Transformation to academic leadership: The role of mentorship and executive coaching

Abstract

The transition to academic leadership entails learning to utilize an enormous new collection of skills. Executive leadership coaching is a personalized training approach that is being increasingly used to accelerate the onboarding of effective leaders. Vanderbilt University Medical Center has invested in a robust coaching strategy that is offered broadly to institutional leaders. This case study details the early transformational learning of leadership skills by 1 new institutional leader in the first 2 years in an academic leadership role. It offers a first-person account of the experience of being coached while independently leading a division of hematology and oncology at a highly ranked medical center, and it provides commentary from the coach who worked with the leader and from the leader's primary supervisor. Over 2 years' time, assessed in 6-month intervals, the academician transitions into the role and, using scenarios from regular practice in this position, learns to incorporate core leadership principles into the daily activities of running a division. The transition to academic leadership involves a transformation; it is a conversion that can be accelerated, guided, and applied with a great deal of sophistication through intentional coaching and the application of principles of behavioral science and psychology. Much like a high-performing athlete receives coaching, an elite academician can be trained in skills that enhance his or her game and contribute to creating a winning team.