System04104, 8/29/2019: Leadership in Healthcare Essay

This essay examines the crucial role of 'Respect for People' within healthcare management and leadership. It explores how leadership influences organizational culture and patient care, emphasizing the importance of showing respect to both patients and staff. The essay discusses various l...Read More

Running Head: Leadership in Healthcare
Leadership in Health Management
Essay
System04104
8/29/2019

Leadership in Healthcare 1
‘Respect for People’ in Healthcare Management
Introduction
Most of the modern organisations are practicing ‘respect for people’ in the healthcare
services. It is one of the core concepts philosophies in healthcare services. Giving respect to
other people shows the leadership culture of the people and it also shows that the healthcare
organisation cares for the people’s dignity. Respect is a two-way street and it has been said
by many scholars, if a person does not know to show respect to people then the person does
not deserve to lead (Walshe and Smith, 2011). Showing respect in healthcare is crucial and it
not applies only for patient rather it applies on staffs as well. A healthcare practitioner must
give respect to other staff member despite being the position in organisational chart. Giving
respect to the patient is included as an essential code of conduct in nursing practice. This
essay is based on the importance of the term “respect for people” in healthcare organisations
and its importance in patient care.
Leadership and its roles in a healthcare organisation
A leader is a person who not only influences the people rather also understands the
feelings and emotions of other people and easily understands the problems of other. A leader
always shows respect to the cultural differences and understands the rights of patient (Al-
Sawai, 2013). A leader is a person who guides and motivates people or group of people in a
right direction where people can achieve their target or proceed towards their goals with full
commitment and dedication (Chadwick, 2012). Leader is also responsible to change the
behaviour and wrong acts of people by show them a right direction in the life. Therefore, a
leader is influencer, motivator, and also act as a guide for the people and shows them right
direction for the attainment of goals and objectives (Aij & Rapsaniotis, 2017). Normally,
there are various types of leadership and leadership theories. However, based on the power
factor there are three type of leaders; autocratic leadership, democratic or participative
leadership, and delegate or laissez faire leadership. The autocratic leader takes their own
decision and never care about their team members or followers need or suggestions while the
democratic leader take the suggestion of others but makes the decision by their own mind and
heart. However, the delegative leadership offers the participation and decision-making
powers to the followers to whom he/she led. Being an effective and successful leader in the
healthcare organisation, a leader must be empathetic and realistic. Leader should set the

Leadership in Healthcare 2
standards for others and encourage the people to follow their footprints for getting success in
life. These types of leaders are also very effective and accountable for bringing change in the
organisation (Al-Sawai, 2013).
Responsibilities of a leader in a healthcare organisation
As a leader of the healthcare organisation, it is the responsibility to ensure that
everyone acts and behave in responsible and respectful way with patients (Weberg, 2012).
Most of the organisations follow the ethical code of conducts, in which it is mentioned that
every person in the organisation is responsible for sympathetic and dignified care. For
example, in the top healthcare organisations of Australia, respect and dignity is one of the
important factors in treatment of patient. The NHS (National Health Service) of UK
mentioned that every patient and individual has right to be treated with compassion, respect,
kindness, dignity, courtesy, and honesty (Adib-Hajbaghery & Aghajani, 2015).
Respect for People in Healthcare Context
As a leader in the healthcare organisation, it is the responsibility to understand the
cultural values and show respect to the cultural differences. It is considerable that in a
healthcare organisation, patients come from different places having different culture,
language, and living style (Hanse, Harlin, Jarebrant, Ulin, & Winkel, 2016). This term does
not apply on patients only rather it also applies on the workforce because there many people
working together in a healthcare setup and they all have some cultural differences. Therefore,
it is really important for the leader to show respect to the values, beliefs, and morals of
people. According the servant leadership theory, a leader must care about their followers
(Baillie & Ilott, 2010). The servant leadership based on the character that a leader should
have capabilities to understand the problem of others and service the people to resolve issue.
In healthcare services, a leader must follow the norms and characteristics of servant
leadership because it has been found that servant leadership always tries to bring out the best
possible performance in their employees, staff, and nurses. A successful leader in the
healthcare organisation always expects a positive outcome about the health recovery of
patient. A leader is assumed to be a successful leader when he/she creates a place in the heart
of its followers (Dahlgaard, Pettersen & Dahlgaard-Park, 2011). This concept also applies on
the leaders in the healthcare organisations. As a leader in the healthcare organisation,
everyone expects to approach to the leader for their concerns and issues and every member in
the organisation expects to the leader to be on their side. However, it is really impossible for
a leader to talk with both sides so the leader stays on firm and fair approach to deal with such

Leadership in Healthcare 3
type of situation. This shows that a leader must be able to negotiate with people and should
respect the values and culture of every people in the organisation. Leadership in the
healthcare organisation is so crucial for the guiding and monitoring people and their
activities. Although in such process, a leader has to act and behave in an honourable way, so
people could not be hurt or affected by the decisions or command of the leader. However, in
the healthcare services a leader should traits of servant leadership that helps the leader to
respect other’s values and morals and their cultural differences. To show the respect for
people, a leader must have traits of servant leadership because these traits develop the
character of an authentic and effective leader in the healthcare organisation (Chassin, 2013).
As a leader of a healthcare organisation, a leader must be respectful for the people and
patient to whom the leader met or interact. This is a fundamental character of an authentic
and effective leader that leader should give respect to the other people (VanVactor, 2012).
Respect is the predominant organisational value of a healthcare organisation that creates the
image of organisation in front of its patients and among the people in which it serves the
people. A leader plays a role of healers in the organisation where patient sometimes face the
worst situation of their life. As healers, a leader must understand the pain and problem of
patient and should treat them with empathy and respect. Sometimes, it has been seen that
patient refused to take medicines or participate in the treatment process and it is really
problematic for a physician during treatment process, but if a physician teat the leader with
respect and love, it will help the patient to recover from the illness as quick as possible
(Graban & Prachand, 2010). A leader in healthcare not only acts as a physician or carer for
the patient rather it also helps the patient to recover from their illness. It means a leader
should have mentally tough to face the tough situation with patient. It is really good for a
healthcare organisation that patient feel like his family among the nurses and hospital staffs.
This positive feeling will help the patient to recover from the critical situation. These
initiative and respectful behaviour of leader or physician in the organisation change the
environment and inspires others to do so with other people and patient in the organisation.
However, these changes in the people and other hospital staff leads to change in their
performance that further leads to better performance of organisation with its patient. It not
only improves the image of the company rather it also increases the number of arrivals in the
organisation. The researchers have found that the autocratic leadership style is not always
effective in the healthcare organisation neither the directive leadership style (Gunnarsdóttir,
2014). The caveat approach leaves a bad image of leader in the organisation and people

Leadership in Healthcare 4
generally do not like this type of behaviour in the organisation. To become a successful
leader, it is essential for a leader to behave as a careful person with the patient and carefully
listen the issue of patient. The common duty of role of every leader in the healthcare
organisation is to maintain integrity in the organisation and connect every people of the
organisation with the patient satisfaction and his or her wellbeing. A physician is more
responsible to serve patient and sets the tone of help for other people. Therefore, it can be
said that a physician acts as a leader, no matter what the job or duties of physician is, but a
physician can set the moral values or moral standard and way of behaviour for other people
(Jenkins & Stewart, 2010).
How Leader influence the organisational Culture and Performance
Respect is a primary need of highly performing organisations. Respect shows the
caring values of the organisation and its members towards the patient. Respect always helps
the healthcare organisation to create a collaborative and healthy environment with the patient
and nurses or staffs who are serving the patient. When a patient receives a high level of
respect from the organisational people, he/she feels that the healthcare team are carefully
attached and engaged with the patient and working for their wellbeing (Poksinska, Swartling,
& Drotz, 2013). The respect shows the culture of a person and it also encourages people to
perform more innovatively and effectively. Respect also shows the commitment of leader
towards the patient and work for the wellbeing of patient. Cultivating a culture of respect in
the healthcare organisation by the leader can transform the organisation and set the example
for others that how respect can be manifested to the patient or any other people in the
organisation. This will really help the organisation to change the organisational culture and
establish a positive environment where people work with dignity and respect. According the
authentic leadership style, a leader should care and respect the values of others and this type
of leader understands that every people should be treated with dignity and respect (Nichols &
Cottrell, 2014).
The respect is a fundamental need in the healthcare organisation and people not only
show the respect with showing them rather a good leader or person can show the respect in
various ways such as listening carefully to the issues of people or patient, keep their
promises, show attention to the issues of other people etc. A culture of respect is really
important in the organisation because its shows that every nurse, staff, and people of the
organisation are playing an important role in the wellbeing and treatment of the patient. It is
the character of a good leader that he/she gives respect to everyone in the organisation despite

Leadership in Healthcare 5
being the position or designation in the organisation (Mattson & Clark, 2011). For example,
if a physician opens the door or holds the door for a hospital cleaner, it shows the respect of
physician towards the office cleaner and it will boost the confidence of all the employees in
the healthcare organisation. This action of physician will change the culture of organisation
and also change the thoughts of people that any person can help the people despite being their
position of work. However, it is essential for a leader to have certain core characteristics or
traits that could be essential to become of good leader in the organisation. These traits are
must be inherent in the personality of the leader that he/she can give respect to the feelings
and emotions of the other person. However, for this purpose a leader must have capabilities
to understand the feelings of others and having culture to respect the culture of others
(Rogers, 2012).
Stakeholder behaviour when respect is core value
A bad behaviour of employee, staff, or nurse not only affects the health recovery
process of patient, but it also affects the growth and development opportunities of the
organisation (Sloan, Fitzgerald, Hayes, Radnor, Robinson, Sohal, & Poksinska, 2014). These
all are some non-physical harm to the organisation and its image because of poor behaviour
and disrespectful behaviour of people with the patient or other people. Language of respect
also does matter for the physicians and leaders in the healthcare organisation. It is
considerable that how physician or nurse staffs behave with the patients. ‘Respect for people’
is a term that is used in the bioethics discourse and it is one of the key principles in healthcare
organisation that shows the behaviour and organisational health services quality (Trastek,
Hamilton, & Niles, 2014). Disrespected to the patient or any organisational people in the
healthcare organisation termed as one of the bad practices in the healthcare organisation. Bad
behaviour of a physician may result in the worst patient experience in the healthcare
organisation and leave a negative impact in the mind of patient. A patient is already suffering
with physical health issue and in that circumstances, if a physician cry one other patient or
loudly talk with the patient, it will really destroy the image of healthcare organisation and
leave a bad image in the mind of patient (Weberg, 2012). After that, it directly affects the
likelihood of seeking care in the same facilities. Apart from this, disrespect of one staff or
nurse with the other nurse or staff pushes the family and patient away from the healthcare
organisation and it affects the revenue and profitability of the organisation as well. Dignity is
a human right and it is universal though that applies everywhere. If the patients treated with
the dignity and the leader of physician behaves with patient in ethical manner, it will help the

Leadership in Healthcare 6
patient to recover from his illness and it also leads to patient satisfaction. However, in
healthcare organisation, it has been found in a research of WHO that respect is the second
valuable term in the healthcare organisation after promptness of care’. All the nurses in the
professional healthcare organisation are bound to behave in a respectful way with patient and
respect for the dignity of other people during treatment process (Lin, Watson, & Tsai, 2013).
These things are really helpful in a healthcare organisation because it is really useful for the
patient health recovery that everyone treats the patient with love, respect, and dignity.
However, the interaction of leader with the people also sets the tune of respect and establishes
a standard for others that how people should be treated in the healthcare care organisation.
Showing respect is not the duty of a particular person in the organisation rather it is the
responsibility of every person who involve in care work in the organisation. The way of
interaction, way of behaviour, and way of treating people shows how honest and effective a
leader is. This is really a crucial and one of the important philosophies of healthcare industry
that always show ‘respect for the people’ and inspire others to do so. This will not only help
the patient to recover the health rather it also helps the organisation to improve its
performance and brand image among the people tat further increase the revenue and profit of
the healthcare organisation (Schroeder, 2012).
Conclusion
In conclusion, respect is the core of success of any healthcare organisation after
‘promptness in care’. Giving respect to the other people by a leader in the organisation sets
the standards for other people and encourage them to behave in same way with other people
in the organisation including both patients and staffs. However, the authentic or servant style
of leadership practices and respectful behaviour of a leader creates a culture of respect in the
organisation and sets the way of success and growth in future by improving the performance
and image of the organisation. The organisation or leader need to follow the servant style of
leadership where the main objective of a leader to serve others with respect and dignity.
Apart from this, the lean model of management also focuses on respect and continuous
improvement which are the key of success of any healthcare organisation and a leader should
practice these approaches to create a culture of respect and enhance the performance of the
healthcare organisation. A leader has a role and responsibility of setting standards for others
and influence them to behave in dignified and respectful ways, so it helps the patient to
recover from any health issues.

Leadership in Healthcare 7
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Leadership in Healthcare 8
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