The Next Standard in Surgical Training
Precision Leadership for the Modern Surgeon.
Over the past year I’ve been developing a leadership and emotional intelligence curriculum designed specifically for surgical environments. It focuses on competencies that now sit alongside technical mastery in modern training:
• Communication under pressure
• Emotional regulation in high-acuity situations
• Psychological safety
• Conflict navigation in hierarchical teams
The framework:
• Aligns with ACGME core competencies
• Is grounded in data linking emotional intelligence to:
- Surgical team performance
- Patient safety
- Physician well-being
Waiting has real costs, including:
• Communication breakdowns
• OR inefficiencies
• Burnout and turnover among residents and attendings
That’s why more institutions are integrating structured leadership development earlier in surgical training.
Several programs in North Carolina are now exploring this curriculum for both general surgery residents and attending surgeons, and it has already been approved at one of the leading academic programs in the region.
The Curriculum: Advanced Surgical Leadership
Module 01
Executive Presence & Emotional Intelligence
Mastering the relational shifts required to lead high-stakes medical teams. Focus on self-awareness and intentional communication.
Module 02
Composure Under Pressure
The neuroscience of why leaders lose control in high-stakes moments and the evidence-based techniques to stay clear, grounded, and decisive when it matters most. Built for the realities of the OR, the ER, and every clinical environment where pressure never lets up.
Module 03
High-Stakes Communication & Influence
Practical tools for leading conversations that build trust, alignment, and buy-in. Master active listening, non-verbal communication, and EQ-driven strategies that land in the OR, the boardroom, and every high-pressure interaction in between.
Module 04
Building Psychologically Safe Teams
Why Google's most extensive research identified psychological safety as the #1 predictor of team effectiveness, and how to build it in clinical environments where hierarchy, pressure, and perfectionism work against it. Grounded in Edmondson's research and real-world healthcare application.
Module 05
Navigating Conflict with Emotional Intelligence
The conversations every leader dreads but can't avoid. Learn the SPIKES framework adapted for leadership, the Calm, Clarify, Confirm method for de-escalation, and EQ-based strategies for managing the difficult personalities that exist in every organization.
Module 06
Integration & Your
30-Day EQ Leadership Plan
Synthesize every pillar into a personalized action plan you'll actually use. Reassess your leadership baseline, set measurable goals, and leave with a clear roadmap for sustaining the growth long after the course ends.
Executive Presence Under Pressure
The ability to lead with clarity and composure when the stakes are highest, in the OR, in the boardroom, and in the conversations that define your career.
Emotionally Intelligent Communication
Practical tools to navigate difficult conversations, deliver feedback that lands, and build the kind of trust that makes teams want to follow you.
Psychological Safety & Team Culture
Evidence-based strategies to create environments where your team speaks up, owns mistakes, and performs at their best.
Sustainable High Performance
Frameworks for maintaining peak leadership without the burnout cycle that takes down so many brilliant clinicians.
What This Curriculum Develops
The Mind Behind The Method
Gina Catalano, CPC, ACC, ELI-MP
Founder & President, Centro Forza Group
I spent over 20 years leading high-performing teams across five Fortune 500 healthcare companies, including BD, Medtronic, Sanofi, and Intuitive Surgical. Many of those years were spent in the operating room space, working shoulder to shoulder with surgeons, clinical staff, and the executive teams responsible for driving quality outcomes across complex health systems.
I know what healthcare leaders are up against. I've sat in the rooms where decisions about staffing, culture, retention, and performance are made under impossible timelines. I've seen what happens when brilliant clinicians get promoted into leadership roles they were never trained for. And I've coached the executives trying to hold it all together while their teams burn out around them.
My approach is grounded in data. I use validated assessment tools to baseline where leaders are, measure where they grow, and deliver outcomes that institutions can actually quantify. This isn't motivational speaking. It's structured, evidence-based leadership development designed for environments where quality metrics, patient safety, and team performance are non-negotiable.
I didn't come to this work from a textbook. I came to it from the field. And I've been on the other side of the bed, too. Three times, I've been the family member in the ICU watching the people I love most fight for their lives. That changes how you see leadership in healthcare. Permanently.
• Fortune 500 Healthcare Leadership (BD, Medtronic, Sanofi, Intuitive Surgical)
• Certified Professional Coach (CPC)™
• Associate Certified Coach (ACC)™
• Master Energy Leadership™ Practitioner (ELI-MP)
• Forbes Contributor
• Best-Selling Author: The Leadership Wake-Up Call
• Published in Forbes, Fast Company, Home Business, All Business, She Owns It
The Cost of Doing Nothing
01
What CEOs Are Saying
ACHE’s 2025 Top Issues Survey shows hospital CEOs most concerned about financial pressures, workforce challenges, and governmental mandates—especially the strain on people.
02
Burnout Signals
• 73% cited burnout among medical staff
• 59% cited burnout among hospital leaders
03
Talent & Pipeline Risk
• 57% identified talent management, including recruitment, retention, succession planning, and leadership development
• 50% pointed to succession planning and the leadership pipeline
04
Leadership Is Operational
Leadership development is often treated as secondary—something to address once “real” operational issues are under control. In reality, leadership is how operations are run, especially under pressure.
05
How the Cost Shows Up
•burnout and turnover
• strained physician and team relationships
• communication breakdowns
• reduced retention
• culture erosion
• avoidable friction across already stretched systems
06
Doing Nothing Isn’t Neutral
The cost of waiting is already visible in daily operations. Leadership development is now part of workforce, retention, and performance strategy—not an optional extra.
Why delaying leadership development is already costing healthcare organizations.
“
"I'm already an intelligent person. I already have what I need … I just didn't know how to use it. That's where Gina came in. Through her coaching, I realized leadership isn't just about decision-making … it's about understanding emotional intelligence, managing energy, and knowing how to show up effectively under stress. She took what felt like a scattered palette of colors and taught me how to paint with it.
The biggest eye-opener? Learning how my energy impacts those around me. That realization alone was groundbreaking and completely changed the way I lead.
Gina didn't just give me tools … she taught me how to use them. And for the first time, I feel like I'm leading, not just managing."
G Stallard D.O.
Ready to Bring This to Your Program?
This curriculum is available for residency programs, academic medical centers, surgical departments, and healthcare organizations seeking structured leadership development for their physicians and teams.
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Step 1: Discovery Call
A confidential 30-minute conversation to understand your program's goals, structure, and timeline.
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Step 2: Needs Assessment & Program Design
We review your team's structure, leadership challenges, and development goals to customize the curriculum for your institution's specific environment and learner population.
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Step 3: Custom Implementation
We tailor the curriculum to your institution's needs, schedule, and learner population. CME accreditation available through our partner, Learn at Pinnacle.
Designed For
This work isn't for everyone. It's for healthcare leaders who already know they're good at what they do clinically, and are ready to become just as skilled at leading the people around them.