Being Coachable — The Power of Asking for Help Before You Need It
The Call That Didn't Have to Be Urgent
I had a physician reach out to me last month in full crisis mode. She had just been blindsided by feedback from her chair, her clinical team was fracturing, and she was questioning whether she belonged in leadership at all. We started working together and made real progress. But halfway through our second session she said something that stuck with me: "I knew six months ago something was off. I just kept thinking I could handle it."
She could have called six months earlier. That one decision would have changed everything.
Why Physicians Wait Too Long
In academic medicine, asking for help carries an unspoken stigma. You are trained to be the expert, the one with answers. Reaching out before things fall apart can feel premature, even indulgent. So you wait. You tell yourself the tension with your co-investigator will resolve on its own, or that the creeping disengagement you feel is just a phase.
It almost never resolves on its own. Research from the Center for Creative Leadership has shown that leaders who engage coaching proactively — before a clear problem demands it — develop stronger self-awareness, make better transitions, and report higher career satisfaction than those who seek help only in response to difficulty.
Proactive Coaching Is a Competitive Advantage
Think of it like a starting pitcher who works with a pitching coach between starts, not just after a bad outing. The work you do when things are stable is what prepares you for the moments when they are not.
A proactive coaching physician does not wait for the annual review to reflect on how they lead. They build reflection into the rhythm of their work. They ask hard questions when the stakes are low so they are ready when the stakes get high. That is coachable physician leadership in its most practical form.
The Shift Is Simple
You do not need to be in trouble to benefit from coaching. You just need to be honest about where you want to grow. The next time you notice a small friction — a conversation you keep avoiding, a goal that feels stalled, a role that no longer fits — treat that as the signal, not the crisis that follows it.
Asking for help early is not a sign that something is wrong. It is a sign that you are paying attention.
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