Physicians dedicate their young lives to technical growth: pre-med requirements, preparing for and taking entrance exams, medical school, passing boards, residency, and so on. Often, the price of this laser focus on technical growth is neglected adaptive growth.
Adaptive growth is associated with wisdom, gravitas, maturity, courage, complex thinking, governance, vision, competent leadership, and confidence. Adaptive growth is essential to flourishing in complex environments regardless of context.
The cognitive and emotional energies of physicians, physician leaders, and executives are a healthcare organization’s most valuable resource. Burnout, imposter syndrome, leadership insecurity, rumination, power struggles, and worse; all of these can drain individual vitality and disrupt team coherence, departmental unity, and organizational mission.
Coaching has become a favored support mechanism for physicians, physician leaders, and healthcare executives. It is imperative that organizations consciously focus their coaching resources on adaptive development to support them as they navigate today’s incredibly complex healthcare world.
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Brad Fern is a developmental coach. He is the president and principal consultant of Fern Executive and Physician Coaching, LLC.