Leadership lessons, with Leon Moores, M.D.

Happy Memorial Day, Off the Chart listeners!
In today's episode, Leon Moores, M.D., a pediatric neurosurgeon, experienced health care executive and author of "All Physicians Lead: Redefining Physician Leadership for Better Patient Outcomes," joins Medical Economics Associate Editor Austin Littrell to answer the question: What does it mean to lead when you don't have all the answers?
Moores argues that every physician is already exercising leadership every day, whether they recognize it or not, and that the clinical skills physicians already have are a better leadership template than most realize. He explains why projecting false confidence is more damaging than acknowledging what you don't know, how the COVID-19 pandemic's overconfident messaging left lasting scars on public trust, and what it actually looks like to be a stabilizing force rather than a cheerleader or a panic merchant. He also walks through the most common mistake physician leaders make under stress, dismissing the people around them while rushing to the next thing, and closes with one piece of advice any leader can act on this week: listen better.

Music Credits:
Her Name by Cephas - stock.adobe.com
A Textbook Example by Skip Peck - stock.adobe.com

Editor's note: Episode timestamps and transcript produced using AI tools.

0:00 – 0:24 | Sponsor message Copic medical liability insurance.

0:24 – 0:42 | Cold open Dr. Moores previews the episode's core argument: by any fundamental definition of leadership, every physician is already doing it every day.

0:42 – 1:42 | Introduction Austin Littrell wishes listeners a happy Memorial Day and introduces the episode and Dr. Moores.

1:42 – 2:26 | Meet Dr. Leon Moores Dr. Moores introduces himself: nearly 37 years as a pediatric neurosurgeon, experience leading large health care organizations and a longtime student and teacher of leadership.

2:26 – 5:54 | How uncertainty affects medical teams Dr. Moores contextualizes today's uncertainty against the COVID-19 pandemic and argues that leaders need to recognize that personal pressures don't stay at the door when people come to work.

5:54 – 8:19 | What teams need from their leaders Be honest about what you don't know, say so upfront and tell your team that your recommendations may change as you learn more. Leaders are affected by uncertainty too, and self-awareness is the prerequisite for self-management.

8:19 – 10:59 | Every physician is already a leader By the basic definition of leadership, influencing behavior to achieve a desired result, every physician is leading every day. The clinical framework physicians already use maps almost exactly onto effective leadership practice.

10:59 – 13:33 | Calm vs. honest: finding the balance Using the Apollo 13 analogy, Dr. Moores explains the difference between being a credible stabilizing force and being either a robot or a cheerleader. Acknowledge the problem, don't panic and don't pretend everything is fine when it isn't.

13:33 – 14:22 | P2 Management Minute Keith Reynolds shares practice management tips and invites listeners to submit their own workflow ideas.

14:22 – 16:43 | How to deliver difficult news without losing trust Show some humanity. Let your team know you're affected too. The Wizard of Oz leadership approach, telling everyone it's fine while standing behind the curtain, destroys credibility. Being honest builds the psychological safety that allows people to raise their hand when something is wrong.

16:43 – 18:51 | Seeing stress in team members who don't speak up Dr. Moores' advice: ask. Repeatedly. Create an environment where it's genuinely okay to say you're having a tough day, and people will eventually use it.

18:51 – 23:23 | Building trust before a crisis hits Trust is a bank account built over time through small, consistent actions: celebrating questions, welcoming challenges and pausing to actually listen. Dr. Moores describes an OR team with 123 combined years of experience and explains what you lose when even one of them doesn't feel safe to speak up.

23:23 – 26:06 | The most common leadership mistake under stress Dismissiveness, brushing off a question because you're moving too fast to stop. It's rarely intentional, but it persists. Stopping for 60 seconds to make eye contact and engage does more for team trust than most leaders realize.

26:06 – 28:32 | The one thing to do differently this week Listen better. Put the phone away, turn to face the person, sit down if they're sitting and don't mentally move on to the next thing while they're still talking.

28:32 – 30:30 | Closing thoughts and outro Dr. Moores closes with a reminder about acknowledging uncertainty honestly and the years it will take to rebuild societal trust in medicine. Littrell thanks listeners and wraps the episode.