As surgeons we have adapted to being in a role of authority. We lead our clinical staff, surgical staff in the operating room and in many cases, hospital committees and departments.  Residency training in most cases lacks any formal instruction in leadership and although some physicians possess these qualities naturally, others do not. Leadership skills are critical to the ongoing success of ASES members and this deficiency in training was recently identified by our Member Experience Task Force Co-Chair, Emilie Cheung. This Task Force was originally created by our Immediate Past President, Mark Frankle back in 2020 to identify potential areas of improvement in our society in the hopes of retaining members, enrich the experience of existing members and to promote future growth by creating attractive opportunities for our new members. Leadership development certainly appeared to be one such opportunity for our society.

 

Along with her Co-Chair, Jason Holcomb, Emilie began the process of identifying organizations geared towards physician leadership development. Fortunately, one of our own members and Past President, Dr. Joseph Zuckerman, is a founding board member of J3P Healthcare Solutions with whom ASES has contracted to begin the Leadership Development Program (LDP). Leadership programs currently are offered by several other societies including AAOS, AOA, ASSH, and AAOSM emphasizing the importance that young surgeons place on these skills.

 

The core leadership practices being promoted by our LDP include learning how to become a role model, making an impact in your organization, focusing on following a vision, encouraging collaboration, and being a positive force. The goals of our task force in creating this program include improving member engagement and promoting active participation in ASES. This LDP offers our young members another reason for joining ASES and adds to the relevance of membership in our society. Our hope is that this program helps create a group of members who are ready to assume advancing roles in ASES governance through the development of strategic and visionary thinking, excellent communication skills, and an understanding of the importance of advocacy and diversity in our Society.

 

Our first offering was oversubscribed demonstrating its popularity and the desire among our young members to develop these skills. We currently have 25 members enrolled in this inaugural program and initial classes have focused on showing each participant their individual personality traits and allowing them to explore how these traits may help or hurt relationships with peers and staff. By learning their natural tendencies, leaders can change behavior in certain areas and amplify constructive tendencies to be more effective in communication and motivation. Graduates of our leadership program will have stronger sense of belonging to ASES and will work harder to lead ASES forward. The validation of being chosen by one’s peers to be included in the LDP and the completion of the LDP will give many members the confidence to speak up and share ideas in whatever capacity they have been asked to serve.

 

I applaud Emilie and Jason on this great effort and encourage all interested members to consider participation in this program that will help you develop leadership skills that will go far beyond ASES to all aspects of your surgical practice. More information on this program, please visit our website.