Physicians who attended the Texas Medical Association’s Leadership Collective last weekend collaborated for real-world strategies to meet their goals, improve work-life-balance, and gain confidence – lessons one clinician says left him “reset” and ready to grow his career.
Almost 80 physicians packed into TMA’s Thompson Auditorium to attend the two-day retreat-style workshop, designed to be an interactive event for physicians to hone and expand their leadership skills while earning CME and networking.
The event is only one of TMA’s updated leadership offerings. TexMed 2026 will host the graduation of the Leadership College class of 2026, a program for early-career physicians. The annual meeting will also offer physicians leadership-focused programming, including CME sessions that meet requirements for TMA’s Lifelong Leadership Program – a free, self-paced 18-month program for any association member interested in organized medicine, practice leadership, and advocacy.
TMA President-Elect Bradford Holland, MD, opened Leadership Collective with an important reminder: Being a physician leader is about “caring for, encouraging, directing, and organizing those who are in your charge. … It’s about leading by example.”
The collective’s presentations on advocacy, organized medicine, professional development, and team leadership provided attendees with tangible takeaways to put into practice.
For instance, Friday’s presentation on goal setting practices for physicians covered top challenges impeding physicians from reaching their professional and personal ambitions and tips on how to overcome them.
“[Physicians] don’t have a problem setting goals. You may be one of the most motivated groups of people on the planet,” said the session’s presenter, Steven Foster, a managing partner for Foster+Fathom, a leadership development group based in Dallas. “Setting goals is not your issue. You have a problem sticking to them because of all the external constraints.”
During the session’s breakout table talks, physicians worked together to formulate take-home action plans to battle common practice issues, like a lack of time, overwhelming administrative responsibilities, and burnout. Physicians’ plans included tactics to reduce time spent on the electronic health record, improving work-life-balance, and delegating administrative tasks to appropriate practice staff.
The presentation’s discussion helped Houston internist Shangir Siddique, MD, a member of TMA’s Council on Health Promotion, “reset his framework” on approaching his personal goals.
“One of my main goals was to continue to be involved in professional development, like events just like this,” said Dr. Siddique, who will graduate from TMA’s Leadership College at TexMed 2026. “I’m very excited to continue to work on myself as a physician, leader, and advocate.”
After a short break, lawyers Daniel Sternthal and Stuart Miller – from the legal firm of Munsch Hardt Kopf & Harr – led a robust discussion on current trends in the corporate practice of medicine. The discussion, which fielded both physicians’ questions and ideas, explored key legal and regulatory developments affecting the practice of medicine in Texas.
Afterward, physicians were invited to an evening mixer followed by networking and dinner at some of Austin’s most iconic restaurants. The next day, the event continued with a complimentary breakfast followed by table discussions facilitated by Lifelong Leadership Program participants.
Sessions that afternoon addressed physicians’ imposter syndrome and confidence with presentations by Marinda Nelson, CEO of Spiral Coaching & Consulting, and Therese Gopaul-Robinson, a consultant at The Therese Gopaul Robinson Company, respectively.
San Antonio internist Nora Vasquez, MD, described the event’s programs as “innovative.” “[TMA] brings in … opportunities for [physicians] to level up not only our leadership skills, [but also] our communication skills,” the Leadership College graduate and a past TexMed speaker said.
“Also, our networking skills, which is so important, because we utilize that every day as we’re taking care of our patients, leading our teams, and really trying to improve health care.”
Keep an eye on TMA’s Calendar of Meetings for information on upcoming leadership events, such as TMA’s Leadership Summit this fall and its Business of Medicine Conference next year.