Leadership is a broad term. When thinking of a leader I think of someone who leads by example. In order to be a good leader you must know the roles of everyone else so you can plan, and respond accordingly. Leading can also be done in many different ways. Every team captain, business manager, or any leader leads differently. However, in order to be a good leader there are many traits you must have and skills you must know. A good leader knows how to satisfy its team, is a good decision maker, is organized, plans ahead, and is knowledgeable of whatever task he or she is trying to achieve. In Healthcare management you can serve as many different jobs in leadership roles. In order to be successful in healthcare management you must lead by example and get the most out of your employees.
“A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.” This is a quote from John C. Maxwell, an American author who has written many books primarily focused on leadership. As a leader in healthcare management you must know and understand the task you are giving out to your employees. A leader in a management position must be able to plan strategically, organize jobs, positions, and departments; obtain employees and keep them satisfied, influence and motivate, and be knowledgeable of the task at hand.
As a manager you must be able to plan strategically. Strategic planning is simply analyzing information and creating a strategy to achieve a goal. While strategic planning you should ask yourself these three questions: Where are we now? Where should we be going? How do we get there? Finding solutions to these questions will help you achieve your goal. Strategic planning also includes identifying strengths and weaknesses and creating opportunities to improve the weak points. It also means identifying threats and competitors for business and create ways to be the better option. Managers must plan constantly, they must plan annual goals, projects, and work in their departments to help HCO’s achieve the overall mission or purpose.
Planning and organizing kind of go hand and hand. Part of organizing is planning. Organizing includes putting positions and departments into complete organizations. It also includes keeping a schedule, and files all in an easy to locate place. There are many different ways to organize a company or business and many different charts to prove it. In my opinion however, there is no one chart that stands out as best. For each company may find better success with different ways of organization. Organizing groups and teams within the organization can help with success. As a good leader you must take the time to get to know your employees so you can put them in the position that will be most productive for that particular individual. Some people work better when they are working with others. They enjoy communication and creating friendships with their co-workers. This can be a good thing as long as they are being productive, but when it interferes with their job performance it becomes a problem. Others however may work better independently where they can focus and do their job without any distractions. As a leader, you should be able to recognize these problems and adjust accordingly. This is why organization is so important. You have to put the right team together to get the best results as a whole.
Managers are the most common types of leaders in the average society. At every place of work there is someone of some power who is in charge of the employees. Part of a manager’s job is making sure that his or her employees are doing their job properly and making sure they get the adequate training to do so. This is why it’s important as a good leader to know not just your own job, but everyone’s job. Knowing and understanding the job of your employees helps you to understand the stress and strain that job puts on them, and makes it easier to find solutions to make work more satisfying for your workers. Leadership is a trait and/or role that many people view differently. There are many different theories of how to keep employees satisfied, however the one that stood out the most to me is Herzberg’s two factors theory.
In Herzberg’s theory he believes the two main points to keep employees happy is motivators and hygiene. Herzberg studied workers satisfaction in the late 1960s and came to the conclusion that most people are motivated by things that increase feelings of satisfaction. His research made him believe that satisfaction and dissatisfaction are caused by different factors. He believed that instead of satisfaction and dissatisfaction being on opposite sides of the scale that they were two separate scales all together. Hygiene included working conditions, pay, supervision, and friendly co-workers. Herzberg believed that improved hygiene factors would reduce workers dissatisfaction however not make them satisfied. Motivators and Hygiene can have some similarities. Hygiene factors can be used as motivators. A person who is getting an increase in their income may be motivated to work harder. Managers often use this two factor theory, it is simple yet effective. Paying attention to what keeps workers happy and unhappy is really important. This can simply mean just giving credit to someone for doing a good job. Noticing an employee’s hard work is a good way to give them a confidence boost and a little motivation. Being a friendly boss can help get the most production out of your employees and helps make their job a little less stressful so that they are able to do it their best.
Leaders also need somewhat experience in their field of work. Like many other jobs you may start at a lower skill/wage job and gain experience that is needed to fulfill that management position. A good leader takes advantage and learns from this opportunity. They watch how their manager communicates with employees, pays attention to how satisfied their co-workers are, and think of solutions that would make them happier. Then when giving the opportunity of a management position makes the changes necessary to please his or her employees, while mirroring the traits and task the employees enjoyed before.
Healthcare Management is a broad field with many different management positions and jobs each with something different than the other. However one thing in common that will bring success to any manager, is being a good leader and having good leadership traits. In my opinion motivation and influence are the two key factors of being a good leader. The most successful managers lead by the example of working hard, taking initiative, being thoughtful of their employees, and being organized. In conclusion I want to end with a quote from Harold Geneen, a famous American businessman. “Leadership is practiced not so much in words as in attitude and in actions.” Lead by example, and others will follow.
