SBAS Presidential Address: Change Management, Leadership & the Society of Black Academic Surgeons (SBAS).

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.amjsurg.2017.02.013 0002-9610/© 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Society of Black Academic Surgeons' members and guest, it has been a personal honor and a privilege to serve as the 21st president for The Society of Black Academic Surgeons (SBAS). I became a member of SBAS in 1997 and never dreamed of becoming its president; as my name joins the pantheon of extraordinary individuals who dutifully served in this position before me. I want to thank the Ohio State University (OSU), Dr Ellison, Dr. Steinberg, the local program chairs Dr. Sylvester Black and Dr. Amy Rushing, and the administrative staff Ms. Ann Forchione and Ms. Kim Knight for the graciousness extended in hosting our annual scientific assembly. And a real thank you to Dr. Robert Higgins, past Chairman of the OSU department of surgery for sponsoring the invitation from OSU to host the 26th annual meeting of this august organization. The title of my Presidential Address is: “ChangeManagement, Leadership & the Society of Black Academic Surgeons (SBAS)”. Charles Darwin, the English naturalist and geologist best known for his contributions to evolutionary theory concluded that, “it is not the strongest of the species that survive, or the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.” The Society of Black Academic Surgeons (SBAS) was founded in 1989. The organization's logo features Dr. Charles Drew, a great African American physician, surgeon, educator, researcher, and mentor. The inaugural meeting of the society was hosted by Duke University, and brought together prominent African American surgeons to discuss the essentials of building academic careers in American Surgery [Fig. 1]. It was emphasized that scientific investigation and mentoring were essential to achieving this goal and a cornerstone to the future of SBAS. The 1st annual scientific meeting occurred the following year in 1990; and the Society celebrated its 25th, silver anniversary meeting at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2015 [Fig. 2]. The organization has come a great distance in terms of number of members, meeting attendance and gender diversity in the past 26 years. So, what is the mission and vision of the Society of Black Academic Surgeons (SBAS)? Is SBAS positioned and capable of meeting its mission, and achieving its vision? And finally, is SBAS [as an organization] positioned to grow? I had 3 broad objectives for my presidency year: (1) establishment and growth e i.e. hardwiring the Society's central office, establishing standard operating procedures for all the organization's administrative and annual meeting activities, establishing strategic partnerships, and funding agencies, creating the foundation for growth; and having clear objectives and deliverables; (2) engagement e i.e. leveraging the cognitive brain power within the organization; and (3) empowerment e i.e. creating value for the organization's membership, providing excellent educational offerings and opportunities, and ultimately increasing the reach of the organization and its members nationally within American Surgery. One of the most influential books about organizational transformation in the past 25 years is “Leading Change” by John P. Kotter.1 First published in 1995, the book was based on more than 15 years of personal observation and broad-based analyses. Kotter described an 8 stage process for CHANGEMANAGEMENT: (1) Establishing a sense of urgency, defining the challenges and competitive environment, performing a SWOT analysis; (2) Creating the guiding coalition, putting together a cohesive group with enough power to lead change; (3) Developing a vision and strategy, creating a vision to direct the change effort that is clear an unambiguous to ALL; (4) Communicating the change vision, using every vehicle possible to constantly communicate the new vision and strategies; (5) Empowering employees for broad-based action, changing systems or structures that undermine the change vision and seek out strategic, new ways of doing business, new roles and partnerships; (6) Generating short-term wins and creating, new opportunities, transforming a culture; (7) Consolidating gains and producing more change, hiring, promoting and developing people who can implement change vision; and (8) Anchoring new approaches in the culture, creating better performance at all levels [leaders, members, connecting the dots].