Table 2.

“Essential” and “Very Important” Leadership Skills for Medical Residents^a

Skill	Domain	N	Median (IQR)
Essential
The resident communicates effectively with individuals, across a spectrum of age, gender, ability, and social, cultural, religious, and ethnic backgrounds	Cognitive skills	16	5.0 (5.0, 5.0)
The resident solicits and acts upon feedback from a variety of sources	Character	16	5.0 (5.0, 5.0)
The resident treats mistakes as learning opportunities	Character	16	5.0 (4.0, 5.0)
The resident can articulate one's own individual strengths and limitations	Emotional intelligence	16	5.0 (4.0, 5.0)
The resident can articulate one's own personal and professional goals	Emotional intelligence	16	5.0 (4.0, 5.0)
The resident has a clear sense of their role, responsibilities, and purpose within the team	Emotional intelligence	16	5.0 (4.0, 5.0)
The resident values, respects, and promotes equality and diversity	Character	16	5.0 (4.0, 5.0)
The resident takes appropriate action if ethics and values are compromised	Character	16	5.0 (4.0, 5.0)
The resident delegates tasks to appropriate team members	Cognitive skills	16	5.0 (4.0, 5.0)
The resident provides effective feedback to team members regarding performance	Cognitive skills	16	5.0 (4.0, 5.0)
The resident actively seeks opportunities for personal learning and professional development	Emotional intelligence	16	4.5 (4.0, 5.0)
The resident demonstrates self-awareness (eg, can identify when leadership skills are not working)b	Emotional intelligence	14	4.5 (4.0, 5.0)
Very Important
The resident fosters collaboration (eg, actively seeks contributions, expertise, and views of others to build and sustain relationships)	Character	16	4.0 (4.0, 5.0)
The resident can articulate individual values and principles, understanding how these may differ from those of others	Character	14	4.0 (4.0, 5.0)
The resident appreciates that strong clinical leadership can provide opportunities to improve patient care	Cognitive skills	16	4.0 (4.0, 5.0)
The resident plans workload and activities to fulfill work requirements and commitments, without compromising their own health (ie, maintains work-life balance)	Cognitive skills	16	4.0 (4.0, 5.0)
The resident recognizes others' contributions and efforts, celebrating individual and team victories	Emotional intelligence	14	4.0 (4.0, 5.0)
The resident employs effective conflict resolution strategies	Cognitive skills	14	4.0 (4.0, 5.0)
The resident appreciates population, public, and social determinants of healthb	Cognitive skills	14	4.0 (4.0, 5.0)
The resident adapts leadership style to a given situation	Emotional intelligence	16	4.0 (3.5, 5.0)
The resident can define leadership	Cognitive skills	14	4.0 (3.0, 4.0)

^aResults from 2019 Delphi survey of panelists with expertise in leadership and in graduate medical education.

^bSkills generated by participants from round 1 free text responses.