Smita Halder

Discipline: Clinical Research

Institution: McMaster University

Email: Halders@mcmaster.ca

Biography

I am a physician with over 25 years of clinical and research experience. I know the demands we all face, and how difficult it can be navigating a road to personal advancement. I also know that people have the ability to become empowered to truly make an impact on themselves, on others, and their future. Coaching was a foreign concept to me until a few years ago. It was offered as part of a leadership course, but I had no idea how it could be of benefit to me or my career. Within the first session, I had gained clarity on a key goal and experienced one of the most powerful conversations in my career. At the time, I had applied for a leadership position in my hospital. But I had nagging high self doubt and low self belief. I could not imagine that I had anything the executive team was looking for. By the end of my coaching sessions, I believed that I had everything the team was looking for… and I was successful at the interview. Personally, I have seen the enormous impact coaching can have on one’s life. I wanted to train as a certified physician development coach with the aspiration that other physicians could be impacted in a similar way. Empowering physicians is my new and fulfilling passion. I entered medicine to make a difference; that desire has not changed, nor diminished. By coaching physicians to become effective, I will impact more people than I would ever do on my own.