Leadership Development

Leadership coaching is a tailored mix of ‘pure’ coaching and leadership development education. Coaching provides a provide a safe and supportive place to discuss issues and challenges in your professional life in a secure and confidential space. In coaching the goals and agenda of the session is set by the client; and the coaching conversation method provides a process to expand thinking and understanding, through talking, questions, reflections and making associations.

Leadership coaching brings a sharpened focus to this work by directing attention to the leadership roles and leadership work doctors do alongside their clinical and technical work, and where the coach can also take up a training and education role at times to draw on leadership concepts and skills to support effective leadership practice as and when it is meaningful and appropriate in the conversation.

Leadership coaching is distinct in that it looks specifically through a leadership lens. It focuses on how you take up leadership in role and how you perform in a formal or informal leadership position. This may include strengthening your leadership identity, building confidence to step into expanded responsibility, leading teams effectively, navigating conflict, influencing stakeholders and creating psychologically safe and accountable team cultures. The emphasis is on building leadership capacity and maturity over time and supporting you to lead with clarity, authority and intention.

Career coaching, by contrast, is focused on direction and decision making. It helps you clarify your career trajectory, explore pathways and make informed choices about next steps. This includes identifying strengths, reviewing applications, preparing for interviews and navigating training or role transitions. The emphasis is on career planning, positioning and managing your professional journey over time.

Professional coaching takes a broader systems lens. It focuses on how you take up and navigate complex roles within complex environments, whether or not they are formal leadership roles. This includes decision making, role clarity, boundaries, competing expectations and how you position yourself within your workplace. The emphasis is on judgement, perspective and sustained effectiveness within the system you work in.

High performance coaching is explicitly goal and outcome focused. It centres on defining a clear objective, establishing measurable milestones and driving disciplined follow through. The work is structured, intentional and performance oriented. It is particularly useful when you want to lift performance in a defined area, prepare for a significant deliverable or achieve a specific target within a set timeframe.

In summary:

• Career coaching is future oriented and decision focused.

• Leadership coaching builds leadership capability and capacity in role.

• Professional coaching supports you to navigate complex roles and systems with clarity and judgement.

• High performance coaching is structured and outcome driven, focused on measurable results.

Each approach serves a different purpose and can be tailored to your career stage, role and professional priorities.

Leadership coaching can help you make sense of the leadership challenges that arise alongside your clinical and technical work, particularly when situations feel complex, high stakes or difficult to navigate alone.

You might engage a leadership coach when stepping into a new formal leadership role, taking on increased responsibility, leading a team through change or managing challenging professional dynamics. It can also be valuable when you want to strengthen your leadership presence, decision making, communication or capacity to influence within complex systems.

Leadership coaching provides a confidential and supportive space to think through these issues with structure and depth. The agenda is set by you, and the coaching process expands your thinking through reflection, questioning and dialogue. At times, relevant leadership concepts and skills may be introduced to support effective leadership practice where this is meaningful and appropriate.

Engaging a leadership coach is often less about fixing a problem and more about choosing to lead with purpose, with greater clarity, capability and confidence.

Leadership coaching may be right for you if you are stepping into a formal leadership role, leading a team or service, navigating complex professional relationships or wanting to strengthen how you take up leadership in your current position.

You do not need to hold a titled leadership role to benefit. Many doctors seek coaching to build confidence, refine their leadership approach, manage difficult conversations more effectively or create stronger, more collaborative team environments.

Your coach is Dr Anna Clark (PhD). 

Anna Clark is an experienced consultant, coach, and educator with over 18 years’ experience in designing and developing professional development and education programs across universities, business schools and for the school education and health sectors. She holds a PhD in social psychology and a Bachelor of Behavioural Science (Psych, Hons). She has held academic positions in psychology and organisational behaviour in the Netherlands, France and Australia.

Anna has taught organisational behaviour, communication skills and leadership development in MBA and executive education programs. She now focuses on providing tailored leadership coaching and development programs to help leaders at all levels transition to and thrive in their leadership roles. A Level 1 IECL certified coach, Anna has completed 100’s of hours of coaching, supporting doctors to transition into and thrive in leadership roles.

Anna also writes regularly for AMA Victoria, publishing on leadership topics highly relevant to the complex care and collaborative leadership required in healthcare settings.

Coaching programs and education programs both support doctors in their professional growth, but they differ in purpose, structure and approach.

Coaching programs are personalised and reflective. They provide a confidential, independent space for doctors to explore current challenges, clarify goals, and think more deeply about their professional role and direction. Coaching is typically client-led, with the agenda shaped by the doctor’s needs. Through dialogue, reflection and constructive challenge, the coach supports expanded thinking, greater self-awareness and sustainable change. While relevant models or concepts may be introduced where helpful, the primary focus is on facilitating insight, decision-making and practical action in the doctor’s real-world context.

Education programs, by contrast, are structured professional development experiences designed to build specific knowledge and skills. Developed exclusively for doctors, they focus on strengthening practical capability in leadership, communication and creating psychological safety in clinical environments. Delivered through tailored small group programs and 1:1 development formats, they provide shared learning, applied frameworks and skill development that can be implemented immediately in practice. Education programs may also include structured mentoring to support career transitions, as well as accredited training such as Impairment Assessment Training.

In essence, coaching is individually tailored and centred on the doctor’s own goals and challenges, while education programs are structured and curriculum-based, focused on developing defined capabilities. Both approaches are complementary and can be valuable at different stages of a doctor’s professional journey.

Programs that combine leadership coaching and education bring together two complementary forms of development.

The education component provides structured learning, practical frameworks and applied leadership concepts designed specifically for doctors. These sessions build knowledge, introduce tools and explore common leadership challenges in medical workplaces.

The coaching component provides space for reflection and application. Through guided discussion with a coach you can work through real situations from your role, test ideas, clarify your thinking and develop practical approaches that fit your context.

Together education and coaching support both learning and implementation, helping doctors translate leadership concepts into everyday practice in their workplace.