The Circuitous Path to Leadership: Sharon Stein MD

Sometimes it starts with a roadblock.

"I don't see you as a leader here."

That short sentence put Sharon Stein MD, a colorectal surgeon, on a path to leadership excellence.

In a specialty still dominated by men in leadership positions, this is a path that calls for confidence.

It's a world in which women are still told that they're "too nice" for surgery; that they won't be able to have children.

Stein recalls that when male surgeons took appropriate command of the O.R., they were said to be "acting like surgeons."

When Stein did the same, she was judged harshly. "Sharon," nurses would say, "I thought you were our friend."

In an environment still fraught with sexism and misogyny, finding one's natural and confident leadership style is challenging for women.

"It would be nice to change the playing field so that everyone has the same opportunity," says Stein. "But I also think we have to create more leaders who can change the environment."

Stein went off to make herself not only look, but feel, like a leader.

At the Association of Women Surgeons Stein began to trust and lean into her natural strengths, with others cheering her on.

There, she began to hear things like, "Wow, you have a really great idea. Let's run with it," she says.

She was also able to make mistakes -- a key to all growth.

"We think we're on this race with somebody else and that there's only one direction to go," she says. "But for me, it's been very much about pivoting in places that felt right and listening to my own heart."

Eventually, Stein became president of the Association of Women Surgeons, national program chair and a member of the executive council for The American Society of Colorectal Surgeons. She is currently chair of the Women in Surgery Committee of the American College of Surgeons and the chair of the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons Surgical Leadership Task Force.

Stein's path to leadership -- and life in general -- has been a winding path to her own true self.

A long-time wilderness adventurer and survival course leader, nature was one of Stein's most influential teachers.

Nature taught her to navigate and also pivot, if necessary -- go right instead of left. "It's about making the best decisions that I can with the information that I have," says Stein, summarizing her approach to everything from wilderness to surgery.

Stein's circuitous path to success was the inspiration for Pivot Consulting LLC, where Stein coaches women surgeons to become confident, effective leaders.

Leadership skills are necessary for most areas of surgery practice, after all. Surgeons lead teams in the O.R.; they must lead patients and families through complex decisions.

"I help women surgeons pivot into that space where they can be most effective," she says. "I don't want them to be me. I don't want them to be you. I don't want them to be the prior leader of surgery. I want them to be themselves."

At the end of the day, confidence is about being oneself.

"I'm not sure life is ever fair. But we make our opportunities where we can," says Stein, likening herself to a heliotrope that inclines itself toward the light.

Through Pivot Consulting, she is guiding other women to find their own true light.