Leadership Stories: Samantha Tross
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Samantha Tross is a groundbreaker. She is the first black women to become a Hip and Knee Surgeon in the UK and the first woman in Europe to perform Mako robotic hip surgery. She is an Examiner, Educational Supervisor, Advisory Board Member and a passionate advocate for DEI in surgery. Also, she has a Masters in Strategic Management and Leadership.
What does leadership mean to you, and how has your approach or style changed over time?
Leadership for me encompasses many things. It’s the ability to lead, not by giving orders, but by creating a vision. Effectively communicating and giving meaning to that vision enrolls others to support it. By collaborating, encouraging and empowering those you lead, the vision is turned into a reality.
It requires empathy, the ability to listen and self-reflect, being inclusive and holding oneself accountable. Arrogance has no place there.
I became curious about leadership and became fixated on positive, compassionate leadership as, sadly in most of my career, I was not exposed to such examples. I wanted to do things differently and lead with a ground-up approach by encouraging and empowering those around me. Hence, I’ve done a lot of reading and taken leadership courses, which involved self-awareness work, becoming aware of my blind spots and improving my communication skills.
Overcoming self-doubt and tempering my fear of failure were essential to be able to trust and, therefore, hand over responsibility to others.
What have been the biggest challenges and the biggest successes in your life, and what have you learned from them?
My biggest challenges have been overcoming self-doubt and becoming comfortable with failure. Orthopaedic surgery is a male dominated specialty. At the time I qualified, only 3% of consultants were female. Also, there were no black women and little diversity in the specialty. I experienced exclusion (consciously or subconsciously), sexism, racism, bullying and microaggressions. These experiences eroded my confidence and made me question if I belonged.
I was used to being successful at exams in school, often topping the class and suddenly in surgical training I failed exams on more than one occasion. This further eroded my confidence, particularly when I already felt pressure that as a minority, I could not afford to fail.
Practising self-reflection and self-affirmation have been my saviour, along with great mentors, who shared that they also experienced failure. My relationship with failure has improved but is a process in which I continue to practise as I’m aware of the potential for growth. Fearing failure limits my development and by conquering the fear, my opportunities are limitless.
My biggest successes are becoming a surgeon and the first black woman in the UK to do so. It was my childhood dream, and I made that decision aged 7. This led to other successes. I was particularly touched when an orthopaedic colleague selected me to perform knee replacement surgery on his mother.
I have also been successful in sports, becoming UK national champion in the long jump.
From my successes I’ve learnt gratitude, responsibility, the importance of remaining humble, and the power my achievements have to create connections and opportunities.
What advice do you have for younger women aspiring to leadership roles?
I believe everyone has the potential to be a leader, so you should absolutely go for it. The following will help you with the inevitable hurdles.
• Some skills are there naturally, and others require work but every great leader has had to work in one area or another.
• Self-awareness and reflection are the key and a desire for justice.
• On the journey it is important that you develop listening and communication skills.
• Importantly, take time to celebrate yourself.
• Have a mentor.
• Create balance in your life.
Samantha TrossI wanted to do things differently and lead with a ground-up approach by encouraging and empowering those around me.
