ELO 1 – Clinician Rising: Transforming from Frontline Warrior to Large-System Change Leader

Summary

We are all change agents. But can we rise to be change leaders? In this ELO, five leaders in integrated healthcare, population health and large-system change will offer specific principles—including partnering, creating a value proposition, and developing an adaptive leadership stance–for applying skills gained as an integrated care clinician to wield influence on the large-system level. We will engage attendees in distinguishing between managing and leading change and in developing the personal and professional authority to foster–even force, at times–innovation. We’ll talk specifically about building the communication, influence, and leadership skills to gain the attention and respect of prime decision-makers while remaining true to the values and best practices of integrated healthcare.

This ELO will expand upon a panel presentation at last year’s conference, “Oh, the Places You’ll Go!” When expert clinicians in integrated care try to bring their knowledge and best practices to the organizational level, they often encounter skepticism, resistance, and pressure to compromise. These experiences can dissuade them from ever again attempting to change the larger system. In this workshop, five clinician-population health leaders from medicine, psychology, and social work will describe the general principles of leadership development and their own challenges transforming from frontline warriors to effective organizational leaders. We will focus specifically on those skills from clinical care—including partnering and creating motivation to change through a demonstrated value proposition—that can be translated to the large-system level. Drawing on the work of organizational development guru Peter Senge, this highly participatory workshop will challenge participants to reflect on their personal development as leaders, including an examination of self-leadership, leading others and leading systems. The session will use group exercises to help attendees clarify their core work values, define their personal missions, and design future visions and immediate next steps. We will share our personal experiences to describe the gratification and frustrations of transforming from problem-solving clinician to innovation leader. Programmatic examples will be used throughout.