I was with a group of executives the other day and we were talking about how physicians learn how to be leaders. Ultimately, the conversation ended up with everyone at the table agreeing that experience fuels the greatest amount of leadership growth.

I was interviewed in 2009 about this matter. In an interview with Healthcare Executive (November/December 2009, “Cultivating Tomorrow’s Top Leaders,” Jessica D. Squazzo, Interviewer), I said,

“If you asked seasoned leaders, ‘What contributed most to your growth as a leader?’ I think they would say a specific experience. An ideal leadership development situation should be a combination of coursework and experiential learning.”

This is so true of all of us but especially so with physicians. In my 2013 book, Developing Physician Leaders for Successful Clinical Integration (Health Administration Press, Chicago), I wrote:

"One distinctive area of experience-based learning for physicians involves working within teams. As discussed earlier in this book, physicians by nature are very independent and much of their work is often done in a solo capacity. Working with teams is often an area that requires ample practice for physicians. Educational focus should be given to how teams are best formed and how they are best managed. In developing physician leadership and management development programs, it is critical that organizations build in experiential opportunities. This can be achieved though different assignments, including leading a task force, appointment to a board committee, heading a start-up for a new program or service or managing a turn-around."

Experience - the great teacher.