Leadership Development through Challenging Workplace Tasks: A Phenomenological Study of Medical Education Leaders

Abstract

Background: Leadership skills are better mastered when leaders engage in challenging tasks while working in a professional environment as opposed to learning these skills from formal courses. However, there is a dearth in local and international literature regarding the type of challenging tasks that help doctor leaders to excel in their leadership roles. This study was designed to discover what types of professionally difficult tasks are faced by medical doctors working as leaders that influenced their skills in leadership at a commercial sector college of medicine in Lahore, Pakistan.
Methodology: This qualitative transcendental phenomenological study, spanning over a period of 6 months, was conducted with a total of seven physician leaders who had lived experiences of working in leadership positions and handling challenging tasks. A purposive sampling technique was used due to participants' extensive experience of leadership from the study site that comprised Fatima Memorial Medical College and the affiliated hospital. One-on-one interviews were conducted after written informed consent of each participant. Saturation of data was achieved with seven participants, as no new themes emerged when thematic analysis or the Stevick-Collaizi-Keen method was used; therefore, further interviews were not con-ducted. Trustworthiness was ensured through reflexivity, member-checking, triangulation, and confirmability.
Results: Data analysis yielded one main theme, namely, challenging tasks, which was identified from all seven interview transcripts. Whereas three sub-themes - academic litigation, persuasion and problem solving, and challenging authority while cooperating with peers were identified as the most difficult professional responsibilities that fostered leadership skills among the participants. 
Conclusion: The study concluded that leaders volunteering for challenging tasks at their workplace perceived their contribution as quite important for the institution. The medical education leaders believed that handling challenging tasks made it possible for them to manage legal lawsuits and improved their interpersonal and problem-solving skills. However, challenging tasks entail high-stakes decision-making that may lead to oversight or gaps; therefore, it is suggested that some room for mistakes is vital for those who volunteer for challenging tasks if effective leadership channels are to be developed with-in medical education institutions.