As a mature academic orthopaedist and role model, professors must put the ego in one pillar to the left, the personal agenda in another pillar to the right, and the achievements of the training program and the accomplishments of the individual residents as the main central pillar. All three of these efforts should be satisfied, but the center pillar is the most important. Treat your colleagues and your faculty like you wanted to be treated when you were in their position. Also, manage the orthopaedic residents in the same way that you wanted to be managed as a resident. Leadership requires discipline, focus, and continuity in a democratic environment where opinions are sought.
Advice is taken gracefully and selectively, and decisions are made in an appropriate way.
The faculty and the residents should have meaningful input into decision making for the Department, but governance, however, cannot be by committee. An effective chief executive assimilates all the available information and acts with confidence. In an orthopaedic training program, the goal is to give residents the opportunity to become knowledgeable, acquire appropriate surgical technique, to be empathetic toward patients, and to become efficient both in professional and personal life. In achieving these goals, the residents must develop an ethical attitude that is above reproach. Honesty is the best policy, and without it the system fails.