The biggest leadership challenges facing veterinary organizations and clinics today

Change is a constant in veterinary medicine, but leading a team through organizational change can present unique challenges. Following a leadership lab led alongside Christina Moore, DVM, MBA, at the 2026 AVMA Convention in Anaheim, California, Anita Patel, DVM, senior director of clinical excellence at IndeVets, discusses how veterinary leaders can align organizational goals with personal and professional values while supporting team members through transitions. She explains why leaders and their teams may experience change differently and the importance of understanding where an organization is, where it is going, and how to bring the team along toward a shared mission.

Below is the transcript, which has been lightly edited for clarity.

Anita Patel, DVM: In general, this industry is an industry where we are very familiar with change, and whether that's clinical medicine, whether that's the economy, whether that's industry, we're constantly dealing with that. I think where it can be difficult is when you're managing change within an organization, and how do you align values that the organization has? How do you align values that you have personally and professionally? Which those aren't separate; your values have to be the same for both. And then how do you lead a team through that? Because change is really difficult. We may deal with it all the time, but it's not something that we necessarily inherently welcome. I think as humans and definitely as veterinarians, sometimes that can be difficult. And so managing the ability to say where are we now, where are we going, and how do you, as an organization, make sure that you're all working together towards that same mission or goal? And then, how do you get your team there and figure out the best way to support them through that? Understanding that as a leader, you're going to go through a change curve and the emotions that come with that very differently and on a different timeline than your team, but you have to be able to support those individuals through that.