Physician/Faculty Leadership Development Program

Participants in the Physician/Faculty Leadership Development Program, jointly sponsored by the school of medicine and Stanford Hospital, learn the skills required to lead small divisions or sections within an academic medical center. Special attention is put on factors unique to the clinical domain, including managing finances, performance feedback, employee evaluation and strategies for affecting change.

Operations Projects - With the help of a coach, participants design and implement a three-month project to improve operations or create or improve programs in their practice or workplace.

Leadership Training - Physicians participate in six day-and-a-half long meetings during the year in which they receive instruction on topics including leadership, finances, human resources and diversity.

Selection Process - The Physician/Faculty Leadership Development Program is designed to include a minimum of 10 and a maximum of 25 participants each year. Participants include clinical associate and full professors who are already section leaders or division chiefs. Candidates are ranked on their demonstrated commitment to building diversity. Particular effort is made to ensure diversity within each cohort, with approximately half being women and 25 percent being from underrepresented minorities.

Paul Keall, Ph.D.

Paul Keall, PhD

Early on during the leadership course, I was astonished by the feeling of the group in general of being unable to make any change at Stanford- despite this group picked because of their ability to lead.  However during the leadership course, reinforced by the project where theory became practice, there was an amazing difference in the group's perception of our ability to effect change at Stanford.


Sabine Girod, MD, DDS, PhD

Participating in the Physician Leadership Program gave me an opportunity to connect to the goals and the leadership of the School of Medicine. It was great to get to know colleagues from different Departments and get a compressed and comprehensive introduction to leadership, business and financial tools in health care and academics. The curriculum and the speakers were excellent. It helped me to develop a personal vision for integrating successful academic leadership into an academic career.