Francine R. Gaillour, MD, Business Consultant and Executive Coach for Healthcare Leaders francine@physicianleadership.com (206) 686-4205

Four Popular Myths About Leadership 

According to researchers and consultants Goffee and Jones (see previous topic), many executives profoundly misunderstand what makes an inspirational leader.  These are the four most common myths:

1. Everyone can be a leader.  NOT TRUE.  Many executives don’t have the self-knowledge or the authenticity necessary for leadership. 

2. Leaders deliver business results.  NOT ALWAYS.  If results were always a matter of good leadership, picking leaders would be easy.  Things are not that simple.  Businesses in quasi-monopolistic industries can often do very well with competent management rather than great leadership.  Equally, some well-led businesses do not necessarily produce results, particularly in the short term.

3. People who get to the top are leaders.  NOT NECESSARILY. One of the most persistent misperceptions is that people in leadership positions are leaders.  But people who make it to the top may have done so because of political acumen, not necessarily because of true leadership quality.  What’s more, real leaders are found all over the organization, from the executive suite to the shop floor.  By definition, leaders are simply people who have followers, and rank doesn’t have much to do with that. 

4. Leaders are great coaches.  RARELY. It is often taught that leaders ought to be good coaches.  That thinking assumes that a single person can both inspire the troops and impart technical skills.  It’s possible that great leaders may also be great coaches.  More typical are leaders like Steve Jobs whose distinctive strengths lie in their ability to excite others through their vision rather than through their coaching talents. 

Francine R. Gaillour, MD, Business Consultant and Executive Coach for Healthcare Leaders francine@physicianleadership.com, (206) 686-4205

Knowing Yourself:  Your Key to Leadership

Are you on a path to leadership?  Leadership means inspiring others to be their best and act in a way that honors higher values set by themselves or by a group.  In becoming a leader, you inspire by speaking from your essence, your heart, your values; this requires knowing yourself.  Knowing yourself means separating who you are and who you want to be from what the world thinks you are and wants you to be.    No one can teach you how to become yourself, to take charge, to express yourself, except you.  As you think about the process, here are four lessons offered by Warren Bennis, author of “On Becoming a Leader”: 

1. You are your own best teacher

2. Accept responsibility.  Blame no one.

3. You can learn anything you want to learn.

4. True understanding comes from reflecting on your experience.

Francine R. Gaillour, MD, Business Consultant and Executive Coach for Healthcare Leaders francine@physicianleadership.com, (206) 686-4205