According to Amal Mattu, MD, FAAEM, FACEP, great leaders are not always found in administrative or managerial roles. In his lecture “Everyday Leaders: Secrets of Great Leaders Through the Ages,” Dr. Mattu will discuss what it means to be a great leader in every facet of life, not just during an ED shift.

“Leadership is not just about leading millions of people or having titles,” said Dr. Mattu, vice chair of education at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore. “Leadership is about mentoring, inspiring, challenging, teaching, motivating—all of the things we hope to do as teachers and as physicians.” Dr. Mattu will examples and quotes from the lives of famous world leaders throughout history, including Martin Luther King, Jr., Gandhi, John F. Kennedy, and Eleanor Roosevelt.

Dr. Mattu said that most great leaders are remembered for the conflicts that they faced during their lives. For this reason, he encourages his audiences to “embrace conflict, because conflict and obstacles are what define great leaders.” He also tells aspiring leaders to “suggest solutions, not just identify problems.”

Through a series of slides displaying images of everyone from Winston Churchill to his own wife and children, Dr. Mattu will highlight experiences from his professional and personal lives to illustrate skills and philosophies held by great leaders, including what it means to listen to and understand what someone is saying.

“Most people have two ears and one mouth, so they should listen twice as much,” Dr. Mattu said. Overall he hopes to inspire attendees to set positive examples of leadership on and off the clock.

“It’s not about being above others or commanding others,” Dr. Mattu advised. “Leadership is about being the kind of person who other people want to follow not because they have to or because it’s their job, but because they want to because of what their heart is telling them.”

Michael O’Neal is a writer based in New Jersey.