7 Next Acts for Physician Leaders
What career paths are ideal for the decades following a top medical leadership role?
Physician executives spend decades getting very good at being the person in the room who fields questions. Then the role ends—through retirement, restructuring, or choice—and the question that arrives has no immediate answer.
"What's a physician executive to do next? I get that question a lot," says Charlie Falcone, M.D., director of the Physician Leadership Institute at Korn Ferry. Many leaders have built their careers inside a particular institution or system, working closely with fellow executives and the board. "By and large, they haven't really thought about their career on a broader scale."
The good news: the menu is long. The less obvious news: the menu isn't the hard part.
Build a Portfolio, Not a Job
Many high achievers don't want a single next role. They want control of their time, says Maureen Sutton, a principal and career coach at Korn Ferry. The answer is a portfolio of activities: perhaps an engagement on their own schedule, like consulting or advising, alongside something that revives an interest that never got the chance to express itself. Sutton has seen returns to acting and graduate school, as well as reframes, such as shifting toward psychology. Others go straight into volunteering, and take on big projects in their hometowns.
For physicians, the field is wide open. Sutton suggests picking a problem—AI policy, for instance—and asking what needs solving, as well as reconnecting with what initially drew them to medicine: "What about you makes you care about humans?"
Deciding where to start is the biggest step. Sutton uses Korn Ferry's traits assessment to isolate what energizes a leader at their core. "They have been locked on the leadership curve," she says. "They often haven't had time to ask who they are."
Seven Post-Leadership Options
- Board seats. Foundations, nonprofits, and private companies covet physician leaders who have long governance experience. "They bring a lot of credibility and can elevate the board," says Dan Stech, senior client partner at Korn Ferry.
- Advising, mentoring, and coaching. Former leaders can be tremendous advisers, because they've been there and done that. Some transition into leadership development. Formal coaching, Falcone notes, is "a select skill set" that is distinct from mentoring and advising.
- Interim leadership. For those who want to stay active and contributing without signing on full-time, interim or project roles let former physician leaders plug in when an organization is in transition or fill an experience or knowledge gap, says Stech. Then they unplug.
- Consulting. The classic route runs through consulting firms. Some quickly discover complexities, such as a lot of time on the road, cautions Falcone, though most ultimately shape it into the independent or project-based work that fits the life they want.
- Academia and research. Teaching and university appointments can be deeply fulfilling, especially for leaders who enjoy the legacy of influencing the next generation.
- Private equity. Many eye the excitement of private equity. It's trickier terrain, says Falcone, but the right skill set can help a portfolio company with both hiring and acquisitions.
- Community. "A leader is still a leader no matter what," says Jaime Cocuy, senior client partner in healthcare consulting at Korn Ferry. Community organizations always need leadership—as well as help cultivating the next generation of leaders.
For many former physician leaders, the real obstacle surfaces later: giving up being the boss. On a board, a former executive is prized for a specific expertise—but is no longer in charge, and not always the smartest person in the room. "That can be tough for some folks, because they're used to that," says Falcone. The next chapter likely brings more ambiguity and less instant gratification. It also brings, at last, the chance to build a portfolio around long-deferred interests.
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