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AAMC Reporter: October 2006
A Word from the President:
"Are We Level 5 Leaders?"
This year at our annual meeting in Seattle, we are fortunate to have as keynote speaker one of the most visionary thinkers on high-performing organizations and the people who lead them — Jim Collins. Through his bestselling books "Built to Last" and "Good to Great," Collins has virtually transformed how the business world thinks. Applying that research to the world of nonprofits, associations, and educational institutions, among others, Collins recently published "Good to Great and the Social Sectors," a monograph that not only articulates a new kind of leadership, but also raises important questions for those of us in academic medicine. Are we "good" or "great"? How are we realizing (or not realizing) our aspirations? What can we do to help our
medical schools and teaching hospitals address these questions? And, most important, are we what Jim Collins would call "Level 5" leaders?
Derived from a hierarchy of leadership Collins developed in his previous research, Level 5 leaders are not the larger-than-life, command-and-control figures we traditionally associate with leadership. In Collins' view, they are "ambitious first and foremost for the cause, the movement, the mission, the work." Certainly all of us
in academic medicine are highly motivated and dedicated to our mission, and as I have expressed in previous columns, we are extremely fortunate to work
with extraordinary colleagues and a superb staff in Washington, D.C., who also are mission-driven. The question is how do we as Level 5 leaders make the most of all that energy and dedication?
In order to mobilize this collective commitment, Level 5 leaders set aside personal ambition. Building greatness, says Collins, is achieved "through a paradoxical blend of personal humility and professional will." Our old model of picking forceful, imposing figures to lead the way will not suffice in our changing and complex working environment. Challenges such as globalization, workforce shortages, disruptive technologies,
and rising numbers of uninsured and underinsured patients demand a new kind of leader — who works collaboratively to focus us on the long term, and who ensures that the right decisions "happen," no matter how difficult or unpopular those decisions may be.
The very good news is that I see Level 5 leaders emerging throughout our medical schools, teaching hospitals, and research centers. If you are able to join us at the annual meeting, you will have an opportunity to hear many of them speak. And as you listen to them, you will better understand how, in their respective working environments, it is all about the mission, collective will, and accomplishment.
The success of an organization, however, is not just
a matter of having the right leader; it also is about
creating the right organizational culture. As Collins argues in Built to Last, the key to this success is staying true to core values, while being willing to change operating procedures. For those of us in academic medicine, changing our operating procedures may mean altering ways of business, procedures, and routines that we have been locked into for decades. But just as Level 5 leaders are already emerging in our ranks, major changes in operating procedure are already underway in each of our mission areas, and some already have transformed the way we work.
In medical education, we have retained our commitment to providing the highest quality education, but have dramatically changed our "operating procedures" to incorporate small group experiences, simulation technology, problem-based learning, early patient interactions, and other innovations. In biomedical research, we have remained dedicated to discovering new cures and developing new treatments and therapies, but have transitioned from a world built around narrowly focused lone investigators, to a model that brings independent scientists into multidisciplinary teams translating discovery from the laboratory to the health of the population. And in clinical settings, we have kept our promise of health care excellence, but are shifting from systems focused on ourselves as the "experts" to systems that are more truly patient-and family-centered.
All of these are important and significant changes — which is good — but I believe we have only scratched the surface of how great we can be. Level 5 leaders understand this concept, and that going from good to great is an ongoing process. In the words of Collins, "no matter how much you have achieved, you will always be merely good relative to what you can become. Greatness is an inherently dynamic process, not an end point."
That concept — of continually striving toward an
outcome, not an endpoint — is captured by this year's annual meeting theme "Pursuing Excellence, Creating Value." Those of you who can come to Seattle will
hear the compelling message that Jim Collins now has applied to the social sector. And you will enjoy a program packed with Level 5 leaders eager to share their
vision of pursuing excellence and creating value in health care. As you listen to them, I hope you will think about ways we all can aspire to become Level 5 leaders and continue on the path from good to great.
Darrell G. Kirch, M.D.
AAMC President
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