I recently had the honor of presenting data on how surgeons perceive the value of coaching at the American Orthopaedic Association Annual Leadership Meeting. After more than 900 coaching hours and close to 100 clients, a few clear themes emerged. While each coaching relationship is deeply personal, the overall trends are telling.
One of the biggest takeaways? Choice matters.
While some coaching engagements were mandatory, the majority were voluntary. And consistently, it was the voluntary clients who reported the highest value. When physicians choose coaching for themselves, they show up with intention. They’re engaged, open, and more consistent. In those relationships, the client truly thrives.
What Brings Surgeons to Coaching?
One of the most common questions I get as a coach is: “What do surgeons come to you for?”
The answers vary, but certain themes consistently stand out—career transitions, communication, practice management, and leadership. For this study, I tracked the general focus or purpose of each coaching session. While many sessions addressed multiple topics, such as both communication and practice management, there was significant overlap in the challenges surgeons faced.
Even though every client’s story is unique, it’s no surprise that common patterns emerged. What sets coaching apart is the approach: instead of offering prescriptive solutions, coaching empowers clients to think critically about their circumstances and design their own way forward. That difference is powerful.
These coaching purposes—and the overlap between them—highlight the complexity of modern surgical practice. We operate in one of the most demanding, high-stakes professional environments with real consequences. Yet traditional training often leaves us unprepared for the non-technical, human challenges we encounter daily.
Coaching Is Not Just for “Struggling” Surgeons
Let’s be clear: I was not an early adopter of coaching.
I didn’t experience professional coaching until 2012, when I was 15 years into practice. By then, I was simply surviving—not thriving. Like many, I assumed that being intelligent and working hard would be enough. I believed perfection and clinical mastery were the right path. But over time, I began to see signs and a growing awareness that something had to change. Eventually, my curiosity led me to coaching.
Since then, coaching has helped me find an improved work-life rhythm, greater professional fulfillment, and a more sustainable career. Now, after over a decade of practicing and coaching colleagues, I’ve guided many other physicians through their personal growth journeys. Not by telling them what to do—but by helping them figure it out for themselves.
A Different Kind of Support
Coaching is not therapy. It’s not consulting. It’s not mentoring. Coaching is a confidential, collaborative process in which the client is the expert in their own life. The coaches at SurgeonMasters are mostly physicians offering a different type of connection because they have experienced the same pressures and unique culture of medicine that the client has. Therefore, coaching offers the client a safe space for personal growth, professional development, and peak performance. And from what I’ve experienced, the impact is real. Each session is about supporting the client and their goals, not fixing their “problems.”
What the Data Says
The coach engaged in coaching relationships with 96 surgeon clients. Of these, 54 clients initiated the coaching relationship directly, while 42 were referred to the coach through an EAP.
- Across all clients, the average perceived value of coaching (APVC) was 4.31 out of 5.
- Voluntary clients received the highest average perceived value at 4.49.
- Mandatory coaching clients had the lowest value, averaging 3.89, and even lower (3.47) when the mandate came through an EAP.
- Among EAP clients, voluntary engagements scored 4.56, while mandatory engagements scored 3.47.
This suggests what many of us know intuitively: autonomy and choice enhance engagement and outcomes.
Where We Go from Here
Professional coaching is a novel approach for physicians. It offers a structured, yet flexible, framework for self-reflection, skill-building, and meaningful progress. Based on what I’ve witnessed, coaching improves career sustainability, helps surgeons reconnect with their purpose, and supports personal wellness.
To make coaching more accessible and effective across the surgical profession, I recommend that organizations or teams:
- Offer opt-out coaching programs rather than opt-in to keep it voluntary but encouraged in our profession
- Encourage routine coaching check-ins without reporting to maintain confidentiality
- Target key career transitions or major life stressors, such as onboarding, promotion, career shifts, divorce, and family member death or major illness
While mandatory coaching may be appropriate in certain high-stakes or corrective contexts, if coaching were offered proactively, we might require fewer behavior-mandated engagements. Of course, we need further research to improve its delivery, effectiveness, and perceived value.
Let’s Keep the Conversation Going
Coaching provides a rare space in which surgeons can reflect, assess, and reset without fear of judgment. The relationship is deeply personal, but the patterns are striking. We’re just beginning to understand what’s possible when we support surgeons as people, not just as martyrs or superheroes. Coaching offers cutting-edge support for those performing at the cutting edge.
I’m excited to collaborate on future research that investigates coaching and its long-term impact. How does coaching affect leadership effectiveness? Emotional intelligence? Work-life integration? Patient outcomes? I have so many coaching questions I’m curious about.
If you take away one thing, let it be this: Coaching is most powerful when it’s proactive, not reactive. It’s a resource for achievement and change, not just a last resort.