Theories Of Leadership In Healthcare
Leadership refers to the process whereby an individual, having the role of supervising the other workers, ensures all the co-workers direct their strengths and abilities towards ensuring that the organization’s aims and objectives are met or achieved. The leader chooses, equips, trains, and influences the other workers who possess different abilities and skills while emphasizing the need to direct all their energies in line with the organization’s aims, mission, and objective. Leadership in a healthcare facility entails applying strategies that are aimed at ensuring that the customers are satisfied while at the same time addressing their dissatisfaction. The paper discusses leadership theories that apply in the healthcare context and brings out what makes effective leadership and management in healthcare.
Psychologists and sociologists have outlined some of the leadership theories that can be applied in the healthcare context. In their arguments, they have pointed out that the kind of leadership theories that organizations choose determines the organizations (Malloch, 2017). Entities work towards ensuring that they apply good and desirable theories in their daily operations, which provides positive customer feedback (Turner, 2019).In healthcare, the patient’s satisfaction, who is the consumer, will lead to referrals of other patients and more effective and efficient community outreach. Some of the leadership theories that apply in the healthcare context include transformational leadership, servant leadership, and shared leadership theory.
- Servant leadership
Servant leadership is the theory that denotes that for one to be an effective and efficient leader, he or she must first be a servant. The leader needs to portray a high sense of devotion to work and love for the job, thus acting as an example to the others looking up to him or her. In the healthcare context, this can be portrayed by exhibiting high work ethics, showing much care to the patients, and responding to the patients’ needs. The leader can also assume responsibilities to the other workers, empowering and trusting the other employees, developing them, not questioning their abilities, and maintaining a good working environment within the healthcare facility.
- Transformational leadership.
In this theory, Marshall (2010) argued that workers would work best only if they believe in a given organization’s mission, goals, and objectives. As a result of this, transformational leaders within a healthcare facility need to ensure that all the employees within the entity understand the organization’s vision by communicating the vision in a more meaningful manner that and effectively. As a result of this, the healthcare employees will be motivated and work in conformity to the organization’s vision. The theory aims to ensure that a healthy working relationship is established between the employees and the leader, mutual respect, support, and effective communication within the organization.
- Collaboration or Meta Leadership Theory
The theory involves passing information to the other workers and allowing them to make their own informed decisions. In this theory, the aspect of cooperation within the different departments within a healthcare organization is stressed. It also argues that collaboration within the various departments leads to the satisfactory performance of the organization. Collaboration ensures that an organization views a particular situation from different and diverse approaches since other departments will develop different ideas on how to deal with and solve specific problems. The theory consists of various components, which include: Understanding of the issue at hand, leading across the system, and also leading core followers.
- Shared Leadership Theory
The theory is based on the principle of empowering the staff and involving them in decision making on matters dealing with their work specifications. It aims at ensuring that the worker’s morale and satisfaction are met through the efficient and effective teamwork that exists during the decision making process. Shared leadership within a healthcare facility leads to advanced patient results and also higher customer value and care. Shared leadership comprises of Existence of a common goal, respect for patients and staff, trust in each other, effective communication, and also discipline.
For a healthcare organization to operate well and meet all patients’ desires, the leader should apply the theories discussed above. David, one of the leaders I have worked with before, is one person I consider an effective and efficient leader based on how best he applied and used different leadership and management approaches in dealing with other issues. Effective leadership as analyzed by Sperry, (2018) and brought out by David consists of several factors, for example,
- An effective and efficient leader shows empathy toward his or her subjects. Empathy is the ability to feel the pain and sorrows of another person, thus showing concern. David portrayed himself as a servant leader, showing empathy towards the patients and offering guidance to the employees to solve the existing challenges.
- Communication. As an effective leader, David called a dissatisfied patient and had a face-to-face meeting to address the issue. He also at personal levels, corrected the employees who made mistakes.
- Strategic decision making. An effective leader would involve the employees in decision making, just as collaborative theory suggests. David involved all the employees in making decisions concerning the health facility.
- Self-awareness. An effective leader will ensure that the employees are equipped with the relevant skills and strategies to ensure that the healthcare facility progresses. Just as shared responsibility theory suggests, the leader should positively empower the co-workers by promoting them and opening room for continuous learning programs.
- The transformational theory argues that an effective leader should ensure the employees understand the organization’s mission, which should be patient-oriented and which provides that the patients’ needs are satisfied and met. David exhibited this leadership trait by ensuring we understood the organization’s mission, aims, and objectives, and as a result of this, the organization performed well.
In conclusion, as pointed out by Smith, &Walshe (2011), it is essential to note that a healthcare organization’s performance lies in the practical application of the theories of leadership and the ability of the leader to establish goo working environment with the workers. The leader or manager should also ensure that a favorable climate is established that ensures work flows smoothly within the healthcare facility. The leader should also enhance positive coexistence among different departments of a healthcare system, thus ensuring that all employees work towards achieving the organization’s vision and mission.
References
Malloch, K. (2017). Quantum leadership: creating sustainable value in health care.
Marshall, Elaine. (2010). Transformational Leadership in Nursing: From Expert Clinician to Influential Leader. Springer Publishing Company LLC.
Smith, J., & Walshe, K. (2011). Healthcare management. Berkshire, England: Open University Press.
Sperry, L. (2018). Becoming an effective leader in healthcare management: The 12 essential skills.
Turner, P. (2019). Leadership in healthcare: Delivering organizational transformation and operational excellence.