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The Inspiring Leader

Joining the Apollo Hospitals at 29 as a Paediatric Gastroenterologist, Dr Anupam Sibal has climbed the ladder of success to become the Group Medical Director. Sonal Vij tracks the success story of this dynamic leader

This is what Dr Anupam Sibal, Group Medical Director, Apollo Hospitals, believes in. It's his positive thinking which has always given him hope to achieve greater heights.

The Growth Path

Success and Dr Sibal are two sides of the same coin. Fascinated by the functioning of the human body, Dr Sibal decided to don the while coat. Though the entire family was in Kashmir, he decided to move to Delhi to pursue his dream. He graduated from the prestigious Maulana Azad Medical College in 1991 with four gold medals and the Lt Governor's Trophy for best all-round medical student. His love for children propelled him to specialise in paediatrics. "It's quite often a challenge to make a diagnosis in children and I wanted to take up this challenge," he says.

Excellence kissed him when he pursued MD in Paediatrics from Lady Hardinge Medical College and Kalawati Saran Children's Hospital, New Delhi in 1995 and walked away with the Best Post Graduate Student award. Dr Sibal then perused a Fellowship in Paediatric Gastroenterology and Hepatology from Institute of Child Health, Birmingham and Birmingham Children's Hospital, UK.

Home Calling

He had the option of staying back in the UK, but it was not fated. A single incident compelled him to return and propagate the knowledge acquired in the West and bring clinical excellence to home country. While Dr Sibal was still training at Birmingham, a child from India travelled all the way there to get his liver transplant.

"He had to wait for really a long time to get his liver transplant. That really got me thinking that why should an Indian go out of the country for a liver transplant?" he recollects.

This is what made him change his mind to return to India. "I was clear that when I come back to India, I would help start a liver transplant programme for children since there was no such programme in India at that time," he says.

Soaring Career in Apollo

He approached the premier healthcare institution at that time- Apollo. He wrote to the Founder Chairman of Apollo Hospitals Group, Dr Prathap Reddy about his desire to come back to India. The response was positive. He was appointed as a Senior Consultant at Indraprastha Apollo Hospital, New Delhi at the age of 29 to help set up a liver transplant programme. He proved his capability when the unit performed the first successful liver transplant in the Indian subcontinent in November 1998 and since then this unit has performed 31 paediatric and 211 adult liver transplants.

In 2002, he was given the opportunity of working on the administrative side as well. "I had certain ideas in mind about administration. Dr Reddy welcomed the ideas and thus I was given the opportunity to become the Medical Advisor of Indrapastha Apollo," he recalls.

"I learnt the administrative side of healthcare all on the job," he shares. His diligence paid off in 2003, when he was made the Medical Director of Indrapastha Apollo. He soared heights once again in 2005-06 when he was made the Group Medical Director of the Apollo Group.

His Contributions

He has contributed to the groups' growth in every possible way. He brought the international standards to Apollo. He initiated the process of accreditation of Indraprastha Apollo Hospital by Joint Commission International (JCI), USA (in 2003). The success was apparent when Indraprastha Apollo became the first hospital in India and one of the handful hospitals in Asia to get accredited by JCI in June 2005. "After we got the first JCI accreditation for an Indian hospital in 2005, we have focused a lot on quality and have succeeded in getting seven of our hospitals accredited," he says.

In February 2005, he helped devise the Apollo Clinical Excellence model which has been applied across all Apollo hospitals. "We now have developed objective and measurable tools to measure clinical quality," he informs. There is a standard clinical quality protocol which is followed in all the hospitals.

He also tries to impart patient care value system in everyone. He emphasises the Apollo Culture that every patient needs to be treated as if s/he is a part of your family! He helps in identifying talent from India and abroad. He believes that talent will be retained only if growth opportunities are offered. He is now focusing on academics and research. "Our research programmes and our DNB programmes have increased significantly. We now have our own medical journal which is published every quarter," he informs.

Being an Administrator

The transition from the medicine to the administrative side was a tough one. Initially, it was tough to adapt to the new change, but Dr Sibal took this as an opportunity to learn. Managing time for clinical work was a real challenge "With time, I have learnt how to manage being an administrator as well as being a physician. It has required a bit of time management, delegation and building of a robust team," he recalls.

"It is exciting because being just on the medical side you see just one side of the picture but with a combination of both, you also have an opportunity to create new services that you may not be able to do just being a clinician" he explains.

So, how does a young professional like him get himself heard? "I treat seniors with due respect. I ensure that I acknowledge the fact that they are senior and more experienced than me," he emphasises.

Management Style

Like a true people manager he believes in instilling the desire to work rather than forcing work on them. He plays on people's strengths. "One has to find exactly what suits the person, not what suits you. You must also genuinely appreciate every effort made by each person," he says. Being young, people are able relate to him and also readily take their problems to him assured that he will address them.

All the projects undertaken by him are completed on time. "I have never missed a deadline," he boasts. He has high standards for himself as well as others when it comes to work. "I judge my employees with the same yardstick as I would judge myself," reveals he.

Getting a tad philosophical, he says, "When one is positive, everything around him will work positively in his favour. There will be no place for negativity in this world," he opines.

His Love for Work

He is known for his undying enthusiasm for work. He works for six and a half days a week. "On Sunday mornings, I do see patients," he informs. On an everyday basis, he works from 8 AM to 8 PM without a break! I don't have a lunch or a tea break alone," he says. Post eight, one can find him attending phone calls or checking e-mails.

According to him, work should be 'the' love affair of ones life. "If you don't get tired of the love affair, you cannot get tired of work. You need to be really passionate, focused and really believe that you really enjoy what you do," he quips.

So where does the leader see himself 10 years down the line? "I clearly see so many opportunities that Apollo holds and I can see myself engaged in some of those opportunities," he says. His ambition is intertwined with Apollo's growth. "I want Apollo to continue to lead the charge in improving the healthcare delivery system. I would like Apollo to become an institution that excels not only in clinical outcomes but also medical, education and research. I very much see myself being a part of Apollo, contributing whatever I can to our growth," he concludes positively.