Leader- and Team-Focused Strategies for Change During Transitions
The Challenge
The quality of a leader’s response to change contributes substantially to the stability and longevity of an organization. Conversely, we know that average program director (PD) tenure, across all graduate medical education (GME) specialties, with commensurate PD knowledge and skills turnover, is between 4 and 7 years.1 Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) requirements are also changing regularly. As a GME leader, how can you approach daily work while remaining ready to encounter a wide spectrum of changes and transitions?
What Is Known
Prepared leaders have encountered change, expected or unexpected, and thrive in the face of it.2 We categorize change into 4 distinct areas: scheduled (expected) and unscheduled (unexpected), which can both occur institutionally (internal) or extra-institutionally (external) (Table). Unexpected and external changes are likely to be more challenging for GME leaders, in navigating and leading their teams through these transitions.
Rather than viewing these changes as diametrically opposed problems to solve (eg, stability versus change), reframe them as a “delicate polarity to manage.”3 As a GME leader, you must embrace the change by providing energy to both polarities, to show stability and consistency. This provides GME learners, faculty, and others with a sense of safety and normalcy in their day-to-day lives, while positioning them to accept change without fear. If the polarity is balanced correctly, change in a GME community should represent a “both/and” phenomenon rather than an “either/or” situation.2 For example, accreditation deadlines might approach as we handle unexpected external changes (eg, funding, government regulations) that are occurring in parallel. Both are important to manage and are inextricably linked. Both/and strategies can help make the process smoother and more effective. These strategies must highlight promoting stability while embracing change.4
How You Can Start TODAY
What You Can Do LONG TERM
Author Notes
