Many times, I have found that people tend to believe a leader is a person who should be rigid, harsh, no tolerant kind of person, with almost “the do what I say” kind of attitude. But in fact, a great leader I find is exactly the opposite, especially in health care. Leadership to me is a person who leads by example, provides guidance, constructive criticism, encouragement, and positive influence. Specifically, in health care a strong health care leader should be one who can lead a multi-faceted environment containing diversity of cultures and generational differences to name a few. I am still not 100% convinced that a leader can be taught to be a leader. I feel a person can be taught to be a manager, but a leader to me is a trait a person is born with and can be enhanced through further education and training. I say that because a leader must have an assertive personality, emotional awareness, ability to communicate effectively with others, and motivational.
A personal experience that informed my thoughts about health care leadership was being a part of a new hospital initiative. The initiative was to help decrease the patient readmission rate within a 30-day period for the same diagnosis they were previously admitted for. I was lucky enough to be hired as the program administrator for a discharge prescription drug program. The discharge program was created to increase medication adherence which in turn would decrease the readmission rate. I was able to attend health care leadership classes, meet the hospital CEO, absorb all aspects of a steering committee, help manage a great team of pharmacists and technicians to make sure the program ran like an oiled wheel. The team comprised of different cultures and ages. I had to learn not to just manage but be a leader of my team. I find myself to be very emotionally aware and have effective communication. I also like to lead by example, so I learned all aspects of the program to assist wherever I could.
Traits of an authentic leader are just that authentic. You either have it or you don’t. Many leaders are born with authentic qualities that already make them great leaders. Many times, they just must be trained how to effectively be a leader in an environment or work space. Great leaders are mindful and aware of themselves and others. They know their strengths and weaknesses, have levels of passion, employ effective communication, and try to become the best leader for themselves and others. According to George (2007), “He emphasized that authentic leaders were those who had a deep sense of purpose, possessed ethical and solid values, understood their purpose, lead with their hearts, established connected relationships and demonstrated self- restraint and discipline” (para. 11).
An effective exercise in developing the skills or habits of an authentic leader can be a few things. The first exercise can be completing a personal questionnaire and or self -evaluation. This could include what a person thinks their strengths and weakness are, what their values and beliefs are. This can create a feeling of self-awareness and increase self -confidence. It is few times when a person is given a chance to truly evaluate their selves. It is important to evaluate self-awareness such as beliefs, strengths weaknesses, and values. Also evaluate one’s ability to have an impact demonstrated action sure a self- awareness, levels of influence and transparency.
A personal experience that informed my thoughts about health care leadership was being a part of a new hospital initiative. The initiative was to help decrease the patient readmission rate within a 30-day period for the same diagnosis they were previously admitted for. I was lucky enough to be hired as the program administrator for a discharge prescription drug program. The discharge program was created to increase medication adherence which in turn would decrease the readmission rate. I was able to attend health care leadership classes, meet the hospital CEO, absorb all aspects of a steering committee, help manage a great team of pharmacists and technicians to make sure the program ran like an oiled wheel. The team comprised of different cultures and ages. I had to learn not to just manage but be a leader of my team. I find myself to be very emotionally aware and have effective communication. I also like to lead by example, so I learned all aspects of the program to assist wherever I could.
Traits of an authentic leader are just that authentic. You either have it or you don’t. Many leaders are born with authentic qualities that already make them great leaders. Many times, they just must be trained how to effectively be a leader in an environment or work space. Great leaders are mindful and aware of themselves and others. They know their strengths and weaknesses, have levels of passion, employ effective communication, and try to become the best leader for themselves and others. According to George (2007), “He emphasized that authentic leaders were those who had a deep sense of purpose, possessed ethical and solid values, understood their purpose, lead with their hearts, established connected relationships and demonstrated self- restraint and discipline” (para. 11).
An effective exercise in developing the skills or habits of an authentic leader can be a few things. The first exercise can be completing a personal questionnaire and or self -evaluation. This could include what a person thinks their strengths and weakness are, what their values and beliefs are. This can create a feeling of self-awareness and increase self -confidence. It is few times when a person is given a chance to truly evaluate their selves. It is important to evaluate self-awareness such as beliefs, strengths weaknesses, and values. Also evaluate one’s ability to have an impact demonstrated action sure a self- awareness, levels of influence and transparency.
