In fall 2019, SIR held its sixth Leadership Development Academy (LDA), 10 years after the inaugural class graduated. In celebration of how this program has trained IRs to become leaders in the society and the foundation, in their practices, and elsewhere, IRQ asked the first class of graduates and those participating in this year’s program to share their perspectives on the experience and on leadership.
Kyle J. Cooper, MD, 2019 graduate
Kyle J. Cooper, MD
Many prior LDA participants inspire me to continue volunteering with the society, and I wanted to follow in their footsteps. I felt the program provided introspective tools about leadership qualities, how to develop them, and how to best engage with the society and colleagues who have shown similar interest and aptitude for volunteerism and leadership.
From the experience, I developed a better understanding of the types of leadership and how I can develop those parts of my character to be a better leader in the future.
My hope is that this experience will have a lasting impact on my ability to inspire others to accomplish meaningful tasks for the society and for our specialty, just as I’ve been inspired to volunteer. I learned that, although delegation of responsibilities is important in a leader, it is important to willingly take on tasks ourselves to inspire others to do the same.
Amit Gupta, MD, 2019 graduate
Amit Gupta, MD
Because I want to play a bigger role in serving the society, I thought the best way to learn about being an effective SIR leader would be to learn directly from the society leaders and other members with similar aspirations, and from SIR staff.
I believe the most important quality leadership is the ability to understand the needs of team members, helping them determine how to use that their strengths so everyone can perform at their best level.
In the LDA sessions, I learned that being a leader does not mean being “in charge.” That is, I can be a leader and do meaningful things even if I am not in a position of authority. The program not only helped me understand the qualities of a successful leader, but also helped me understand my own qualities and what I can do to become a successful leader.
Minhajuddin S. Khaja, MD, MBA, 2017 graduate and 2019 faculty
Minhajuddin S. Khaja, MD, MBA
As a graduate of the 2017 LDA, I found that the concepts I learned were very useful to my practice, leadership roles and SIR volunteer engagement. I was excited to participate again in 2019! The LDA planning committee focused on including participants from diverse clinical experience, practice type and previous leadership roles.
The program further reinforced what I have learned and experienced since 2017. I particularly appreciated the engagement with SIR leadership in this year’s class with a half-day session with the Executive Council and participation in the first day by Executive Director Sue Sedory and Membership Division Councilor Dr. Raj Pyne. I look forward to working with my cohort from 2017 and the excellent 2019 group in future endeavors.
Jason C. Hoffmann, MD, 2019 graduate
Jason C. Hoffmann, MD
I believe that resilience in leadership is essential. Everyone faces roadblocks and hurdles, but the ability to learn from our mistakes, turn a potentially negative experience into a learning opportunity, and utilizing setback or failure as motivation for future success is integral to strong, successful, durable leadership.
I am confident that participation in the 2019 SIR LDA will help me to get more involved in SIR. I now have an even better understanding of the wide variety of volunteer opportunities that are available in SIR, how the organization functions from an organizational/infrastructure perspective, and how to have meaningful volunteer experiences. The opportunity to learn from my peers, get to know them better, and learn about their interests, accomplishments, and common struggles has further energized and inspired me. In addition, gaining a better understanding of the integral role that so many SIR staff members play will help me to better navigate through the organization.
Robert A. Lookstein, MD, FSIR, 2009 graduate
Robert A. Lookstein
The greatest challenge of getting involved in leadership roles is finding out how you can make the greatest contribution. Networking through the LDA allows you to stay on top of this fast-changing landscape and determine where the greatest needs are.
For example, since I graduated from the 2009 program, IR’s role in health care has undergone a dramatic change from inpatient work and patient interaction to outpatient care. Most of our practice here in New York is outpatient/ambulatory surgery.
Now, in 2019, I believe is well poised to lead the transition to outpatient care by demonstrating our value to the growing ambulatory marketplace.
Sonali Mehandru, MD, 2019 graduate
Sonali Mehandru, MD
I would describe this program to those interested as being a crash course in the SIR leadership structure, combined with a personal development seminar, combined with an excellent opportunity to network with like-minded IRs (and IR leadership) who care deeply about our specialty.
My biggest takeaway from the experience was that there are many motivated, hard-working, passionate and good-hearted people who want to be more involved in SIR and make a difference for our specialty. The SIR Leadership Academy afforded me the chance to meet and network with many of them, and that was the highlight of the experience.
Also, by gaining a better understanding of the structure of SIR as an organization, I have a clearer picture of where my volunteer contributions could best fit and make the most difference.
It was a fantastic experience and I am so grateful I had the chance to be a part of it!
Constantino S. Peña, MD, FSIR, 2009 graduate
Constantino S. Peña, MD, FSIR
IR has evolved over the last decade: From early discussions centered around building awareness for IR at the medical student level, to approval of IR as a primary specialty and the resulting training programs. It’s been incredible to be able to witness the benefits and changes that these decisions have had and how they are impacting our specialty.
In that time, I have come to understand the complexity of the relationships involved in medicine—the relationships between IR and administration, IR and other specialties, between IR and DR. Being able to manage those relationships is essential to a successful IR practice.
Our specialty depends on our ability to get involved—and to lead. The biggest challenge to that involvement is right in the mirror! I courage all readers to follow their desire to get involved, to strive to get other people to want to be involved, and to create a welcoming and nurturing environment that will attract everyone. The secret is to take the first step—let people know you want to get involved!
Amy Taylor, MD, 2019 graduate
Amy Taylor, MD
If you look at the prior LDA rosters, they read like a “Who’s Who” of SIR leadership today, so I thought this would be a helpful step in getting more involved in SIR leadership roles. I also knew this would be an opportunity to collaborate with other future leaders from diverse backgrounds who have unique perspectives, as well as a chance to meet the current leadership in a more intimate setting than the annual meeting.
I believe that strong leadership is founded on integrity tempered with humility. A good leader is able to stay true to herself and her values in order to effectively motivate others to be their best, but is not so focused on being “right” that she alienates her team.
I learned from the program that each individual on that team needs role models, mentors, coaches and sponsors to help guide the way, and each organization needs people with different strengths and perspectives collaborating together to define and achieve common goals.
The inaugural (2009) Leadership Development Academy class
SIR gratefully acknowledges Cook Medical for providing an educational grant in support of the 2019 Leadership Academy.
