“Figure it out.”
That’s the entire leadership curriculum for most of us.
“Figure it out.”
That’s the entire leadership curriculum for most of us.
Years of med school. Years of residency. Thousands of hours mastering patient care.
Then one day, someone gives you a title.
Medical Director. Department Chair. Chief of Staff. CMO.
And suddenly you're leading people, not treating them.
🕰️ Flashback to 2005, my first big organizational project …
The CEO asked me to lead our hospital’s transition from paper to an Electronic Health Record, way before it was required.
I still remember the first meeting of a multi-year marathon project. I was sitting in front of a few dozen non-physicians I barely knew, trying to figure out how we were going to choose a vendor.
I told myself, “This is a multimillion-dollar project. Don’t screw it up.”
No curriculum for that. No rotation. No attending walking beside you giving sage wisdom.
Just me, trying to lead people through something I had never done before.
So, we physicians just stumble onward...
We copy the leaders we've seen. And hope we're copying the right parts.
It doesn’t have to be that way.
I’ve learned that leadership is a collection of skills.
Your strengths can be identified. Your blind spots can be uncovered. And both can be developed.
Fortunately for you, I stumbled onward, learning as I went, through nearly every leadership role a physician can do. Graduate Medical Education. Clinical Informatics. Department Chair, Director of Quality, ACO team lead. Board of Trustees member. Medical Vice President. Chief Medical Officer. Thousands of hours leading in the non-profit arena. Dozens of different hospital and clinic committees spanning primary care medicine, specialty medicine, hospital medicine, and surgery.
I learned the lessons that I can pass on to you (without as many bruises).
That's the whole idea behind The JZ Way™: Leading with Character and Connection. It’s a diagnostic-driven approach to physician leadership built around the way we already think. I’m a physician leadership coach who’s walked in your shoes.
Maybe it’s time we were trained to lead, too. If you agree, let’s chat.
Jon Zlabek (JZ), MD, MBA, FSVM, FACP, is a physician executive and physician leadership coach with more than 25 years of clinical experience and a diverse leadership background, including roles as Chief Medical Officer, Medical Vice President, Board of Trustees member, and Chief of Staff. Through JZ and Me Physician Development, I help physicians build confidence, strengthen connection, and become exceptional leaders through diagnostic-driven physician leadership coaching. Learn more about my approach to physician leadership coaching.
