Leadership Lessons from the Chiefs

Today we have the privilege of having a panel of three guests for this episode. Today’s guests are the Chief Residents in Internal Medicine at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. They include John Blickle, Melanie Wiseman, and Rainey Johnson. All three of them have dedicated time to the study and practice of medical leadership and we look forward to following them as they continue to grow as leaders. In this episode we discuss the transition from trainee to leader, how to make leadership training a priority, and lessons from their time as chief residents. Welcome to leading the rounds. 

Questions We Asked: 

• When did you first recognise the importance of medical leadership?
• What valuable things did you learn from the leadership curriculum at Walter Reed?
• What is something that you learned you were initially doing poorly? 
• What can someone do to improve as a leader if they don’t have a formal training program? 
• What surprised you transitioning into a leadership position as a chief resident?
• What were the little things that you did to change the culture of your residency program?
• What advice would you have for medical trainees? 

Quotes & Ideas: 

• You won’t have extra time during residency for leadership training, you have to make the time -John 
• “To take care of our patients best, we have to learn these [leadership] skills.” -Melanie 
• Listen Aggressively -Melanie 
• The way that you set an example has an impact on the expectations of the group, even if they are not explicitly said - Rainey 
• Create a culture of feedback and make sure there aren’t barriers preventing you from obtaining honest feedback -John 
• When you get feedback, take a moment to accept it before you begin to defend yourself -Melanie 
• As leaders, we should continuously be looking for opportunities to grow -Rainey 
• A leadership training activity: contrasting a great attending and a terrible attending and reflecting on why 
• “Culture is difficult to change… because it’s changed by lots of little acts that show what the leadership values” -Rainey 
  • They chose the value that they were going to care 
• “If a message can be misinterpreted, it will be misinterpreted.”-John 
• “Don’t just do something, stand there.” -John 
• “You can’t change the culture if you don’t understand the people in it and what they value.” -John 
• “If you haven't read hundreds of books, you are functionally illiterate, and you will be incompetent, because your personal experiences alone aren't broad enough to sustain you.” -Jim Mattis 

Books: 

• The Culture Code by Dan Coyle 
• It’s Your Ship by D. Michael Abrashoff
• Call Sign Chaos: Learning to Lead by Jim Mattis