Leadership &
Communication for
Physicians
You trained for years to make the right call. Far less time went into how to deliver hard news in a twelve-minute visit, or how to run a partners’ meeting when half the room disagrees with you. That’s the work we do with physicians, whether you’re a few years into practice or leading a large group.
25 YEARS TRAINING LEADERS AT
Meta
•
NASA
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Eli Lilly
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PwC
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Apple
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SUNY
•
MVP Healthcare
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Meta • NASA • Eli Lilly • PwC • Apple • SUNY • MVP Healthcare •
How It Works
Technology keeps changing how care gets delivered. What patients remember, though, is whether they felt listened to. And what keeps good clinicians at a practice is often whether they trust the people they work alongside. Those are communication skills. Like clinical skills, they get sharper with deliberate practice and honest feedback.
Our sessions draw on improvisation, storytelling and motivational psychology. That can sound like an odd fit for medicine until you try it. At its core, improv is a discipline of listening and responding to what’s actually in front of you. We coach physicians through the moments that matter in their day: the difficult conversation in the exam room, a tense team huddle, the first time they have to give a colleague tough feedback.
Led by an Industry Pioneer the work is guided by Kat Koppett, author of Training to Imagine, a foundational text in applied improvisation, currently in its 3rd edition and in use as a textbook in many university undergraduate and MBA programs. She holds a B.F.A. in Drama from NYU and an M.A. in Organizational Psychology from Columbia University.
What It Develops
Patient Connection & Influence
Patients take in how you say something before they register what you said. So we work on tone, pacing and where your attention goes, right alongside the words themselves. Physicians leave with practical ways to explain a complicated diagnosis so it actually lands, even when the appointment is short.
Adaptability & Presence
No clinic day runs as scheduled. The quick follow-up turns out to have three new concerns, and the afternoon is suddenly an hour behind. Improv trains you to let go of the plan when you need to and stay with the person in front of you, without losing your clinical focus.
Care-Team Alignment
Good care depends on people feeling free to speak up, and in many clinical settings they don’t. We help physicians, APPs, nurses and staff get better at building on each other’s input and sharing responsibility. Over time, it becomes easier for the newest person in the room to ask questions.
Technical Leadership
When you become a medical director or department chief, your job quietly changes. Success now depends on how well other people do theirs. We help physician leaders give feedback people can use and handle the status dynamics that run through every hospital and practice. Much of it starts with listening a little longer than feels comfortable.
Who It’s For
Individual Physicians
who want patients to leave feeling heard.
New Physician Leaders
taking on a medical director, chief or partner role for the first time.
Care Teams & Practices
that want to work together with less friction.
Physician Group Leadership
thinking about retention and who will lead next.
Built around your firm
No two practices are alike, so we don’t work from a script. Each engagement is shaped around your specialties and your people, and scheduled around clinical calendars, which we know are unforgiving.
Keynotes & Interactive Workshops
Multi-Session Training Series
Retreat Facilitation
Individual & Small-Group Coaching
Join us for the improv gym
Think of it as a workout for listening. Every Tuesday morning we get together for quick, playful exercises that stretch how you think on your feet, and the benefits show up in the exam room and the conference room alike. Come once, or make it part of your week.
Drop-in: come every week or when you can
No improv experience needed, and nobody has to be funny.
A mixed room of professionals, so you practice with new people
Take the next step
Curious what this could look like for your practice or physician group? Book a consult and tell us what you’re working on. If you’d rather try it first, come find us at the Improv Gym on Tuesday.