Trailblazer in psychiatry shares lessons

SAN ANTONIO – Dr. Carolyn B. Robinowitz knows a thing or two about creativity in leadership.

As one of very few female medical students at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis in the 1960s (women comprised only 8% of her graduating class), Dr. Robinowitz learned quickly that it would take a creative approach to successfully navigate a career in what was then the male-dominated world of medicine.

She became the first female psychiatrist elected to the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology and the first female president of that organization, the first woman to serve as president of the Council of Medical Specialty Societies, and the first female psychiatrist to be named dean of a U.S. medical school (at Georgetown University School of Medicine) – just to name a few of her accomplishments. Dr. Robinowitz also holds the mantle as the 134th president of the American Psychiatric Association.

During a session on creativity in leadership at the annual meeting of the American College of Psychiatrists, she shared a bit about her experiences, including a not-so-traditional (at the time) dual medical career marriage, and a rather traditional habit of moving to where there was work – for her husband. She talked about the creative ways she made those moves work in her favor and how she found ways to fit in with her male colleagues – and to make a name for herself in medicine.

After a move to Miami, for example, she had to work hard to gain the respect of her colleagues, and in addition to making sure to demonstrate her medical expertise, she also became an expert on something else of great importance there that helped her to be part of the conversation: the Miami Dolphins.

An important lesson she learned – which is something that is true with patients, as well – is that to work with people, you have to be where they are, she said.

She quickly moved up the career ladder.

Along the way she encountered covert – and sometime overt – gender bias and cultural expectations that conflicted with her goals, she said, adding that women have come a long way since then.

When she first began her work as dean at Georgetown, women comprised 32% of medical students. When she left the position 6 years later, that figure had risen to 47%.

"A lot of that was what was going on nationally," she said.

But she did work to play a part – in her own way – in making a difference.

"Just being visible" was something she found to be important. When young women visited for admissions committee interviews, she would make it a point to be visible, even if just to walk past.

"The person with the applicants would say, ‘Oh, that’s our dean,’ " she explained, noting that she felt her presence provided encouragement to those young women, and reinforced the fact that women could – and did –have a place at the head of the table.

Dr. Robinowitz said that during the times when women were such a small minority in leadership roles, there was a sense that the problem would "fix itself when the pipeline got more full," and that female physicians just needed to act more like male physicians if they wanted to succeed.

Research – and her own personal experience – show that is not the case; women and men sometimes have very different styles of leadership.

For example, men might tend to be results oriented, while women tend to be more concerned with the process.

In the past decade, a great deal of research from the fields of neuroscience, psychology, and business has looked at the behaviors of men and women in the workplace; some of that research shows that many of the attributes of women leaders are more conducive to success, she noted.

One survey of CEOs, for example, showed that women are particularly adept at skills such as team building and participatory decision making – important for working successfully with the "new millennial workforce" – and that women are equally as effective as are men when it comes to efficient communication and intellectual stimulation.

"We also know that there is different communication – that women tend to have ‘rapport’ communication (building relationships), while male communication is more ‘report’ communication. We also know that men are more unilaterally focused, more results focused, and less concerned with how to get there," she said.

Regardless of gender-based differences in leadership style (and there are many exceptions when it comes to these generalities), there are certain individual strategies that all leaders, male or female, should keep in mind to attain success and happiness in the work environment, Dr. Robinowitz said.

First, it is important realize that it’s not all about being number one, Dr. Robinowitz said.

Sometimes there is more fulfillment – more of an ability to make a difference – at a different level.

Her other take-home messages are as follows:

• Don’t underestimate your skills, the transferability of your experience, or how you can benefit from continuing professional development (formal or informal).

• Find a mentor, and be a mentor – and remember mentoring is not about age (a person can mentor someone older), it’s about mutual interest and the ability to communicate effectively.

• Work hard.

• Don’t be afraid to speak up.

• Don’t be afraid to be wrong – that’s where learning occurs.

• Have fun; organizational work (with specialty groups such as the American College of Psychiatrists) is different from clinical work and has important value – and it can be fun and fulfilling.

• Lead; don’t treat. As a psychiatrist in a leadership position, it can be tempting to treat, but your coworkers are not your patients," she said.

• Know the 10% rule – 10% of the people do 90% of the work, but don’t discount the other 90% as they have something to contribute, and should be encouraged to do so.

• Give positive reinforcement.

• Know that money has limitations; people really want to be seen as successful and to be part of a successful mission.

• Understand that a win-win approach involving compromise is valuable.

• Recognize your limits and support fresh ideas, energy, resources, and new leaders.

Most importantly, according to Dr. Robinowitz: Enjoy yourself.

Dr. Robinowitz reported having no disclosures.

[email protected]

SAN ANTONIO – Dr. Carolyn B. Robinowitz knows a thing or two about creativity in leadership.

As one of very few female medical students at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis in the 1960s (women comprised only 8% of her graduating class), Dr. Robinowitz learned quickly that it would take a creative approach to successfully navigate a career in what was then the male-dominated world of medicine.

She became the first female psychiatrist elected to the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology and the first female president of that organization, the first woman to serve as president of the Council of Medical Specialty Societies, and the first female psychiatrist to be named dean of a U.S. medical school (at Georgetown University School of Medicine) – just to name a few of her accomplishments. Dr. Robinowitz also holds the mantle as the 134th president of the American Psychiatric Association.

During a session on creativity in leadership at the annual meeting of the American College of Psychiatrists, she shared a bit about her experiences, including a not-so-traditional (at the time) dual medical career marriage, and a rather traditional habit of moving to where there was work – for her husband. She talked about the creative ways she made those moves work in her favor and how she found ways to fit in with her male colleagues – and to make a name for herself in medicine.

After a move to Miami, for example, she had to work hard to gain the respect of her colleagues, and in addition to making sure to demonstrate her medical expertise, she also became an expert on something else of great importance there that helped her to be part of the conversation: the Miami Dolphins.

An important lesson she learned – which is something that is true with patients, as well – is that to work with people, you have to be where they are, she said.

She quickly moved up the career ladder.

Along the way she encountered covert – and sometime overt – gender bias and cultural expectations that conflicted with her goals, she said, adding that women have come a long way since then.

When she first began her work as dean at Georgetown, women comprised 32% of medical students. When she left the position 6 years later, that figure had risen to 47%.

"A lot of that was what was going on nationally," she said.

But she did work to play a part – in her own way – in making a difference.

"Just being visible" was something she found to be important. When young women visited for admissions committee interviews, she would make it a point to be visible, even if just to walk past.

"The person with the applicants would say, ‘Oh, that’s our dean,’ " she explained, noting that she felt her presence provided encouragement to those young women, and reinforced the fact that women could – and did –have a place at the head of the table.

Dr. Robinowitz said that during the times when women were such a small minority in leadership roles, there was a sense that the problem would "fix itself when the pipeline got more full," and that female physicians just needed to act more like male physicians if they wanted to succeed.

Research – and her own personal experience – show that is not the case; women and men sometimes have very different styles of leadership.

For example, men might tend to be results oriented, while women tend to be more concerned with the process.

In the past decade, a great deal of research from the fields of neuroscience, psychology, and business has looked at the behaviors of men and women in the workplace; some of that research shows that many of the attributes of women leaders are more conducive to success, she noted.

One survey of CEOs, for example, showed that women are particularly adept at skills such as team building and participatory decision making – important for working successfully with the "new millennial workforce" – and that women are equally as effective as are men when it comes to efficient communication and intellectual stimulation.

"We also know that there is different communication – that women tend to have ‘rapport’ communication (building relationships), while male communication is more ‘report’ communication. We also know that men are more unilaterally focused, more results focused, and less concerned with how to get there," she said.

Regardless of gender-based differences in leadership style (and there are many exceptions when it comes to these generalities), there are certain individual strategies that all leaders, male or female, should keep in mind to attain success and happiness in the work environment, Dr. Robinowitz said.

First, it is important realize that it’s not all about being number one, Dr. Robinowitz said.

Sometimes there is more fulfillment – more of an ability to make a difference – at a different level.

Her other take-home messages are as follows:

• Don’t underestimate your skills, the transferability of your experience, or how you can benefit from continuing professional development (formal or informal).

• Find a mentor, and be a mentor – and remember mentoring is not about age (a person can mentor someone older), it’s about mutual interest and the ability to communicate effectively.

• Work hard.

• Don’t be afraid to speak up.

• Don’t be afraid to be wrong – that’s where learning occurs.

• Have fun; organizational work (with specialty groups such as the American College of Psychiatrists) is different from clinical work and has important value – and it can be fun and fulfilling.

• Lead; don’t treat. As a psychiatrist in a leadership position, it can be tempting to treat, but your coworkers are not your patients," she said.

• Know the 10% rule – 10% of the people do 90% of the work, but don’t discount the other 90% as they have something to contribute, and should be encouraged to do so.

• Give positive reinforcement.

• Know that money has limitations; people really want to be seen as successful and to be part of a successful mission.

• Understand that a win-win approach involving compromise is valuable.

• Recognize your limits and support fresh ideas, energy, resources, and new leaders.

Most importantly, according to Dr. Robinowitz: Enjoy yourself.

Dr. Robinowitz reported having no disclosures.

[email protected]

SAN ANTONIO – Dr. Carolyn B. Robinowitz knows a thing or two about creativity in leadership.

As one of very few female medical students at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis in the 1960s (women comprised only 8% of her graduating class), Dr. Robinowitz learned quickly that it would take a creative approach to successfully navigate a career in what was then the male-dominated world of medicine.

She became the first female psychiatrist elected to the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology and the first female president of that organization, the first woman to serve as president of the Council of Medical Specialty Societies, and the first female psychiatrist to be named dean of a U.S. medical school (at Georgetown University School of Medicine) – just to name a few of her accomplishments. Dr. Robinowitz also holds the mantle as the 134th president of the American Psychiatric Association.

During a session on creativity in leadership at the annual meeting of the American College of Psychiatrists, she shared a bit about her experiences, including a not-so-traditional (at the time) dual medical career marriage, and a rather traditional habit of moving to where there was work – for her husband. She talked about the creative ways she made those moves work in her favor and how she found ways to fit in with her male colleagues – and to make a name for herself in medicine.

After a move to Miami, for example, she had to work hard to gain the respect of her colleagues, and in addition to making sure to demonstrate her medical expertise, she also became an expert on something else of great importance there that helped her to be part of the conversation: the Miami Dolphins.

An important lesson she learned – which is something that is true with patients, as well – is that to work with people, you have to be where they are, she said.

She quickly moved up the career ladder.

Along the way she encountered covert – and sometime overt – gender bias and cultural expectations that conflicted with her goals, she said, adding that women have come a long way since then.

When she first began her work as dean at Georgetown, women comprised 32% of medical students. When she left the position 6 years later, that figure had risen to 47%.

"A lot of that was what was going on nationally," she said.

But she did work to play a part – in her own way – in making a difference.

"Just being visible" was something she found to be important. When young women visited for admissions committee interviews, she would make it a point to be visible, even if just to walk past.

"The person with the applicants would say, ‘Oh, that’s our dean,’ " she explained, noting that she felt her presence provided encouragement to those young women, and reinforced the fact that women could – and did –have a place at the head of the table.

Dr. Robinowitz said that during the times when women were such a small minority in leadership roles, there was a sense that the problem would "fix itself when the pipeline got more full," and that female physicians just needed to act more like male physicians if they wanted to succeed.

Research – and her own personal experience – show that is not the case; women and men sometimes have very different styles of leadership.

For example, men might tend to be results oriented, while women tend to be more concerned with the process.

In the past decade, a great deal of research from the fields of neuroscience, psychology, and business has looked at the behaviors of men and women in the workplace; some of that research shows that many of the attributes of women leaders are more conducive to success, she noted.

One survey of CEOs, for example, showed that women are particularly adept at skills such as team building and participatory decision making – important for working successfully with the "new millennial workforce" – and that women are equally as effective as are men when it comes to efficient communication and intellectual stimulation.

"We also know that there is different communication – that women tend to have ‘rapport’ communication (building relationships), while male communication is more ‘report’ communication. We also know that men are more unilaterally focused, more results focused, and less concerned with how to get there," she said.

Regardless of gender-based differences in leadership style (and there are many exceptions when it comes to these generalities), there are certain individual strategies that all leaders, male or female, should keep in mind to attain success and happiness in the work environment, Dr. Robinowitz said.

First, it is important realize that it’s not all about being number one, Dr. Robinowitz said.

Sometimes there is more fulfillment – more of an ability to make a difference – at a different level.

Her other take-home messages are as follows:

• Don’t underestimate your skills, the transferability of your experience, or how you can benefit from continuing professional development (formal or informal).

• Find a mentor, and be a mentor – and remember mentoring is not about age (a person can mentor someone older), it’s about mutual interest and the ability to communicate effectively.

• Work hard.

• Don’t be afraid to speak up.

• Don’t be afraid to be wrong – that’s where learning occurs.

• Have fun; organizational work (with specialty groups such as the American College of Psychiatrists) is different from clinical work and has important value – and it can be fun and fulfilling.

• Lead; don’t treat. As a psychiatrist in a leadership position, it can be tempting to treat, but your coworkers are not your patients," she said.

• Know the 10% rule – 10% of the people do 90% of the work, but don’t discount the other 90% as they have something to contribute, and should be encouraged to do so.

• Give positive reinforcement.

• Know that money has limitations; people really want to be seen as successful and to be part of a successful mission.

• Understand that a win-win approach involving compromise is valuable.

• Recognize your limits and support fresh ideas, energy, resources, and new leaders.

Most importantly, according to Dr. Robinowitz: Enjoy yourself.

Dr. Robinowitz reported having no disclosures.

[email protected]