Instruction Manual: Redefining legacy: the strategic resilience of a woman leader in health care

In early 2024, in Cairo, Egypt, Dr Mona Tawfik, a 76-year-old psychiatrist and Chairperson of the Board of a prominent multi-branch medical institution, faced a defining leadership dilemma. Three years after the passing of her husband, a renowned physician who founded the hospital and built its regional reputation, Dr Tawfik had successfully stabilized and grown the institution despite lacking formal management experience. Through bold restructuring, cultural transformation and emotionally intelligent leadership, she restored the hospital’s performance amid economic instability and internal resistance. With no successor in the family and mounting pressure to plan for the future, Dr Tawfik had to...