Sustainable Leadership in Healthcare: Models, Theories & Practices

The assignment discusses sustainable leadership as a vital aspect of organizational success. It highlights the importance of cultivating an environment that fosters continuous learning and improvement, and having an activist commitment to the environment. Sustainable leadership also involves developing a system that supports leaders in taking care of themselves and their organizations, rather than imposing standardized processes on employees. The report emphasizes the significance of this approach in the healthcare industry, where proper coordination among stakeholders is crucial for providing quality services.

RUNNING HEAD: SUSTAINABLE LEADERSHIP 1
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STUDENT’S NAME
STUDENT’S COLLEGE

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TABLE OF CONTENTS:
ABSTRACT……………………………………………………………………………………….3
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................4
LEADERSHIP THEORIES 4
CONTINGENCY THEORY………………………………………………………………
4
TRANSACTIONAL LEADERSHIP THEORY………………………………………….5
TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP THEORY……...…………………………….5
NHS LEADERSHIP MODEL……………………………………………………………………5
SUSTAINABLE LEADERSHIP AND ORGANIZATIONS……………………………………8
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................12
REFERENCES:.............................................................................................................................14

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ABSTRACT
This report makes an attempt to illustrate the various aspects of leadership with special
reference to the healthcare industry. The report highlights the various traits and situations which
helps in bringing out the best in leaders. Healthcare is an industry which is closely associated
with people and every day the various stakeholders in the industry come across varied
challenging situations which require a dynamic leader to come out of flying colors in such
situations. This report tries to elucidate some principles which can act as a guiding principle to
attain leadership qualities particularly in the healthcare industries. The report tries to explain
sustainable leadership through several theoretical frameworks and popular principles established
in the existing literature. There are several views regarding leadership which have been collated
in this report and which is best applicable for the healthcare industry have been provided. The
traits and attitudes that should be followed to attain success in leadership have been explained in
this article. Some of them are acquired while others can be developed through practice which
have been illustrated in the report. At last it is justified to mention that this article tries to develop
a framework for a sustainable leadership model which can be applied to the healthcare industry,
however the structure used in this report can be used in similar other academic purpose for
analysis in other industries.

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INTRODUCTION:
Healthcare industry is involved in the delivery of critical service and numerous patients
from various backgrounds come every day for availing healthcare services. They are being
served by several people with varied qualifications or attributes and have to be well coordinated
among themselves so that they are able to establish a successful process for the delivery of the
service. In order to have a high performing environment there needs to be a leader who can bring
about the best from every individual. This is all more important for the healthcare industry since
it is necessary for every individual to be at his best to deliver lifesaving services. There needs to
certain attributes and characteristics that should be present within the leader of such an institution
for its success. There are several leadership models which specify the benchmark practices in the
healthcare industry which have been explained in the ensuing discussion and have been tried to
come up with a sustainable leadership model for the healthcare industry. This report elaborates in
detail the various principles and elements of a sustainable leadership model and makes an
attempt to present them in a clear and concise manner so that there can be standard operating
procedure for every leadership role in this industry (Hess, 2012).
LEADERSHIP THEORIES:
Researchers from all over the world have put in hard work to identify the characteristic
traits of global leaders and collate them in their work. These results from varied investigations
have shaped leadership in various industries and domains of which healthcare is of concern in
this report. Some of the theory which are relevant for the healthcare industry have been listed
below:

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Contingency Theories – The concept is primarily an elaboration of the Trait theory and
emphasizes on the point that a single concept is not enough to interpret the attributes and
thoughts of an inspirer. Quality traits are developed as and when they face challenging situations
and its needs to change as per the demand of the situation. So this theoretical model is more
concerned with the environment in which a leader operates and also the kind of people with
which he interacts. A common notion in this theory is that the leaders are successful when their
subordinates or other stakeholders react to the actions initiated by them or people around them
respond promptly to their call for certain actions or activities (Harrison, 2011).
Transactional Leadership Theory – This concept tries to establish the fact that perception and
attributes of an inspirer is molded by the interaction that is established among the person and his
disciples. It represents a meaningful interaction among the two and elaborates about a mutually
advantageous relationship. Rationality is a concept which is derived from economics and stress
on the fact that one should undertake activities that increase one’s usefulness and lower the
wasteful actions.
Transformational Leadership Theory – This is a theory whose bedrock is established on the
fact that a good leader has to forge a beneficial relationship with his subordinates and other
stakeholders which is the case in my leadership attributes. The helpful nature has helped me to
forge good and meaningful relationships with both internal and external customers in my
organization who eventually enable me in fulfilling the concerned task by overcoming all the
hindrances involved in that operation (Goddard, 2011).
NHS LEADERSHIP MODEL:

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This is a leadership model which has been formulated to guide the future leaders in the
healthcare industry. It is not only directed at the top management of any pharmaceutical or
healthcare institute but it can also be utilized by other members in any clinical environment to
increase their workplace efficiency and the way they engage with the work environment. It is
mostly focused on collating the attributes that are demonstrated by leaders at work and then
presenting them in a structured manner so that anyone can focus one them. It consists of nine
dimensions which can are explained as follows:
Inspiring shared Purpose – This pillar of NHS leadership model is about being passionate of the
services that are being provided and have an attitude towards continuous improvement. A leaders
should always look for opportunities to improve the services that are being delivered under his
supervision. It is essential because leaders inspire different people at work adding varied values
to the services that are being provided and as they start believing in the shared value they start
improving the services (Dolan, 2004).
Leading with care – It is about being sensitive and empathetic about each and every member of
the team so that their needs and requirements can be understood by their leader. This enables
them to be at their best so that they can deliver the exquisite services for which a pharmaceutical
company will be known for. A leader should have the acumen to understand the underlying
emotions and attitudes of a team so that he can act accordingly and make them comfortable in
their workplace.
Evaluating Information – A successful leader has to seek out essential information which can
enable them to improve the services an organization is providing. Today every change that is
taking place in any industry is being data driven. Therefore it is essential for a leader to have an
outlook towards collecting data and analyzing them so that it can provide insights which would

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be useful in enhancing the services in the pharmaceutical company of concern (Horlings & Padt,
2011).
Connecting Service – Healthcare is an industry where different teams come together and the
member from varied backgrounds bring some special quality to the table which facilitate the easy
and streamlined process. A leader should understand how different teams interact and bring the
best out of them. There needs to be a connecting link which intertwined healthcare service with
the social care motivation of all the member in a team.
Sharing the Vision – Leaders should clearly communicate the vision and mission of the
organization with his subordinates or colleagues so that they can strive to achieve those qualities.
It has been proved empirically that whenever employees have a clear vision statement in front of
them then it becomes easy for them to put effort at the right direction which would enable an
organization to achieve its goals.
Engaging the team – There have been instances where it has been proved that it is essential to
have an engaging team so that the morale of the people can be kept high and productivity of
every team members increase to create and environment which is best for the delivery of
excellent service. Leaders should be able to promote teamwork and instill a sense of pride among
the member of the team so that they can easily achieve the outcomes set for them (Avery &
Bergsteiner, 2011b).
Holding to account – There needs to be well defined performance indicators and mutually agreed
upon goals. It is essential since it is meaningless to work on a project without any tangible
improvement in the service. Therefore it is necessary for the leader to mention the required goals

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and performance indicators before the start of the project. It will also bring some objectivity for
the employees so that they can work upon certain qualities which reveal poor performance.
Developing Capability – Leaders should always try to develop capability which is essential for
the further growth of his employees. This indicates significant focus for the leaders on training
and development for its employees since it adds value to the organization through numerous
direct and indirect improvements in service delivery. Moreover there is considerable learning
curve improvement among employees who have been appointed for doing the same task for long
number of years.
Influencing for results – Leaders should always have a positive impact on the results of other
employees or subordinates. They should act as a guiding role model which would lift all the
people in the organization and thereby strive towards achieving the goals of the organization.
Leaders should network with his team so that he is able to understand the passion of different
people in his team and provide them with work accordingly which bring the best out of them as
well as enable the individual to achieve his personal dreams (Alessandrini, 2007).
SUSTAINABLE LEADERSHIP AND ORGANIZATION:
Sustainable term was first coined by the initiator of world watch institute Lester Brown in 1980.
Sustainability does not only mean to last long, it tells how an initiative can be established
without compromising on other things in the same environment at present or in the future.
Sustainable leadership is something which matters, spreads and persists. It is a shared
responsibility which does not reduces financial or human resources for other advancements. It
avoids any damages and cares for the surrounding community and educational environment. It is

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a capability of the system to engross in complexities of enhancements which is consistent with
ideals of human purposes (Avery & Bergsteiner, 2011a).
Seven principles of sustainable leadership:
1. Sustainable leadership forms and reserves sustaining learning: First principle defines the rule
that sustainability means developing something which is sustainable. It means nourishing
itself. Sustaining leadership means learning that can last and engages persons socially,
emotionally and intellectually. It is not just achieving results, it is the learnings behind those
achievements. In the pharmacy, some defined practices are followed. These practices should
last long. A manager can decide the most advantageous way to achieve results and to
enhance the confidence of its staff. While the strategy is to increase the end results, it also
increases the productivity of the staff. In the neighboring pharmacy company, manager might
increase the number of services but is not focusing on the productivity of his staff. Staff may
work together to improve their performance for a month with patients and community.
Immediate results might not be very impressive but in the long run they have developed a
way of serving customer which made them high performers. Sustainable leadership promotes
sustainable leadership which goes beyond short term gains and creates long lasting
improvements that are also quantifiable (Ruiz, 2015).
2. Sustainable leadership fortifies achievements over time: leadership progression is the last
task of leadership. This is the challenge of moving on, letting go, and planning for own
uselessness. These improvements are not the one which will disappear after champions have
left. Sustainable leadership is not achieved by only large leadership but it is something which
can be continued by the predecessors of the great leader. It is beyond any individuals that
connects actions with all the successors and predecessor leaders. Leadership events are

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almost always connected to emotions with feelings of apprehension, expectations, loss, relief
or abandonment. Frequent successions intensify these anxieties. Sustainable leadership
therefore plans for the succession from the very first day a leader. This also controls the
frequency and rates so that staff does not suffer from cynicism brought by succession
exhaustion. Almost all companies appoint an assistant to the leadership position who can
replace him if required. In general, charismatic leaders are followed by less capable leaders
who are unable to maintain the momentum of ongoing processes. Sustainable leadership
needs thoughtful devotion to be paid to succession of leadership. It can be achieved by
grooming leaders when there is need of successors to keep continuity in the leadership
effectiveness. Successful leaders can be kept longer if needed to be. There can be pre-fixed
processes to maintain continuity of these leaders.
3. Sustainable leadership endures the leadership of others: one way to ensure continuity of
leadership is to develop it and share it with other leaders. That means distribution of
leadership to all the staff members, so that it can carry forward the principals once the leader
is gone. If a company leader’s policy is to maintain a learning range over the time then it
should be shared with all the staff from top management to the clerical staff members. This
will provide a common goal to all. Manager may share emphasize decision making and staff
members will come together to implement those decisions. After his retirement, all members
will continue his legacy. If management does not include its employees in decision making
then there can be some issues where employees will not support management and this will
effect overall efficiency of the organization (Akrivou & Bradbury-Huang, 2011).
4. Sustainable leadership deals with concerns of social justice: Sustainable leadership benefits
all in the society not just the company and its employees. Sustainable leadership is sensitive

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of the issues like how some big firms or society gain all the advantages. It keeps others in the
shadows and privileged society gain most of the profits. Sustainable leadership takes the
responsibilities that everyone in the society affects each other with their work. Succession
and sustainability are tangled up with matters of social justice. Sustainable leadership is not
only about keeping improvements in one company. It is about being answerable for all the
actions that affect the society.
5. Sustainable leadership develops not reduces material and human resources: sustainable
leadership gives extrinsic rewards and intrusive incentives to retain and attract the brightest
and best of leadership pool. It also provides opportunities and time to its leaders to connect
with others, to learn from them, to support them, to coach them as well as to mentor their
next leaders. It intelligently uses its resources to develop the talent. It does not spend lavishly
on just rewarding the already proven stars. In all the companies, resource depletion, reform
demands and rush to retirement have created a turnover in managers and their assistants.
System which deploys sustainable leadership knows how to take care of leaders and how to
get new great leaders who can take care of themselves as well as of organization. Leadership
is only sustainable if it can produce leaders who are able to sustain their selves.
6. Sustainable leadership cultivates environmental capacity and diversity: sustainability
promoters recreate and cultivate an environment which has the capability for continuous
improvements. They make people able to adopt and prosper in this complex environment.
They learn from each other’s practices. These practices differ from person to person which
are a learning experience for themselves as well as for others. Successful companies create
diversity for learning of all. Standardization is not good for sustainability. Sustainable
leadership finds and cultivates many types of excellence in the learning process, teaching. It

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provides network to share different kind of excellence in cross fertilization of improvements.
It does not impose a standardized process for all of its employees (Svensson & Wood, 2007).
7. Sustainable leadership embark on activist commitment with the environment: in the process
of standardization, all the companies have become less motivated variety of their former
selves. In the same time, innovative companies have lost their core competencies. But all of
these companies not just because of innovativeness or strength as a learning, but because
they engaged aggressively with their environment. It is driven by activist leadership. It
influences environment which influences it. This tell that when environment is not helpful,
sustainable leadership has to have an activist aspect.
Sustainable leadership is developed by what the approach is, what are the commitments and deep
learnings from it in any organization. How the leadership is sustaining itself and its environment,
what is the support for it also matters. Most leaders do the things which matters and inspires
others. Sometimes they fail, but it is not the leaders who fail it can also be a system which did
not succeed. Sustainable leadership should always spread and last for itself and for others
(Abraham, 2009).
CONCLUSION:
This report has explained in detail the various aspects of leadership with special reference
to the healthcare industry. The numerous aspects of leadership attributes and traits which
generally lead to success in the healthcare domain have been explained in detail. The report also
touches upon the various theoretical frameworks and principles already present in the existing
literature and tries to fit them into the sustainable leadership model. The personality and
behaviour of a leader goes a long way in defining the leadership model followed by the person
and that aspect has been highlighted in this report. The report also elucidates few situations

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wherein the leadership capabilities of a person is highlighted and in several instances the
interaction one has with his colleagues or subordinates shapes the leadership characteristics of a
person. All these aspects has been particularly discussed in the light of the healthcare industry. It
is of concern since it is an industry which is involved with critical service and there are several
stakeholders which benefit from the services of the healthcare institutes and there needs to be a
proper co-ordination established among the various stakeholders with proper leadership so that
they are able to provide a winning service to the patients. At last it is justified to mention that the
report has adopted a structured approach for the development of a sustainable leadership model
in the healthcare industry which can be emulated in other industries of interest as well.

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