Start early to groom doctors as group leaders

Practice Management. By Mike Norbut, AMNews staff. Dec. 26, 2005.

Unless you have just started a practice or recently merged, chances are the roles are pretty well established in your group. You have senior partners and junior partners, veteran doctors and young additions to the medical staff.

And you probably have a physician or two who handles the business aspects of the practice, while the others concentrate on their clinical work.

There's a certain comfort level that goes with settling into roles. But it's just as important to prepare others, especially the younger physicians in your practice, for leadership positions in the future.

Leadership development is a critical practice component that goes beyond succession planning. You're not just looking to fill a spot when a doctor leaves or retires. This instead addresses how to ensure that the practice remains financially strong when its president decides it's time to hand over the reins.

"Historically, we haven't paid as much attention to leadership development as we needed to, but these characteristics are important," said pulmonary critical care specialist James K. Stoller, MD, executive director of leadership development and vice chair of medicine for the Cleveland Clinic Foundation. "There's nothing worse than having derailments."

The group can come unglued as a result of an unplanned event in the practice or because of poor planning. While the former reason may be understandable, the latter adds unnecessary risk during an already challenging time of transition.