What inspired you to start this project?

I have been fortunate to collaborate with so many physicians who are outstanding leaders and have long been fascinated as to why so many doctors excel at leadership. On my nights and weekends during the pandemic, I had the chance to dig into the topic. And because so many people were at home because of COVID, I was able to get some of the best and brightest from across the county to talk to me because we could do it from anywhere.

What thought went into who you wanted to interview for the book?

I’ve worked with so many great people over the years, and not only were they willing to give me a little of their time, but they were also helpful in connecting me with people from their own circles who could also share their unique and valuable insights on this topic.

For this book, you spoke with many medical professionals about what it means to be a doctor and a leader. What were some of the key discoveries from your conversations?

What I quickly learned is that there is no set pathway to leadership. Some leaders have been department chairs, some haven’t. I had people tell me that it’s important to get an MBA, but others have no business experience at all. The most successful did two things: they followed their own path, and they had outside interests that continued throughout their entire careers.

Can you talk about a moment or interview that really stood out?

Dr. LouAnn Woodward, dean of the University of Mississippi Medical Center School of Medicine, was an ER doctor. She told me that during her residency, there were times when a doctor would come onto a shift while the residents and the nurses stayed the same. And she saw that no matter what else was happening that day, the emergency room could go from calm to chaos or chaos to calm when just one new doctor came in. She told me she knew that she wanted to be the doctor who could bring calm from chaos.

What kinds of things do people learn during their medical training that prepares them for leadership roles?

The work ethic of successful physicians is terrific, and we’re trained now to collaborate and communicate with teams. We also have great opportunities to achieve great responsibility over time. We get diverse exposure to all kinds of medicine and science in medical school, which allows us to put the building blocks of health care, hospitals and medical institutions together.

Do you think every doctor has the potential to be a leader?

I think every physician, whether it’s running the staff in the office or running an operating room, has to lead — there’s no doubt about it. Whether they end up using those skills to lead more broadly is up to each individual.

Can you tell us how your own medical education and practice shaped your skills as a leader?  

I think that the link for me was curiosity. Before I came to KU, I was a fully trained interventional cardiologist at the Mayo Clinic and retained a lot of interest in the basic sciences. That desire to learn extended broadly to organizations and how I could use my skills to enable others to flourish — and it was that that got me into the leadership and development mode at Mayo Clinic. And ultimately, that is what brought me back to Kansas City and KU Medical Center.

Did your research for the book influence how you approach leading at KU Medical Center?

It made me proud to be part of a broader community of physician leaders across the country. I think during the pandemic, demonstrating leadership skills was critical. I heard story after story about challenges that health care professionals faced during COVID, and I felt like I was not alone.

Who did you write this book for?

First, I imagined the folks who are on the pathway to becoming a physician or a physician leader —people who are headed to medical school, who are in medical school, residents, fellows and faculty. The second group were individuals who work with physician leaders — our administrators and our staff — who would like some insight into how they became who they are and how they work. The third group was quite ambitious in that I hoped that this book could impact how we train leaders outside medicine.

Any plans for another book?

I would love to write another book, and I do have some ideas, but I don’t want to jinx myself. I’m going to take some time to give this book the support it needs to get into as many hands as possible before I start another project.