Healthcare Is Not an Individual Sport: Developing Physicians Into Team Leaders (66H)

As any athlete knows, the beauty of a team is that it is more than the sum of its parts. In healthcare, teamwork is what allows, for example, a cardiac unit to navigate a daily slate of lifesaving procedures by drawing upon the strengths and expertise of each individual and working in a highly coordinated, collegial fashion. Physician groups and teams, unfortunately, are not always greater than the sum of the individuals involved. They may suffer from lack of planning and organization, ego clashes, contrasting styles of communication, a lack of understanding of how to influence and lead change, or simply a lack of time spent together on team-related activities. The consequences can include inconsistent care quality, increased errors, lost time and money and low team morale. The latter can result in individual physicians—the team members—feeling stressed and experiencing diminished well-being. A lack of cohesive, aligned teams are therefore both a missed opportunity and a problem to be solved.

Fortunately, team-building can be an acquired skill. Physician leaders can become model team leaders through commitment and concentrated effort by serving as allies, mentors and sponsors to other physicians, honing skills that include listening and empathy and understanding interpersonal dynamics and the nature of successful teams. This session looks at the challenges inherent in building strong teams, especially among physicians and established best practices for overcoming these challenges in the near- and long-term. It draws upon the team-building experiences and expertise of three accomplished clinical leaders, who will share details of their own physician team-building and leadership initiatives. Panelists will look at team-building from an organizational perspective as well as from the perspective of the individuals involved and how strong teams can dramatically increase physicians' sense of reward and accomplishment. Ample time will be dedicated to Q&A and providing actionable takeaways for audience members to become the team leaders they want to be.