Leadership in Healthcare Skills and Attitudes

Question: Discuss about theLeadership in Healthcare for Skills and Attitudes. Answer: Introduction Heading health care institutions is very involving and requires nothing short of an effective and visionary leader who can confidently make decisions which favor the growth of the institution by provision of excellent services to consumers. This report critically examines leadership requirements which comprise of skills, attitudes, values as well as knowledge. Effective leaders must possess a variety of knowledge especially in management so as to guarantee the progress of an organization. This report also identifies and scrutinizes the implications of poor leadership which can affect negatively the organizations staff, the patients as well as the performance of the organization. When leadership tools are executed effectively, they enable a leader to critically examine his or her leadership style as well as those of other members of staff that they are in charge of in the health care institution. 360 degree feedback and VARK assessment tools are discussed in length including their mai n strength and limitations in regards to their executions. Requirements of Affective Team Leader Effective leadership is essentially the ability to come up with a vision that can arouse employees to move with the passion for the purpose of fulfilling the goals of an organization (Gill, 2011). As such, any leader who wishes to be good in leadership must possess four fundamental qualities. Those are knowledge, skills, attitudes and values. Knowledge For a leader to deliver excellent health services then knowledge has to play a crucial role. A leader should grasp his or her role in the organization so as to be able to lead other in the right direction. A leader should continuously endeavor to learn new skills and increase his knowledge so that he or she can lead by example (Fernandez et al., 2016). Knowledge can be shared between staff members and patients through conversation and tutoring. Leaders should be knowledgeable as far as issues to do with decision-making are concerned so as to share the same information with the staff. This will ensure that health care services delivery improves since less time will be spent in the decision-making process. Theoretical and Technical Knowledge A leader should possess sufficient theoretical knowledge and be in a position to properly applying that knowledge to promote good health among clients. Knowledge of the policies of the organizations, as well as that of the government also, plays a crucial role (Fernandez et al., 2016). A good and effective leader should be in a position to show his or her diverse ideas and values of ethics for the purposes of promoting health. Some of the information touching on health matter comprises of public justice, human rights as well as health equality. A leader should also control and guide the employees under him or her when it comes to taking care of a patient in such a way that everything is guided by both the protocols of the nursing council of New Zealand and the hospitals regulations (Gage Hornblow, 2007). A nurse elevated to a position of leadership and it happens that he or she possesses a wide range of knowledge in the medical and health care field finds it easy to assume and execu te the duties of a leader unlike a nurse leader who only concentrates on just one area of specialization. Possessing a wide range of knowledge enables a leader to handle different people from different departments in and out of the organization. Skills For a leader to work properly, then he or she must possess an array of skills. Emotional intelligence, good communication, theoretical skills, technical skills as well as listening skills are critical. Emotional and social skills have been singled out as some of the vital skills since they are linked to positive interpersonal relationships with workers in a company (Whitley, Gingerich, Lutz Mueser, 2009). As far as technical skills are concerned, a leader must have the technical know-how required to handle equipment in the hospital. When a leader increases his or her problem-solving abilities then people establish more trust in him or her. Having good listening skills ensures that more time is spent listening to other peoples ideas, therefore, fostering an effective exchange of information (Fernandez et al., 2016). Attitudes A good leader must employ several elements to ensure that his or her relationship with the staff is strengthened. They should try to maintain a smile most of the time especially when meeting other staff members (Vogel Wanke, 2016). Positive Attitude A leader must maintain a positive attitude. A leader who consistently maintains a positive attitude raises the self-esteem of workers by encouraging them to do better next every single day and encouraging feedback to foster two-way communication (Vogel Wanke, 2016). For example, nurses who are in a position of leadership should try their best to inject a positive attitude in whatever task they engage in. This gesture spreads to other staff who are able to increase their self-esteem, motivation and self-confidence, therefore, maximizing the quality of health care services offered (Vogel Wanke, 2016). According to Daft and Pirola-Merlo (2009) self- confidence in a leader helps to followed by team to gain respect and develop motivation and command. On the other hand Marquis and Hudson (2012) stated motivation and self-confidence help to achieve a goal and decrease the tension. It is also fundamental for a leader to be flexible so as to be able to make changes according to the situatio n. This cannot be possible if the leader does not maintain a positive attitude. Optimism brings about hope to each and every employee especially when it is facilitated by the leader. Leaders who entertain negative feedback end up registering negative results for the organization and the relationship between the leader and the staff decreases significantly. Values A good leader should have proper knowledge of the values that the organization stands for. Some of these values consist of discipline, teamwork, respect, honesty as well as excellence (Nowack, 2015). Discipline According to Savolainen and Hakkinen (2011) Leaders should be self-disciplined since most often than not, they do not have people who micro-manage their time. Furthermore, discipline allows leaders and staff to develop and bind with their standards and code of behavior. On the other side Goldstein et al., (2009) a leader should exercise self-discipline. Self-discipline is a sign of inner faith and control. It gives a leader the power to stick to his or her decisions as well as to follow them through without being distracted along the way. As such, it is one of the most crucial requirements for achieving the goals of an organization. For instance, a nurse who is in a position of power must exercise fairness to all employees. When creating a duty roster plan. The employees personal wishes must be a factor of consideration so as to ensure that the workers feel valued and important (Taplin, Foster Shortell, 2013). Honesty Honesty plays a crucial role when it comes to establishing trust between employees. In addition, it is also fundamental in development as well as sustaining mutual beliefs for better working in an organization (Robert, 2011). As far as respect is concerned, a leader ought to treat each and every employee in a humane manner knowing very well that at some point a person is bound to make a mistake (Molix, Nichols, 2013). Ethics According to Porter and Malloch (2013) ethics and moral values plays an important role with certain principles to determine right thing to do in a right situation. A leader should strike a balance between leniency and strictness. When that balance is achieved then a leader is able to carry out his or her duties having earned the respect of the employees. For a leader to exhibit excellence his or her ways of handling current and upcoming issues must show some level of creativity as far tactics of handling issues are concerned (Adam, Diane, Rachel, Beat, Pamela, Lisa, 2009). Consequences of Poor Leadership When a leader lacks leadership skills and abilities then, he or she ceases to be an effective leader. Some of the reasons linked to poor leadership skills are the lack of skills, lack of knowledge and lack of motivation. A poor leader may exhibit poor interpersonal relationship skills with other employees such as poor listening skills, lack of communication as well as the lack of proper direction (Grant, 2014). A poor leader may not even attempt to provide any guidance and support to the employees as far as tasks are concerned and this may result in work overload. A poor leader also fails to share knowledge relevant to the organizations vision and mission, therefore, leaving other employees in the dark and unaware of what approach to use to maximize the quality of services the organization provides. As a consequence of poor leadership, there is low morale in the workplace, job dissatisfaction as well as high turnover among the staff (Grant, 2014). In health care institution, the employees are responsible for caring for the patients. However, if the environment is unfavorable for them, chances are that they may not provide care for the patients as expected (Chagani, 2015). The patient is the most affected since he or she is not able to access quality care, therefore, he or she may lose trust in the health care team. The health care institution ends up suffering since its image is damaged and its productivity lowers (Casida Pinto-Zipp, 2008). Impact of Poor Leadership: Impact of Poor Leadership on Staff The employees are affected a lot by the poor leadership approaches employed by poor leaders. Poor leaders tend to exhibit poor interpersonal relationship skills with their workers for instance lack of lack of communication, poor listening skills and lack of providing direction. As a result of these employees morale goes down hence bringing about job dissatisfaction (Vogel Wanke, 2016). Poor communication, poor listening skills as well as lack of direction results in breakdown of systems in the organization. The employees are left in the dark as far as the goals and vision of the organization is concerned hence dissatisfaction creeps in. in addition, as a result of this, employees feel left out and many of them opt to exit the organization altogether. Lack of cooperation and feedback from the leader also leaves the staff frustrated and as a result their zeal for health care service decreases. Impact of Poor Leadership on Patients Patients are essentially health care consumers who frequent health care institutions. It is the responsibility of the employee to provide care for patients at all times (Robert, 2011). The main reason why patient are admitted in hospitals is because they need to access personalized care and treatment which they cannot get at home. The responsibility of providing this crucial care lies entirely on the organizations staff. If there is a breakdown of communication between a leader and employees as well as lack of cooperation from the leader, then job dissatisfaction and low morale is experienced from workers who fail to provide high-quality health care to patients. Some patients are forced to seek health services in other institutions (Vogel Wanke, 2016). Job dissatisfaction affects service delivery to patients and as a result the health condition of the patients who are admitted may become worse even resulting in death if immediate action is not taken. Impact of Poor Leadership on the Organization For the success of any organization, good culture and leadership style must be the driving force. Poor leadership skills result in poor delivery of health services to the patient. This results in most of them seeking health services elsewhere. A decrease in the number of patients frequenting the hospital affects productivity hence the health care institution is unable to support its day to day operations (Biggs, 2011). A leader together with the workers should be in capable of transforming based on environmental and technical changes. Failure to adapt to changes will eventually result in a downward shift as far as performance is concerned and the productivity of the organization will fail as well. High staff turnover will also affect the productivity of the organization primarily because high costs will have to be incurred in the recruitment process. Leadership Analysis Tools A good leader should have in his or her arsenal rational monitoring procedures aimed at ensuring that the organizational goals and visions are met. Leadership tools are essential for improving self-performance, quality of care, culture as well as team performance (Marquis Hudson, 2012). Furthermore, leadership tools provide a better understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of leaders and their employees hence pinpointing the exact areas that necessitate improvement (DuBrin, 2016). Leadership tools also provide a development process that assists a leader and his or her employees to succeed particularly if the leadership tools are implemented systematically. Leadership tools are vital when it comes to communication planning, tactical planning as well as the accomplishment of multifaceted purposes (Aiken et al., 2011). Leadership tools also help in the processes of new hires. This ensures that the organization gets the best person for the job. As much as these tools are beneficial , they tend to possess several limitations. First, the tools are time consuming. Secondly, they do not focus on technical skills of a leader and the staff. VARK assessment tool plays a crucial role since it heightens the communication skills of leaders and employees. It also improves teams performance and capabilities by employing learning strategies such as listening, visual, reading and writing as well as learning by doing (Hosain, 2016). VARK assessment tool give an insight linked to style of learning of a leader and his or her staff. 360-degree feedback also offers better understanding between leaders and employees hence helping in the improvement of the overall performance as well as the establishment of interpersonal skills (Daft Pirola-Merlo, 2009). 360 degree feedbacks also offer direction to a leader as well as his or her staff for the purposes of self-development. 360 degree feedback concentrates on effectiveness of leadership as well as teamwork characters. This tool has several limitations. First, the tool does not concentrate on the technical skills of leaders and staff. Secondly, it relies entirely on the expectations of a person. Finally, 360 degree feedback is costly and time consuming. Conclusion All in all, leadership skills play a fundamental role as far as the success of an organization is concerned. A good leader should exhibit features like good values, skills, attitudes as well as knowledge. Failure to meet these characteristics leads to poor leadership. Poor leadership is the greatest contributor job dissatisfaction among employees and the overall failure of the organization. Some of the factors attributed to poor leadership comprises of poor communication, lack of skills as well as lack of knowledge. Leadership analysis tools are very essential in assisting a leader to execute his or her duties. They enhance self-performance, quality of care, culture as well as team performance .VARK assessment tool proves essential as far as leadership is concerned since it improves team performance and reinforces communication skills. 360 degree feedback is also crucial to a leader since it creates better understanding between employees and the staff. 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