The mark of a good leader is the impact he has on the people he leads.
Writing in the Annals of Surgery, Marcelo Cerulo and Dr. Pamela Lipsett quantify the effect that one surgeon, John L. Cameron MD of Johns Hopkins, has had on the men and women he has trained and mentored. Of the 106 surgical residents identified in the study, 84% pursued careers in academic medicine, 25% went into private practice and another 17% had careers in both fields. Over half of those in academic medicine achieved full professorships and of those in private institutions 37% held roles of chief. Another 56% became departmental chairs or served on leadership boards.
Dr. Cameron, as the article points out, had a distinguished career in his own right as a surgeon, researcher, scholar and administrator. The surgeons he trained speak of the “personal influence” Dr. Cameron exerted in their careers. As Cerulo and Lipsett describe write, “Dr. Cameron routinely personally provided advice and mentorship, and created an environment where his highly talented faculty did the same.” He made certain his students had a solid plan of development and encouraged cross-training in “public health, management or basic science.” Dr. Cameron also saw to it that his surgeons received “leadership training.”
The authors of the study liken Dr. Cameron’s example to the words of British surgeon Sir Berkeley Moynihan who said, “The chief legacy which a surgeon can bequeath is a gift of spirit. To inspire many successors with a firm belief in the high destiny of our calling... and to practice the knowledge so acquired with lofty purpose, high ideals and generous heart for the benefit of humanity — that is the best that a man can transmit.”
While Dr. Cameron has stepped down from his chairmanship, his influence persists not only in the surgeons he trained but also in the more than 1000 surgical residents his trainees have educated.
The rigorous analysis of this article demonstrates the measureable effect that leaders can have on their followers. In the 1999 book First, Break All the Rules, authors Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman cite Gallup research about managers who are responsible for promoting their direct-reports. Many of these underlings achieved senior positions within their organizations. These managers are building the leadership corps one direct report at a time. In my experience nearly every senior leader I know owes his or her career advancement to a boss who took them under their wing and showed them the ropes.
Leadership really comes down to example. It’s not what a leader says as much as what she does. When it comes to development of others, people remember those who helped them learn and grow their skills. They also recall, sometimes with a wince, the times when the boss called them out when they were in the wrong. Such errors were less about the quality of their work but more about how they had treated, or mistreated, colleagues. If they paid attention, they learned from their mistakes and even better became more adept at managing and leading others.
Legacy is like an annuity. It pays dividends in the actions of others. The legacy of good leaders is one that creates a prosperous and purposeful future.
