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Imposter syndrome, defined by the Harvard Business Review as “doubting your abilities and feeling like a fraud,” impacts high-achieving people as they often find difficulty in accepting their own accomplishments. Essentially, people with imposter syndrome feel as though they’re not qualified enough, not talented enough, or simply not good enough to perform their job well.

But, could this be a case of mind over matter? Or is there more to overcoming imposter syndrome? 

Becoming a successful leader today requires the ability to prioritize learning and continuous development of skills, knowledge, and behavioral competence. To excel in healthcare leadership it’s crucial to take note of certain habits that may be inhibiting your ability to grow and achieve your goals. Are you spending enough time on your own health? Maybe you have a hard time deciphering between being a friend and being a leader. Or maybe your biggest roadblock is your fixed mindset.

Executive coaching is an essential talent development lever that contributes to the success of organizations, especially those in the healthcare industry which faces unprecedented challenges today. According to the Human Resource Executive, healthcare leaders’ top priorities in 2022 are employee wellbeing, leadership development, and overall employee experience. Due to the stressors of the pandemic, healthcare leaders spanning all sectors are experiencing increased feelings of burnout and declining mental health. 

Healthcare organizations across the globe have spent the last year and a half trying to navigate their team through the COVID-19 pandemic and its tribulations. What is clear, is that those organizations who coalesced around a common purpose, aligned around the patient, and managed obstacles with strong leadership weathered the crisis better.  Those without were bogged down by stress, overwhelm, and burnout. According to Mental Health America, 93% of healthcare workers are still experiencing heightened stress during the pandemic. Likewise, a large majority reported experiencing anxiety (86%), frustration (77%), exhaustion and burnout (76%), and overwhelm (75%). 

Physician and nurse burnout is a severe issue that’s been plaguing the healthcare industry for years. Recognized by the World Health Organization as a syndrome resulting from chronic distress, physician and nurse burnout is a serious occupational phenomenon that has been accelerated and intensified by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Leadership development training for leaders in healthcare is crucial to accelerate individual, team, and business performance. During these tumultuous times, effective leadership supports the well-being and morale of teams and patients. In fact, ensuring that healthcare leaders are equipped with the right skills and mindset to be in a position of positive influence is at the forefront of many healthcare organizations’ priorities. Consequently, 52% of these organizations are currently naming physician and leader alignment as their top investment priority. Yet the same Huron survey shows that 21% of respondents report not having a leadership strategy in place.

As we enter the third wave of COVID-19, we are once again facing an uncertain future for leaders at all levels. One thing, though, is certain and that is the enormous impact of the pandemic on physician leaders. Physician leadership, which has always played a role in the alignment between hospital administration, medical staff, and the communities served, has become increasingly important as hospitals and health systems around the country embark on or continue efforts to strategically integrate with physicians. However, developing physician leaders can be a difficult undertaking. As we knew, before COVID-19, the skills that make a physician a fabulous doctor, don't necessarily correlate with being a successful leader.

The challenges resulting from the pandemic have overwhelmed even the most skilled and experienced leaders, whether they are physicians or not. The challenges demand navigating volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous conditions — a situation often referred to as VUCA.  Physician leaders today need to shift constantly and decide in an instant with limited data — to be agile and adaptive. 

Pre-COVID, many of us viewed our primary care, specialist or hospital-based physicians as trusted and skilled professionals in their crisp white coats with the embroidered logos of their practices or larger, parent health system.