Lesson Overview

As a leader in academic medicine, your expertise, judgment, and experience remain essential. At the same time, effective leadership often requires complementary skills: helping others think, learn, and develop their own capacity to solve problems.

In complex environments where evidence evolves, priorities shift, and challenges rarely have a single right answer, coaching can help individuals and teams build the confidence, judgment, and adaptability needed to succeed. Rather than providing solutions immediately, coaching encourages leaders to create space for reflection, learning, and growth.

Research suggests that coaching can improve resilience, professional fulfillment, and well-being while supporting professional development and leadership effectiveness. Like any leadership capability, coaching is a skill that develops through intentional practice.

This month, you’ll explore opportunities to incorporate coaching behaviors into everyday leadership interactions. Practice listening deeply, asking questions that encourage reflection and problem solving, and helping others generate their own solutions when appropriate. You’ll also reflect on when a coaching approach is most useful — and when a more directive approach may be needed.

During your peer group discussion over a shared meal, you’ll share observations, successes, and challenges, including moments when it was difficult to resist the urge to immediately solve the problem yourself.