Welcome to the second edition of the Physician Leadership Institute quarterly newsletter. WittKieffer's PLI offers tailored executive development led by our team of experienced physician leaders and leadership coaches, customized to the specific needs of hospitals and health systems. The work and solution offerings of the institute complement WittKieffer's existing physician leadership executive search, interim leadership, and leadership advisory solutions.
Once a quarter, the Physician Leadership Institute newsletter will provide thought leadership, podcasts, and the latest insights on physician leader development – for physician leaders and their executive peers.
Physician Leadership Insights
The second installment of a four-part series, Mike Anderson, M.D., Nat Grotte, and Raj Ramachandran, Ed.D. share how relational leadership – a practice that emphasizes the importance of relationships, anchored in trust, collaboration, and human connection, to achieve shared objectives – has emerged as a defining capability for healthcare leaders. "Today’s physician leaders need to be more than steady," they write. "They must be connectors." The authors explore how relational leadership can be nurtured.
ICYMI from last newsletter: Empathy in Physician Leadership: Current Insights and Strategies
Adopting a mindset of Grace, Space, and Pace can help physician leaders stay grounded, focused, and effective. This simple yet powerful insight allows executives to lead with clarity and resilience.
Podcasts from Our Accelerating Physician Leader Impact Series
Justin Dimick, MD, Chair of Surgery, University of Michigan
Jennifer Baccon, MD, PhD, MHCM, Chair of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Akron Children's
Andrew M. Ibrahim, MD, MSc, Director, University of Michigan Center for Healthcare Outcomes & Policy
Michael Parmacek, MD, Chair of Medicine, Penn Perelman School of Medicine
Niraj Sehgal, MD,CMO, Stanford Health
Other Podcasts with Physician Leaders
Brian Erling, MD, MBA, CEO, Renown Health
Susan Huang, MD, Chief Physician Executive, Providence
Gregory Johnson, MD, Chief Medical Officer, UnityPoint Health
Out and About
Our PLI team was honored to support a physician leadership bootcamp at the recent Congress of the Association of the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE). We also joined our WittKieffer colleagues at the American Association for Physician Leadership (AAPL) Annual Meeting, hosting a Career Corner and dedicated career advancement educational sessions.
About Physician Leadership Institute
WittKieffer's Physician Leadership Institute helps participating physician leaders deepen their self-awareness and provides them with the tools to meaningfully advance as leaders. Our offerings include:
Physician Accelerator: Beginning with a comprehensive leadership assessment, this solution pairs a physician leader with dyadic coaching from an experienced physician mentor and an executive coach.
Physician Mini-LAB: Ideal for 3-7 leaders, this approach builds on the Physician Accelerator with regular small group (Learning Circle) meetings for peer support and facilitated discussion, with an optional skill-building workshop.
Leadership LAB: The most comprehensive offering, this program integrates workshops with Learning Circles and Accelerator coaching, making it ideal for 8-20 leaders. Physicians experience Learning Agility Breakthroughs (LABs) through an experiential approach that allows them to experiment, receive feedback, collect data, and refine skills in a supportive environment that emphasizes discovery. The LAB experience equips clinicians with the tools and confidence to lead effectively, manage teams, and improve patient care outcomes.
The Physician Leadership Institute equips physicians with the skills and insights needed to excel in leadership roles, ultimately driving positive change and growth to build sustainable healthcare organizations.
The Physician Leadership Institute team includes:
Leadership Coaches
Raj Ramachandran, Ed.D., Senior Partner and Co-Executive Director, Physician Leadership Institute
Christy Pearson, Ph.D., Senior Consultant
Alok Sawhney, Psy.D., Principal
Susan M. Snyder, Executive Partner
Healthcare Mentors
Michael R. Anderson, M.D., M.B.A., Principal and Co-Executive Director, Physician Leadership Institute
Richard Nesto, M.D., Physician Executive Consultant
Valerie Weber, M.D., FACP, Principal
About WittKieffer
WittKieffer is the premier executive search and leadership advisory firm developing impactful leadership teams for organizations that improve quality of life. We work exclusively with organizations in not-for-profit and for-profit healthcare, life sciences, and education – the “Quality of Life Ecosystem.” Leveraging our unwavering focus on this complex ecosystem, we help clients solve challenging problems through executive search, interim leadership and leadership advisory services. We strengthen organizations that make the world better. Visit wittkieffer.com to learn more.
