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Commentary
Can coaching advance medical leadership development?
  1. Fiona Jane Day1,
  2. Daljit Hothi2,3
  1. 1Fiona Day Consulting, Leeds, UK
  2. 2Faculty of Medical Leadership and Management, London, UK
  3. 3Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
  1. Correspondence to Dr Fiona Jane Day, Fiona Day Consulting, Leeds, LS7 3PD, UK; fiona{at}fionadayconsulting.co.uk

https://doi.org/10.1136/leader-2023-000853

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Introduction

The United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals for population health and well-being1 will require effective clinical leadership to improve both population health outcomes and the quality of clinical services.2–5 Within the UK, investigations into failures in the National Health Service have highlighted the positive impact of clinical leaders who can continuously improve services and create compassionate environments.6

Globally, there is a growing consensus that ‘leaders are made, not born’,7 8 and there is considerable interest to try and understand how best to activate doctors to become medical leaders who have team, organisational and system-level impact.

Historically, there has been a lack of high-quality research in the field of medical leadership development, combined with continued concerns that leadership training does not always translate into advanced leadership effectiveness.9

Four recent systematic reviews exploring the impact of medical leadership development interventions on improving skills development and/or technical and conceptual knowledge demonstrated a benefit at individual, clinical and organisational levels.4 9–11 A range of interventions were assessed, ranging from large group didactic lectures, interactive plenary seminars through to individual (one-on-one) coaching and mentoring. Their findings suggested greater efficacy for interventions addressing individual learning needs compared with a generic approach. The positive impact was amplified when multiple interventions were used in combination: interactive small group sessions including action learning groups; individual or group project work; coaching; mentoring; experiential learning; peer, community and organisational support; use of reflective instruments and 360° feedback; role-play and/or simulation; and discussion and reflections.5 10–12

There is growing interest in leadership coaching across multiple industries, including healthcare. This commentary analytically lays out the role of coaching vis a vis other similar interventions, and then in addition (a) lays out different types of coaching interventions and (b) presents some evidence on the effectiveness of coaching interventions. …

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Footnotes

  • Contributors FJD and DH conceptualised the paper. FJD wrote the initial draft, DH refined and amended the paper. Both authors finalised the paper and responded to reviewers' comments.

  • Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

  • Competing interests Both authors have submitted a conflict of interests form.

  • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.