Leadership Approaches in Concord General Hospital - Case Study Example

Leadership Approaches in Solving Problems Student Name Institution Leadership Approaches in Solving Problems Introduction Concord Repatriation General Hospital in Australia (well known as “your hospital by the river”) earns its reputation from a 70 year old quality service provision to the Australian society. It provides services to the neighbourhoods of Concord, Burwood, and Strathfield among other regions in the country. The Australian Council on Health Care Standards has awarded the hospital severally for its outstanding medical care services. In addition, the Postgraduate Medical Council recommends the hospital for the good training of postgraduate doctors. The hospital is located in the vicinity of the University of Sydney. It holds a capacity of 750 beds with specialized services to meet different patient requirements. The special units in the hospital include molecular biology, gastroenterology, laparoscopic surgery, colorectal surgery, genetic engineering laboratory, and the stroke rehabilitation department among other specialties. The inception of the stroke rehabilitation unit in the wake of 2003 provided a serene environment to care for stroke patients and the elderly (Hornik, 2013). It marked a major milestone in the hospital’s plan of expansion to meet Australia’s health demands. With the increase in the number of patients in the stroke rehabilitation unit, the management has tried to maintain quality services despite claims that the unit is understaffed, underfunded, and lacks employee cooperation (Zorowitz, 2010). Recent findings suggest that there has been a rise in the number of patients who complain about the poor services offered by the hospital staff at the unit. Moreover, the uneasiness of the working environment at Concord is affecting the morale and performance of its employees. The hospital needs to maintain its image not only to suit its status, but also to ensure that it continues to provide quality services (Wang, Chontawan, & Nantsupawat, 2012). As one of the health workers in the stroke rehabilitation unit, I have noted the issues and recommend the management to take drastic measures to restore competence in the stroke and rehabilitation unit. A good and effective management is one that utilizes leadership skills in ensuring that the organization meets its goals (Needham & Korupolu, 2010). Consequently, this paper outlines the approaches that the manager and other leaders of the Concord stroke rehabilitation unit need to take to ensure that the unit revives its good name and operates in line with the hospital’s objectives. Ways of Maintaining Leadership Composure in the Unit Self-composure characterizes the capability of a leader in any management position. Significant changes in the workplace, for example, require the leader to have self-confidence, patience, and flexibility. These three factors define and constitute the composure of an effective leader. A leader’s composure ensures that, in times of uncertainty, the organization will maintain its status without either its staff or clients noticing what is going on internally (Snell & Dickson, 2011). In addition, it portrays the leader’s maturity, shrewdness, and preparedness to deal with arising problems. The overall appearance, attitude, and body language are important attributes with regard to the leadership composure of an individual (Hogg, Knippenberg, & Rast, 2012). The problems affecting the stroke rehabilitation unit not only require leadership performance and encouragement of staff members, but also a leadership ability that can ensure the safety and well-being of the patients. The existing employee’s notion in the rehabilitation unit shows their fear of working in a “survival for the fittest” kind of environment (Swanwick & McKimm, 2011). All employees need to be considered as part of the hospital to maintain its traditional position and heritage. When employees feel a sense of belonging, they commit to their chores because they love their jobs more. The lack of leadership composure results in fear among subordinates. For that reason, instances of uncertainty should not create panic; instead they should create a scope of opportunity for the management (Kim & Chung, 2012). Leadership composure aids the manager to trace the origin of a particular problem and solve it diligently and quickly before it affects the objectives of the organization (Stevens, Hemmings, Scott, Lawler, & White, 2014). The problems affecting the stroke and rehabilitation unit at Concord Hospital show the lack of composure in the management team. There are several approaches that the management should take to restore composure. The first one includes the elimination and avoidance of emotional responses to the crisis. One way of eliminating emotions is by having self-control. The emotional aspect of a leader shows that the leader lacks focus and objectivity to handle a crisis. Emotions distract a leader’s composure and lead to poor decision making (Ogunleye, 2011). Secondly, the habit of taking things personally should be avoided. If the predicted outlook of the unit does not yield the desired results, the leader should not associate the failure to the aspect of personality alone. There are many factors that contribute to the success of a department and not just personality. These factors include political aspects and other business dynamics. It is upon the leader to maintain calmness and avoid defensive mechanisms. When a leader takes things personally, they lose their composure and suppress their free thinking (Lockett & Boyd, 2012). Thirdly, I noticed that the manager of the unit needs to be positive minded and optimistic. Employees always look up to the manager for guidance; consequently, a leader should be equipped with good behavioural characteristics, fine relationships, and an overall good conduct. In times of uncertainty, the leader should be alert and positive minded (Trerise, 2010). These leadership attributes and instincts inspire the employees and motivate them to be hopeful of the plans proposed by the manager. In addition, a positive attitude can help the leader to deal with any imminent crises in the stroke and rehabilitation unit. Finally, a positive attitude will help the manager keep the unit focused and in a steady momentum (Yang & Moon, 2011). Fourthly, the unit’s management needs a leader who is fearless. In other words, it means that the serving leader or the candidate to be recruited (should the management need one) ought to be confident. According to Maeshima (2013), a composed persona is likely to influence the employees in the unit to have confidence in their leader. My experiences in previous firms reveal that whenever leaders fear the dawn of uncertainty, they put the whole management and company in a vulnerable state. This results in irrational decision making, which could crumble the whole venture (Lin et al. 2011). Fifthly, the unit requires a leader who responds to challenges after thinking wisely. The aspect of thinking wisely is another important aspect that defines the composure of a leader. Wise leaders lack any sign of doubt and their statements are full of conviction, authority, and confidence (Cummings, Midodzi, Wong, & Estabrooks, 2010). Decisive thinking reassures the employees that every plan is well thought, and it will yield the desired results. Finally, the unit requires a leader who has vast experience in a leadership role. The well composed leaders are accountable for any misgivings in the organization. According to Tsai (2011), they channel their commitment to finding a resolution to every problem that comes their way. Accountability in this context breeds the idea of neutrality and forms a platform for developing a dependable management system in an organization (Dworzynski, Ritchie, Fenu, Macdermott & Playford, 2013). Solving the Problem in the Stroke and Rehabilitation Unit Since the unit needs drastic measures to recover its image, various appropriate and effective strategies should be utilized along with leadership composure in times of crises (Goodall, 2013). The situation presented by the current problems shows that there is limited time to deal with each of them. The staff members seem competent, but recent claims by the hospital’s patients show that there are problems in the whole management system. The management has tried to take shortcuts in dealing with the problems, but they keep on recurring. The best approach that the management of the unit needs to adopt is to solve one problem at a time (Jackson, Meyer, & Wang, 2013). Research reveals that there are four ways of solving management problems in the unit. The first one is the establishment of a transparent information exchange system that will allow the staff members to share their frustrations with one another and the management. When the employees get a democratic and neutral ground to air their concerns, the management will notice some unforeseen problems, such as the degree to which the department is understaffed (Stoll, Swanwick, Foster-Turner, & Moss, 2011). Additionally, the employees take double shifts that wear them out resulting in poor service delivery and performance. Their noncompliance with their roles also shows that a transparent channel of communication is missing and needed in the unit. Most of the employees in the unit fear that the management will fire them if they complain about the current state of the unit. As a result, the management has failed to address the issue in a timely manner leading to deterioration of service delivery (Park, 2011). The unit needs a managerial leader who will enforce a transparent communication system in the unit to clear the employees’ uncertainty. The employees need to feel that their leader is neutral in solving the matters affecting the organization. The leader should not be excessively authoritative or one-sided in this particular problem. According to Barnes (2010), the remedy to understaffing and insubordination is to create employee teamwork. Such teamwork ensures that work is done effectively and efficiently. In addition, teamwork creates a good environment where employees share and solve their problems individually (Mach, Dolan, & Tzafrir, 2010). For efficient service delivery, employees must get to understand the strengths and weaknesses of each other and collaborate to make work easier (Edmonstone, 2011). The leader should also follow up on how the teams are performing to ensure that they are focused on the objectives of the organization. Secondly, the unit needs a leader who will break the barriers in the organization for the smooth execution of the assignments. The transparency in such a communication systems lays a foundation for this second aspect, which is the fact that the unit needs to adopt a boundary-less culture. Such a culture will instil a sense of belonging in the employees. It will also motivate them to practice hard work and remain committed, traits which are currently inadequate in the department (Densten & Sarros, 2012). The involvement of subordinates partially in the decision making process allows the management to identify the current problems affecting the employees. These barriers are frequently referred to as ‘break down silos’. In addition, the Break Down Silos create the assumption that everything is under control, but in essence the whole organization is crumbling slowly (Solansky, 2010). Modern entrepreneurial strategies require an organization to incorporate openness and cross-navigation between workers to identify the source of weaknesses and threats in a particular business venture (Kim, Dzik, Dighe, & Lewandrowski, 2010). The same applies to the stroke and rehabilitation unit. By finding the source of insubordination, the leader can utilize the organization’s strength and explore the opportunities to complement its weaknesses and threats. This way of solving problems in an organization is known as a SWOT analysis, with the name ‘SWOT’ representing the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of an organization (Prieto, 2013). Thirdly, the leader of the unit needs to solve the financial issue that has amounted to reduced employee salaries. The problem needs the open-mindedness of the leader. The trait equips the leader with the ability to eliminate negativity and communication barriers in the organization. The best approach to making a decision is where all the participants are open-minded. The problem of underpayment can be solved when all stakeholders are brought together. The meeting will bring out different ways of dealing with the financial problem via brainstorming (Argyris, 2012). Finally, the unit needs a leader with the skills needed to restore the concrete foundation of the organisation. Without a strategic approach, the initiated plans are all void and will not yield any fruits on a long-term basis. Such plans would be a substitute to the problem and not a comprehensive solution (Westbrook, Georgiou, Paoloni, & Cullen, 2013). Conclusion The stroke rehabilitation unit at Concord Hospital requires drastic leadership changes. Failure to do so will result in more instances of poor service delivery and destruction of the hospital’s reputation. The paper examines the best leadership approach in solving the problems in the unit. It gives in detail the particular leadership skills and interventions necessary for solving problems at the stroke and rehabilitation unit. The aim of these approaches is to ensure that the unit performs as per the hospital’s objectives. In conclusion, research shows that performance results from a combination of motivation and leadership skills. References Argyris, C. (2012). Organizational traps: leadership, culture, organizational design. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Barnes, J. N. (2010). Extending traditional 21st-century leadership skills. Journal of Leadership Studies, 3(4), 111-112. Cummings, G. G., Midodzi, W. K., Wong, C. A., & Estabrooks, C. A. (2010). 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Stroke rehabilitation quality indicators: Raising the bar in the inpatient rehabilitation facility. Topics in Stroke Rehabilitation, 17(4), 294-304. Read More