Book Review: "Effective Medical Leadership" by Bryce Taylor
Many members of the Department have written or plan
to write books, but few will be able to achieve the broad
relevance and interest that Bryce Taylor's "Effective
Medical Leadership" will generate. In the introduction
Bryce tells us that the book is written "for you,
the aspiring medical leader" and that he seeks to "get
at the essence of effective leadership by medical and
surgical professionals". This he accomplishes with grace
and humour. The book is divided into ten chapters
which range from a general discussion of leadership to
teamwork, personnel, a typical day, quality of care and
risk, planning and execution, data and money, and the
individual character of leaders. The book is written in
an engaging personal style and includes a list of ninety
references.
The content of the chapters is highly relevant to anyone
holding or aspiring to a medical leadership position. For
instance the chapter "A Typical Day" discusses values,
the role of the executive assistant, communication, meetings
and committees, unscheduled and one on one meetings,
the role of managers, and time management. The
chapter on "Other Important Issues" discusses hot button
topics such as privacy, media relations, fund raising,
the addicted physician, and relationships with industry.
The wide range of subjects covered make the book a
useful reference for any medical leader - I have already
benefitted from using a section of the book to deal with
a local issue in my current leadership role.
Anonymyzed real-life examples are interspersed throughout
the book. These vignettes add spice to the text and act
as case-studies that amplify the lessons in the body of the
chapters. Some of the situations, such as "Cito Gaston,
An Effective Leader: Let the Players Play" and "Carl
Yastrzemski at Massachusetts General Hospital: A Hero
Receives a Hero's Care" draw on Bryce's abiding interest
in baseball and add engaging readability. Situations
such as "The Medical Leader and Fiscal Responsibility:
Everyone Supports a Tough Decision" drawn from a
difficult personal experience, hits home with those who
have been in similar situations. The next generation of
medical leaders will benefit from reflecting on how they
would handle such
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challenges in advance of experiencing
them first hand. "Doctor J. An Irremediable Situation:
Sometimes Surgery is the Only Solution" provides an
example of how monumentally challenging some leadership
issues can be, and how elusive the solutions are.
Bryce has placed pearls of advice throughout the chapters.
Some of my favorites are:
- To apply for something important you have to know
what you are applying for
- This is the era of accountability; it is also the era of
collaboration and cooperation
- As death is part of life so too is retirement part of a
surgical career
- You'll never have enough hospital resources to do the
things you want to do
- When respect is lost, effectiveness is lost
These pithy one-liners provide easily remembered sage
advice from an expert. The final two chapters "The
Character of a Leader" and "Epilogue: Some Final
Thoughts About the Success of Your Leadership" contain
a wealth of wisdom learned on the job. Bryce's
advice to be positive, consistent, truthful, honest, appreciative,
human, impartial and visible describe a road map
for success from a proven medical leader.
I recommend this book to anyone interested in hospitalbased
leadership. While the context of Bryce's experience
and most of the situations relate to our Canadian healthcare
system, health care leaders in other jurisdictions
will be able to benefit from its depth and universality.
Aspiring students of leadership and experienced medical
leaders can learn from the book, but I hope that nonhospital
and government administrators will also read
it to gain insight into the challenges faced by effective
medical leaders. Both the content of the book and the
style in which it is written are outstanding. Bryce is to be
congratulated on an important job well-done.
Robin Richards
November 2010
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