The physician leader in health care. What qualities does a doctor need to be an effective organizational leader?

As clinicians, physician leaders place great value on preserving their professional identity and autonomy (sec Box, p. 28, bottom). What they determine to be the best interests of the patient drives their decision making. Physician leaders, as administrators, on the other hand, serve as participative agents of the organization through active planning and the delegation of tasks. These two prototypical roles—clinician and administratortend to be very different and incorigruent, a fact that often leaves the physician leader in a kind of "'no man's land."