Creating Academic Cultures Where Faculty Thrive

Coaching isn't a nice-to-have in academic medicine. It's an evidence-based strategy for individual flourishing and organizational health.

That was the message I brought to the Medical College of Wisconsin last week, and I'm deeply grateful they made space for it.

I was honored to be invited by their Leadership Learning Collaborative and Council for Women's Advocacy to speak on coaching in academic medicine — a topic close to my heart and my research.

We covered a lot of ground:
• The evidence base for coaching at both the individual and organizational level
• The landscape of coaching models currently used in academic medicine
• How coaching, mentoring, and sponsorship are distinct — and why that distinction matters
• Results from the peer coaching program for Scientist Mothers (MOMENTUM) that we've built at Pitt
• How we're scaling this impactful model to reach more faculty

What struck me most in the room was the hunger for this work. Faculty leaders who are already doing so much, asking how to do it better — for themselves and for the people they lead.

To the MCW community: thank you for your warmth, your curiosity, and your commitment to building academic cultures where people can actually thrive. You reminded me why this work matters.

If you're thinking about how coaching could serve your institution or your faculty — I'd love to talk. 🌱