The Importance Of Leadership In The Field Of Healthcare Leadership

Stuart (1996) recognizes leadership as discovering the way ahead and encouraging and inspiring others to follow (Barr & Dowding, 2012). When considering the selection of the person I believe is a leader in the field of healthcare leadership to interview for this assignment, I took this into consideration and looked for someone that demonstrated the ability to encourage and inspire others.

The person selected (who will be referenced as DM) is the executive vice president (VP) and chief nursing executive (CNE) of a multi-site hospital corporation with over 6,000 staff, physicians, and volunteers. I was very interested in interviewing DM as he was one of the key leaders specifically brought into the organization following the Ministry of Health

DM feels is a key factor in changing the culture of the organization. Blocked time is in his calendar every week to be present, with one full day dedicated to each site. He made a point of stating “and not just in an office but on the ground rounding with people” (physicians, health service providers, housekeeping, security, patients, visitors, etc.). This is important to DM, so much so, it is an expectation for all of his leadership team as well – to be visible and present. Daily rounds have been incorporated into standard work as well as weekly organizational rounding called rhythm rounds which include all leadership. This opens the channels of communication where any challenges or barriers can be brought forward, again supporting the leadership framework model noted by Scott (2010). DM shared a book with me called “Beyond Heroes: A Lean Management System for Healthcare” by Kim Barnas. DM provides a copy to all of his leaders to read, as it explains much of what he is aiming to achieve and supports his vision. An example of leading beautifully, where the leader creates and imparts a vision, motivates and directs followers, enables followers to higher aims through transformational practices, and follows that of servant leadership styles (Ladkin, 2008). This also speaks of the passion that you cannot help to notice about DM, his passion in serving the healthcare needs of his community and his passion to serving his staff (Piper,