Role of Leadership in Facilitating Performance Improvement Strategy in Health Sector

This essay discusses the role of leadership in facilitating a performance improvement strategy in the health sector, with a focus on increasing hand-washing compliance. It explores the use of Kotter's 8 Step change model and highlights the importance of transformational leadership. The essay also addresses the barriers and facilitators in the change process.

Running head: MANAGEMENT
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Name of the student
Name of the university
Author note

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Introduction
Leadership is been described as an individual's behavior in directing a group's activities
towards a shared goal. An important aspect of a position of leadership include social activities
and solving improvement. A problem when taking into account healthcare professionals '
leadership that most theories are not created within the sense in healthcare, and were usually
established of business establishment and then healthcare applications. Current research offers
little proof that when administered in the medical setting, such leadership policies were
connected to clinical care advancements and organizational consequences. Visionary leaders
seem to be the constructors of a new beginning, functioning to creativity, perspective, as well as
courage (Stanley, 2011). They pose a significant threat which invites for either the best of people
as well as draws them in a rational thinking of purpose. They operate for just a higher calling
with both the authority of subjectivity or orientation. Their gaze is also on the surface, also near
at side. They were cultural visionaries or free thinkers, tactically thinking long term or realizing.
Its commander because the whole were profoundly interrelated, and certifiable genius rulers
represent the best for the whole. The thesis statement of the essay aims to critically discuss the
role of the leader in facilitating a performance improvement strategy in a health sector. The essay
highlights over the performance improvement strategy to increased hand-washing compliance
within the health care settings as the main target of the leadership traits. With the use of the
Kotter’s 8 Step change model, the essay explains explain the necessity of using a change theory
in order to guide the process of change. The essay outlines the leadership theory, the change
theories, the performance improvements, the client and the organization.
Discussion

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Leadership
Leadership serves an essential and vital role in contemporary procedure of the institution.
Leadership can be witnessed as a leader's ability to manage as well as join the group of workers
to work together against a common purpose and intention. It is shown in different contexts in
aspects of both the significance of leadership, or conveyed in various forms. Leadership
conversation could be extracted from either the conduct of leaders with those who can motivate
everyone else to obey their training and those that are inclined to just be prompted.
A leader competent for promoting his and her supporters’ organizational dedication can be
illustrated as an excellent leader. In regards, an excellent leader seems to be ready and willing to
discuss its workers ' view, ambitions, and intend (Son et al., 2011). The leader of professionalism
will also be able to define an objective which can be accomplished and prompt its supporters
together towards the target. An institution which can create to maintain competent leaders will
reach a good result throughout the efficiency as well as the dedication of workers to
employment. As per () one would not be capable of achieving an interesting accomplishment
without all the agent, guidance and determination of everyone else. Leadership is indeed an
accurate indicator of the company’s efficacy.
This section will illustrate the transformational leadership as the essential trait or the style of the
leadership which is effective towards the particular performance improvement plan of increasing
hand washing compliances in the health sector (Baars et al., 2010).
Transformational leadership seems to be a style of leadership that promotes, motivates and
empowers workers for development of businesses transition which will help expand and frame

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its future growth achievement. Through leading by example at a management level, it is achieved
via a keen sense of business culture, municipalization and working environment autonomy.
Without micromanagement, transformational leaders encourage and encourage the labor force.
The trained employees are trusted to take power over the allocated employment choices. It's a
style of leadership aimed at giving workers further space to just be imaginative, focus on the
future, and discover new alternatives for old issues (Harris, 2005). Employees on both the
leadership path will be ready by guidance and coaching for becoming transformative leaders
themselves.
For all the healthcare sector, transformation leadership has been of particular interest. This is the
most important section and leadership style to increase awareness throughout the model of
change.
Figure – Transformational Leadership

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Source – (Knobloch et al., 2018)
The figure above highlights the transformational leadership traits which the leader should take in
consideration while increasing the hand washing compliances in the health care setting.
Infection related to medical treatment is indeed a leading cause of mortality rates. Hand
sanitation has been considered to become an effective measure of risk reduction (Sarros, Cooper
& Santora, 2008). The article illustrates the background of hand hygiene, which is considered
as the most essential way to reduce damage-care-associated infections, several of which are
distributed via close contact, particularly by either the palms of medical-care workers.
With the help of the transformational leadership and its steps, the leaders of the health care
organization will be able to promote the importance of the hand hygiene among the health care
workers and the practice of the hand washing in the health care settings.
Many of the schedule kinds for both the representatives ' goal of hand washing involve
operations, objectives, techniques, initiatives, processes, regulations, financial planning
initiatives, in transformation leadership (Foltin & Keller, 2012). The entire improvement plan
includes the process of taking risks, looking ahead of the future, being creative and pursuing of
the unconventional action plans.
Consideration - The step involves the consideration of the health care facilities and the
importance of the hygiene at the hospital settings. The lack of proper hygiene due to unwashed
hands leads to transmitted diseases which are a threat to the health care professionals and the
patients in the hospital (Yukl & Yukl, 2002).

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Stimulation – The step involves the stimulation to the employees and the health care workers
towards the safety of themselves and the patients they are supervising
Motivation – This step involves the factor that the leader should enable motivation to his or her
followers. It is the duty of the leaders to motivate all towards the right towards a safe and healthy
living.
Influence – To invent single intervention strategies and the combination regarding the strategies
on the basis of the recommendations from the WHO for influencing people to learn and gain
knowledge regrading the compliances of the hand hygiene .
According to the reports of the World Health Organization, it is the aim towards the
creation of the environment that ensures the safety of the care of the patient on the global basis
by making efforts to bring together the head of the agencies, the experts, the policy makers, the
groups of the patients and the experiences related to matching. According to Allegranzi & Pittet
(2009) the health care infection is one of the major problem regrading the safety of the patient
and the prevention of it is the first priority regrading the settings and the institutions for the
commitment towards the safer health sector. The effect of the health care associated infection
includes the prolonged stay at the hospital, the high level of resistance to the micro organism, the
massive burden of the finances and the high level of death among the patients (Pittet, Allegranzi
& Storr, 2008). Furthermore it has been evident from the reports that the risk of the patients
towards the development of the surgical site infection is higher which calls for the need for
change.
Kotter’s Change Theory

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The essay will highlight on the 8 step change model by Kotter as the major tool or the
way towards the improvement of the ability of the health care organization towards the change
and for increase it chances regrading the success.
Figure – The Model
Source – (Heward, Hutchins & Keleher, 2007)
This model is a practical process including the basics of the powerful organizational
management tool. This model is suitable for the improvement of the ability of the organization
towards the change and for the increased regarding the chances towards the success.
The change model includes 8 of the essential steps which are as follows.

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Step 1 - Creation of Urgency
For the change or the alternation in the health care settings what the entire globe wants, it is
essential for the leader of the organization to develop the sense of the urgency around the need
for the alteration in the health care industry. For the leader, some of the simple factors or the
actions include showing the organization regrading the degrading quality of the health care, the
increasing rate of the infections due to the hygiene and the increased level of the complaints from
the patients (Stewardson et al., 2013). The leader should identify the potential threats, develop
the scenario regrading the future, examine the opportunities, start some of the honest discussions
and request the support regarding the customers and the outside stakeholders and the people of
the health care settings for the strengthening of the arguments.
Step 2 - Formation of a powerful coalition
It is essential for the leader to convince the people regrading the necessary changes. This
furthermore needs some of the string leadership skills and the visible support from the people
within the organization. Sometimes, it is essential for the leader to understand that change and
the implementation of the change is not enough in front of leading and directing towards the
change. After the formation, the coalition of the change needs to work collaboratively as the
team for the building of the momentum and the urgency around the need for the alteration
(World Health Organization, 2005). Some of the recommended factors include the identification
of the key stakeholders of the health care organization including the patients, the doctors, the
nurses and the other staff employed in the hospital. It is furthermore essential for the leader of
the health care organization to ask for the motional commitment from these people.
Step 3 - Creation of a vision for the change

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It is important for the leader of the change management of the health settings regarding the
importance of the hand washing specifically for the hygiene and the risk related to the health.
The clear vision regarding these threats is essential for the leader for making other people within
the hospital understand regrading the issues and why hand washing is essential. This step of the
model includes the determination of the values that are the main regrading the changes.
Furthermore creation of proper strategy and the ensuring the change collation description is
essential for the leader. The leaders should furthermore practice his or her vision speech.
Step 4 – The communication of the vision
The leaders of the health care organization need to communicate frequently with the followers of
the organization. It is essential for the leaders of the organization to talk about the change that is
required for the issues and the challenges faced by the health care industry (Allegranzi et al.,
2013). Addressing of the concern of the people like transmission of the health care related
pathogens through the means of the direct and the indirect contacts, the burden related to the
health care associated infections and the risk of the patients towards the surgical site infections
are some of the factors the leader needs to address regrading the health care settings (Kuo &
Chen, 2019).
Step 5 - Removal of the obstacles
While implementation of the change management, the leader might face some of the major
obstacles in the management process. Hence it is essential for the leader to identify, hire and
change the leaders whose main role are towards the delivery of the changes. The leaders must
also take some of the major actions towards the quick removal of the barriers.
Step 6 – Creation of the short term wins

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A leader can only be motivated due to the success. Creation of the short term targets and the
goals together with the long term ones needs to be achieved by the leaders. Furthermore it is
essential for the leaders to look for the sure fire projects that can be implemented without the
help from any of the strong critics related to the change. The leader should choose some of the
early targets, analyze the potential of the pros and the cons of the target and keep motivated
towards the change.
Step 7 - Building over the changes
According to Kotter, The main reason behind the failure of many of the projects are because the
success is being declared very soon. According to the step of the model, some of the real changes
runs very deep and hence the leaders of the organization should launch new and innovative
products for the hand washing hygiene strategy (Small et al., 2016).
Step 8 - Anchoring of the changes
In the final step it is essential for the leader to understand that the change related to the hand
hygiene should become the main or the core part of the health care organization. It is essential
for the leader to make some of the continues efforts for ensuring that the change is being seen in
each and every aspect of the organization. The leader should furthermore continue to support the
changes (Boamah et al., 2018). This includes the new leaders, the existing staffs and the support
of these people in the health care settings. In the final step of the change model, the leader should
talk regarding the progress, tell some of the success stories, include the ideals related to the
change in terms of the hiring and the training of the new staff and publicly recognizing the key
members of the original change coalition.

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The impact of the working culture is the corporate or the culture of the organization includes
the pattern regarding the norms, the values, the beliefs and the assumptions that has been
articulated towards the behavior of the people within the organization (Begun & Thygeson,
2015). In case of the health care settings, the culture of the health care organization will support
the change by enabling the practice of the use of hand washing among all the nurses and the
doctors before touching any patient. The barriers to change might be the additional cost towards
the hand washes and the sanitizers.
The barriers and the facilitators in the process of the change of the hand hygiene includes the
traditional; and the age practice of the doctors. Sometimes the patients are not comfortable
regrading the soap and the disinfectant that is being used and gets affected by the chemicals
within the soap additionally (Olvera et al., 2017). Thus it is essential for the leader of this change
management programme to benchmark or evaluate the procedure and encourage the hospital
facility towards the use of zero chemical disinfectants for the doctors and the nurses in the
surgical units and the inpatient wards. Some of the recommended strategies that the leader needs
to ensure for targeting and attracting the stakeholders of the organization towards the change
management are the following.
 Hand hygiene promotion campaign within the hospital (Knobloch et al., 2018)
 Special care of the patients in the ICU since they are more likely to get affected by the
multi drug resistance micro organisms and the outbreak of the infections
 Use of soap and water in the place of the alcohol based and chemical based hand hygiene
 Report to the leader in case of unpleasant irritations on the hands after using hand washes
 Using hand washes before and after touching any part of the patient both for the doctor
and the nurse (Bowley et al., 2019)

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 Following by the norms of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the
standards of the WHO guidelines regrading hand hygiene
Conclusion
Thus it can be deduced from the above that visionary leaders seem to be the constructors
of a new beginning, functioning to creativity, perspective, as well as courage. They pose a
significant threat which invites for either the best of people as well as draws them in a rational
thinking of purpose. The transformational leadership as the essential trait or the style of the
leadership which is effective towards the particular performance improvement plan of increasing
hand washing compliances in the health sector. Infection related to medical treatment is indeed a
leading cause of mortality rates. Hand sanitation has been considered to become an effective
measure of risk reduction. The article illustrates the background of hand hygiene, which
is considered as the most essential way to reduce damage-care-associated infections, several of
which are distributed via close contact, particularly by either the palms of medical-care workers.
It is essential for the leaders of the organization to talk about the change that is required for the
issues and the challenges faced by the health care industry. Addressing of the concern of the
people like transmission of the health care related pathogens through the means of the direct and
the indirect contacts, the burden related to the health care associated infections and the risk of the
patients towards the surgical site infections are some of the factors the leader needs to address
regrading the health care settings. The essay illustrates some of the effective strategies and
recommendations which the leader should implement for the change management process in the
health care settings.

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