What Changes When Your Job Becomes Building Others

Lessons in Orthopaedic Leadership: An AOA Podcast

A new chair’s first year can feel like drinking from a fire hose—until the patterns emerge. Dr. Doug Lundy speaks with Dr. Jennifer Wolf, Chair of Orthopaedic Surgery and Rehabilitation Medicine at the University of Chicago, to unpack what truly shifts when your role becomes building others: the politics you don’t see until you’re in the seat, the communication cadence that keeps a department aligned, and the quiet decisions that make or break culture.

We also delve into the structural elements of leadership: when to appoint vice chairs, how to select division chiefs fairly and why an application process can reveal motivation more effectively than seniority.

Whether you’re a surgeon aspiring to leadership or a chair refining your playbook, this conversation offers lessons on culture, structure, and strategy—delivered with humility and practical insight. Subscribe, share with a colleague ready to lead, and leave a review noting the one leadership practice you’d adopt tomorrow.

Kapitel

1. What Changes When Your Job Becomes Building Others (00:00:00)

2. Welcome And Guest Introduction (00:00:23)

3. Path To The Chair Role (00:02:26)

4. Internal Candidate, External Learning Curve (00:04:33)

5. Moving Institutions And Career Strategy (00:06:19)

6. Deciding When To Leave Or Stay (00:07:40)

7. Bringing Change Without “Back Home We…” (00:09:30)

8. From Colleague To Chair (00:11:19)

9. Finding Support Among Fellow Chairs (00:14:17)

10. Building Leadership Teams And Culture (00:15:41)

11. Selecting Division Chiefs Fairly (00:17:14)

12. First 90 Days And Key Books (00:19:08)

13. Translating Administration To Faculty (00:22:27)

14. Formal Training And Getting The Right People (00:25:01)

15. Competing In A Red Ocean Market (00:27:47)

16. Strengths, Gaps, And Managing Staff (00:29:13)

17. Scope Surprises And Protecting Clinical Time (00:31:04)

18. Advice For Aspiring Leaders (00:33:05)

19. No Regrets And Recruiting Wins (00:35:16)