Effective Leadership in Health: Importance and Styles

This paper evaluates the importance of leadership and appropriate leadership styles in Healthcare organizations to offer exceptional health service delivery. It also provides a reflective piece explaining the experience and importance of leadership in a health care setting.

Running head: EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP IN HEALTH
EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP IN HEALTH
Name of the Student:
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Introduction
Studies in number of industries particularly in healthcare suggest that leadership is
identified as critical element in organizational effectiveness. Ginter, Duncan and Swayne (2018)
mention that disciplined effectual leaders are essential for moving organizations from ‘good’ to
‘great’. These types of leaders enable healthcare organizations to employ the right leader and
develop an effectual strategy and efficiently create well-organized culture focused on
establishing improved performance. The combined clinical as well as organizational
confrontations which tend to submerge healthcare organizations on regular basis, thus call for
robust leaders in all domains and levels. Henney (2017) has claimed that great leaders tend to be
transformational who exhibit great competence of motivating and empowering their followers.
Studies have further expressed that organizational vision, purpose align with values and
principles, thus establishing trust and stimulate subordinates to attain organizational objectives.
Moreover, as per Batterham, Hawkins, Collins and Buchbinder et al. (2016) it is highly
imperative for healthcare organizations to select leaders who follow appropriate forms of
leadership styles to manage complexities and competitiveness which tend to prevail in settings
which give rise to staff conflicts, lack of work enthusiasm, lack of appropriate skills and
competences and management capacity. The following paper aims to evaluate importance of
leadership and appropriate leadership styles in Healthcare organizations to offer exceptional
health service delivery. In addition to this, the paper will provide reflective piece explaining
experience and importance of leadership in health care setting.

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Discussion
Need of Leadership in Australian Healthcare Setting
The Australian government has a constitutional directive to perform its functions in
highly effectual and efficient method, thus requiring financial aids in capacity building and skill
development for public servants to contribute to the direct and operative performance of
administrative units. Studies mention that health care service provision at provincial healthcare
organizations in Australia and its suburban localities are in dire need of immediate reforms as the
incapacity of many hospitals to provide equality quality health services delivery in relation to
Australian Constitution and Australian Charter of Healthcare Rights (World Health
Organization, 2015). Moreover, it is highly crucial that Australian Department of Health
implement effective leadership standards for prospective development of healthcare leaders. A
comprehensive understanding of leadership principles in Australian regional hospitals and its
submission could improve service delivery enterprises in healthcare organizations. According to
Chukmaitov, Harless, Bazzoli and Carretta et al. (2015), leadership has been recognized as
significant driver of quality health care results, patient safety and motivated personnel. On the
other hand, Browne, Varcoe, Lavoie and Smye et al. (2016) have identified that number of
challenges vis-à-vis both public and private hospitals in Australia which negatively influence
health service delivery of these hospitals. As per studies, the Australian Department of Health in
2015 has revealed that leadership commitment along with leadership decision-making are
significantly affecting the application of policies and regulations related to poor service delivery
in health unit. Thus, Aarons, Ehrhart, Farahnak and Hurlburt (2015) have accentuated on the fact
that innovative leadership-related approaches are immediately required for proper sustenance of
feasibility of contemporary health care organizations and further to facilitate them for managing

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with the obstructive challenges of providing useful, effective, efficient and quality health care.
Such form of leadership is of dire need in public and private healthcare system in Australia.
Transformational Leadership to Move Healthcare system upstream
Greenhalgh, Jackson, Shaw and Janamian (2016) have explained that transformational
leadership as process where individuals engage with each other in a method in which leaders as
well as followers tend to raise each other to elevated levels of principles, morals and enthusiasm.
Transformational leadership has further exhibited its linkage with employee satisfaction and
organizational innovation. Furthermore, Asif, Jameel, Hussain and Hwang et al. (2019), mention
that transformational leadership theory relies significantly on change. The leaders who incline
towards this particular approach have been referred as change agents who practice their
potentials and dispositions with an aim of stimulating their followers to attain objectives, share
visions and further to authorize them. According to Jordan, Werner and Venter (2015),
Transformational leaders influence followers by inspiring and motivating them to achieve
organizational objectives.
Meanwhile, Sligo, Roberts, Gauld and Villa et al. (2019) claimed that transformational
leaders must have proper vision and capacity to establish communication base for sharing the
vision to its subordinate. Likewise, it has been noted to be equally vital for transformational
healthcare leaders to facilitate the whole team for putting forward judgements and opinions
required for generating desired outcomes. As per study conducted by Dzau, McClellan,
McGinnis and Burke et al. (2017), by liberating employees and especially subordinates to highly
transcendent vision, healthcare leaders following transformational leadership theory encourages
followers and subordinates to efficiently reconnect to the primary purpose of the organization.
Nonetheless, Batterham, Hawkins, Collins and Buchbinder et al. (2016)have noted that the

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administrative side of health care in recent times has shifted the focus from patient care,
consequently resulting to disregard of vision as well as mission. According to Browne, Varcoe,
Lavoie and Smye et al. (2016), the mission of contemporary healthcare leadership has relied
upon provision of exceptional patient care, enthused employee base and values and standards
aligned with organizational objectives. Thus, health care leaders require well-honed critical
thinking method to accomplish transformational leadership.
On the other hand, Sligo, Roberts, Gauld and Villa et al. (2019) have noted that it is
specifically imperative that leaders in both public and private health care organizations organize
and instigate their teams to efficiently act responsive towards frequently arising challenges on
regular basis. Thus, transformational leadership necessitates personal assurance and decisive
action to respond to encounters at the grassroots level. Furthermore, effective leadership
technique is vital for implementing change in successful manner and these developments require
to be modified or alter through strategic planning, organizing and regulation. At this juncture,
Ginter, Duncan and Swayne (2018) have suggested that leaders as well as followers must show
assurance in their efforts in order to influence change for managing any change initiatives which
would not only benefit them but the organization as a whole. Meanwhile, Henney (2017) claimed
that the increasing complication and extreme involvedness particularly in public health care
besides the magnitude of the problems that infuse health care organizations have been turning
individuals’ expectations highly impractical for considering any specific approach which can
resolve all the complications. By drawing relevance to these factors, Browne, Varcoe, Lavoie
and Smye et al. (2016) in their studies have suggested a multifaceted strategy for successfully
implementing change in the organization.

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At this juncture, it is vital to note that primary assurance of healthcare profession lies on
continuous change. Nonetheless, leaders must distinguish that change within organization often
have the tendency to bring challenges. For that reason, Chukmaitov, Harless, Bazzoli and
Carretta et al. (2015) emphasizes on the fact that transformational leaders must constantly
observe the pace and configurations of change to guarantee collaborative working associations
with healthcare experts chiefly pointed at providing improved healthcare service delivery.
Aarons, Ehrhart, Farahnak and Hurlburt (2015) have claimed that change management serves
vital role in healthcare. Change management in addition to quality improvement programs in
healthcare domain must establish the foundation of clinical and management training
programs. Even though change management, as a science, is not comparatively novel, there have
been observed significant expectations from the individuals for quality and safe healthcare.
Moreover, the need for improvement in the health service delivery has been explained as the gap
between available funds and technologies which could attain and activities which are executed in
reality for attaining in countries like Australia.
Furthermore, effective transformational influential have been considered as devouring
advocacy abilities and the capability to influence the modification. In addition, effective
healthcare leaders have been related to enabling and continuing improved workplaces, by
motivating cultural change amongst all health professionals in the workplace (Greenhalgh,
Jackson, Shaw & Janamian, 2016). To attain these constructive outcomes, transformational
leaders required to be considered as credible which can further be recognized by contemporaries
as having experimental ability and obtains competences and capability to successfully support as
well as interconnect with associates of multidisciplinary healthcare teams. Moreover, through
individual perspective, effectual healthcare leaders who follow transformational leadership styles

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would reflect optimistic approaches toward their own occupation and further attain the
resolution, stimulation and capacity to contest the status quo, efficiently address quality subjects
of healthcare services and further engage in reflective practice. Sligo, Roberts, Gauld and Villa et
al. (2019) found that leadership competence along with the capability to lead team efficiently and
develop preparedness to encounter the status quo have been essential services for clinical leaders.
In Australia, Jordan, Werner and Venter (2015) have indicated that healthcare leaders
require transformational leadership characteristics from their healthcare preceptors in order to
include traits of being reassuring, amicable as well as encouraging while being effective
communicators. Furthermore, Greenhalgh, Jackson, Shaw and Janamian (2016) have stated that
leaders following transformational leadership techniques illustrate their core standards in their
functional provinces, further envisioning them as efficient stewards and servants, establishing
constancy and sustainability in their organizations. It has been noted that programs like lean
thinking and quality management programs must be implemented in the form of effective
developmental strategies for leaders in private and public healthcare organization in Australia
(Jordan, Werner & Venter, 2015). Lean thinking is utilized as means of endorsing workflow and
lessens depletions through the organization of multifaceted procedures and happenings. The
implementation of lean thinking has been functional mainly in healthcare sector. In the context
of Australian healthcare setting, lean thinking has been utilized by managers as a strategy in
order to resolve certain complex healthcare concerns.
With the increasing demand of leadership in the healthcare domain, efficiently
responding to patient and staffs has been seen as highly imperative. Being employed as shift
supervisor in one of the healthcare organizations, I faced some critical issues of unenthusiastic
and incapable staffs, which further led to poor service delivery and decline in the number of

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customers in the organization. While, initially to bring the organization’s disruptive operations
back to the correct direction, I immediately dismissed the existing staffs and appointed new
staffs to improve the crisis without seeking advice or supervising other staffs. However, while
assessing my whole experience as shift supervisor I have realized that my leadership style
primarily exhibited authoritative leadership attributes which has not been seen constructive by
my contemporaries. Thus, I have identified the value of transformational leadership attributes in
my profession to use interdisciplinary approach by creating ideas to reinforce and support
organizational goals and vision. Also, to develop as effective healthcare leader, I must believe in
instituting associations built on trust and comprehend the need for reliability, consistency,
responsiveness towards concerns of not only patients but also employee in the organization.
Since, transformation of private and public healthcare system in Australia is immensely
important, as a healthcare worker, I must offer positive contribution towards transforming
hospitals into operative, resourceful, innovative and approachable institutions which primarily
aim to improve healthcare service delivery.
Conclusion
Hence to conclude, development and mentoring of managers in senior management or
leadership roles has been imperative for enhancing leadership capacities which could contribute
for developing organizational effectiveness and improved service delivery. It has been noted that
robust, proficient leaders pursuing transformational leaders endeavour in order to achieve service
delivery goals in healthcare especially regardless of deficiency in capacity and incomes. Several
studies have revealed that leadership has been seen as vital core competency for healthcare
leaders whereby it has been advocated that leaders must be transformational further promoting
innovation, revolution and creativity toward achieving strategic goals as well as purposes.

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