Discussion 1: Leadership Assessment
Healthcare is in vast need of transformation. For radical changes to occur, leaders in micro,
meso, and macrosystems (in many various capacities) must emerge to facilitate the necessary
work. The work to be done is far too large for a few. Many of you are relatively new to
healthcare; others have been entrenched in healthcare systems for years, perhaps embedded so
long that it is difficult to imagine a different way of delivering healthcare services. With that
said, stay with me a little longer as we take a detour outside the world of healthcare to look,
perhaps a little less emotionally or with a smaller degree of cynicism, at a couple of other
industries that are taking on a new look because of changing environments and consumer
expectations.
Example 1
Those who are old enough may remember during your youth Saturdays being big shopping
days. Monday through Friday people worked or went to school. Saturday was a day for getting
“caught up” and getting ready for coming events. During those days shopping was a big part of
“getting ready”. The large department stores were busy, so much so, that many times it was
difficult to find a parking spot. Now, take a look around your community. Is this picture the
same? Are the large department stores bustling on Saturday, or for any day, as a matter of
fact? If your community is anything like mine, the large department stores are much, much
quieter. Stores have downsized inventory, reduced the workforce, implemented strategies such
as super sales, coupons, customer loyalty campaigns, and re-engineered processes to enhance
performance. Check-out counters have been reduced from one every 30 feet to one or two for an
entire floor! What has impacted the retail business? What is your vision for the future of these
department stores? Are department stores a viable way to do business these days? What other
process changes are needed for sustainability?
Example 2
Have you had the opportunity to interact with the airline industry lately? How has this industry
evolved over the last couple of decades? Does anyone remember the paper ticket that used to be
mailed to you or had to picked up from the ticket counter? How many of you check in now
using an airport kiosk or check in online before you even come to the airport and only go to the
ticket counter to check a bag? When did check-in move to curb service and why? Even better,
who would have ever thought we would be checking before even arriving at the
airport!! Hmmm… Okay, now let’s look for a moment at the airline industry from the angle of
safety. Has aviation safety changed over the years? Absolutely! What prompted the pursuit of
safety? Did you know one of the biggest changes in the industry occurred when jet liners
replaced propeller driven airplanes. Hmmm… I see innovation and creativity as an underpinning
for the change. Another contribution to safety came with aviation regulations? Is transparency
for errors greater today than years gone by? What kinds of processes to enhance safety were
changed due to regulation? Were checklists developed and mandated? What about regulation of
pilots’ flying hours? How about the use of simulation to promote communication? What
processes have changed in the airline industry after the 9/11 hi-jacking and plane crashes?
Rev 7/18
Alright enough of this; let’s move to the business of healthcare. We all know that healthcare of
today is deeply steeped in traditional practices and processes that no longer work well in
contemporary times… and how do we know this? It is because access to care for our U.S. citizens
remains a problem, the costs for providing healthcare in the United States is greater than any other
industrialized country, and healthcare outcomes do not hit the mark; thus, the public is not always
getting the healthcare needed, and when received, the value is not equivalent to the dollar spent.
Transformation requires the engagement of the many stakeholders and a genuine commitment to
improvement. Yet, how does one rally the troops? More importantly, what should healthcare look
like? How do we break out of our traditional practices and processes? What role does the
advanced practice nurse play in the transformation of healthcare? Now to you… do you as an
emerging advanced practice nurse possess the leadership skills to facilitate this transformation?
Assignment Overview (Context)
This assignment is designed to provide an opportunity for the students to explore their individual
strengths and weaknesses and become aware of strengths needed from others to compose a
successful team. For this interactive class discussion, begin with a review of the required
readings in Unit I (excluding the material on emotional intelligence, which will be the focus of
our next discussion). After reading the required assignments, take the self-assessment exercise by
Rath and Conchie (instructions on how to take the assessment can be found below).
Research findings of Rath and Conchie (2008) indicate that leaders do not have to be good at
every aspect of leading. What a relief! However, to be effective change agents, these authors
argue the importance of knowing one’s leadership strengths and leveraging those strengths to build
strong teams. How does one leverage those strengths? Consider how one’s leadership strengths
could potentially weaken a team. In addition to the leadership assessment exercise, please read the
following articles:
Strengths Based Leadership Development Insights from Expert Coaches (found in the
forum overview)
Beyond Transformation Leadership to Greater Engagement: Inspiring Innovations in
Complex Organizations (found in the forum overview)
Sample Solution
