Leadership in Healthcare

Contents Introduction2 Interactive Model of Leadership3 Measure to Analyse Leadership Skills5 Introduction5 Critical Factors5 Identifying Leadership Gaps5 Closing the gaps6 Nature of Motivation, Satisfaction & Performance8 Task Orientation among Teams8 Nature of group & group development8 Leading Virtual teams8 Creating the Virtual Team9 Conclusion9 References10 Introduction The organization chosen for this assignment is Bupa Care Services, Leeds, UK. Founded in 1947, Bupa Care Services have believed in the motto that they should help people live longer, happier & healthier lives with provision of good quality healthcare.

Bupa not being open to shareholders works purely for the benefits of its patients. Their various initiatives in terms of investment are aimed at better healthcare for their patients. The focus of this assignment is on the leadership programme conducted by Bupa in “Caring for elder people” Bupa, through its network of residential hospitals, retirement homes & nursing homes in the UK, Australia, Spain and New Zealand takes care of thousands of elder patients.

Over a period of time with increase in experience they have identified lacunas in their processes and reached a maturity to excel in innovation and development of care facilities for the elderly. With collaborations with researchers, expert partners and academics they aim to find innovative ways to improve their services With the society at large being dominated by ageing individuals, it introduces the healthcare domain with new challenges to address. It is more prevalent in developed countries which have a strong healthcare system to support individuals during their more productive phase in life thus improving their life expectancy.

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Globally speaking, it is estimated in the next two decades that there would be about twice the percentage of elders in the UK as compared to today, while individuals who have completed their centenary would be 4 times as compared to today. In Australia, the numbers are expected to increase from the current 0. 2 million to an estimated 0. 5 million in the next two decades. A more similar trend is predicted in New Zealand whereby the current count is estimated to be doubled in the next three decades..

The programme aims at trying to profile care home population, support initiatives to garner funds, target improvement of healthcare aspects and a aim at the greater good for improving the standard of living of the elderly. The programme was conducted under the able leadership of Mark Ellerby, Managing Director, Bupa Care Services and Dr. Clive Bowman, Medical Director, Bupa Care Services. Interactive Model of Leadership Response from people today in a corporate team based culture is largely influenced by the behaviour of their leaders.

People like if their leaders are with them rather then above them, which gives them a feeling on belonging in the team and not a slave to the system. This calls for an innovative and lateral shift in the thinking behaviour on part of the leaders to be effective in their workplace. The interactive leadership development program helps leaders learn to effectively make that shift & excel as team players. The program offers a new lease of life and offers an opportunity for to be leaders to benchmark their skills against the best practises from around the world which is supported and well documented through a world class study of ore than three decades. The intent of the program is to make candidates test their inner skills and coach themselves against external actions. It provokes them to improve upon their competencies and be better leaders to achieve higher performance with results which have a long lasting impression. The research on interactive leadership has been conducted by founder David H. Burnham and Harvard psychologist Dr. David C. McClelland basis which they have observed the way leaders behave and most importantly how they think in the most critical of situations.

The focus of the program is to inculcate a thought process to be able to engage with individuals and groups, improve the emotional intelligence and have a dedicated focus on results. Let’s now focus on applying the model to the leadership programme at Bupa Care Services. The primary premise on which the interactive leadership works is: Thoughts drive Actions to create Outcomes. Participants are given the opportunity to work through simulations, perform exercises and activities in each of the critical areas in order to: Experience and evaluate how their present thinking will help them drive outcomes in future ? Develop and invest in specific goals which would prepare them for any future change ? Identify the key areas that need development and have conscious thought process to achieve them ? Learn the nuances to make the change(s) happen. Measure to Analyse Leadership Skills 1 Introduction Leaders are aware of change and it is obvious to them that they need to adapt to the change as individuals as well as a group and the industry at large.

But considering today’s uncertain and complicated work culture, the importance lies in understanding the importance of leadership skills. The entire healthcare domain for years have been operating in a dynamic world with changes impacting everyone including insurance companies, healthcare providers, device firms and pharmaceutical to a great extent. The industry has been boosted by the advent of technology, newer & improved means of care, a more dynamic business model. Regulatory authority and ethical issues add to the existing woes of the healthcare industry.

With such complexities, organisations find it cumbersome to identify the leadership talent which can help them set direction, gain commitment from employees as well as from partners and drive high quality care for the patients. With a volatile environment, the healthcare sector is looming large on drastic changes ahead in time and at the present moment; it is already amidst a phase of rapid change. This demands high levels of expertise in technology and thorough bred professionals with good leadership skills to be able to swim in the rough waters.

The other problem for the healthcare domain is that it is extremely difficult for them to classify their challenges since these are multi dimensional and of a complex nature. In order to address these challenges, common strategies and processes have to be developed which would enable the organization to achieve high performance. It is the need of the hour and even a need for Bupa Care Services. 2 Critical Factors 1. Improve the ability to lead subordinates and work in groups. Leaders should be able to collaborate and should be capable of creating a culture to influence participation from all members in the group.

It is also important for leaders to be able to deal with problem subordinates. 2. Create strategies to provide current and future leaders broad holistic view. In order to have a holistic view, leaders are expected to have some critical qualities like self awareness, career management and functional know how. A majority of the leaders today have been found wanting in these critical areas. Such limitations are expected to be overcome through continuous training and development, feedback sharing, coaching and succession planning. 3. Leaders possess important strengths.

They are well equipped to handle change and have the ability to achieve the end results. They possess some key additional qualities like cool composure, quick learning capability and clarity in thought process. Such qualities inherited by leaders provide enough proof that the healthcare leaders are a capable bunch of individuals who are assets to the industry. 3 Identifying Leadership Gaps Like in every exercise which involves comparison of two levels of attributes in any individual, there would always be some gaps in the expected level and actual level.

With leadership this disparity can be arrived by the difference in current skills to expected skills. With this understanding, organizations can come up with powerful strategies to build a capable pool of able leaders. The process of identifying gaps leads us to the characterizing certain attributes which are important for leadership skills and certain factors that are termed as derailment factors. Important Factors 1. Resourcefulness. Possesses multiple qualities such as good decision making under pressure, setting up intricate systems, analytical thinking, flexible behaviour and problem solving skills.

Gets along with seniors and has the capability to deal with higher management responsibilities. 2. Result Oriented. Has the capability to get things done by carefully investing in ideas and thrives to overcome hindrances with a dedicated focus. Can stand up and take responsibility to handle tasks individually and at the same time is open to learn from others to accomplish the task. 3. Quick Learner. Has the capability to quickly assimilate business and technical know-how. 4. Decisive. Always looks for prompt and precise solutions to any of the management problems which otherwise would be slow and sluggish. . Leading Subordinates. Strong delegation powers and provides opportunities to budding subordinates to show case their talents. Always on the look out for fresh talent for hiring. Has an unbiased approach towards his subordinates. 6. Handling Problem Subordinates. Tries to understand the problem subordinate and only after proper evaluation decides to act upon a problem employee. Shows enough fairness and is unbiased with problem employees. 7. Encourages participation. Is a good listener and takes everyone’s opinion before arriving at a decision. 8. Handles change.

Is always expecting changes and is ready to adapt. Also, takes efforts to overcome any resistance from his other subordinates with a view that the change has its benefits in the long run. 9. Build relationships. Capable of building and maintain good relations with subordinates and external parties. Masters the skills of negotiation without hurting any of the subordinate sentiments. 10. Compassionate and Sensitive. Genuinely interested in solving others problems and is sensitivity to employees’ needs. 11. Composure. Does not get into blame game over a mistake committed by anyone in the team.

Handles the problem calmly and looks at solving the same quickly. 12. Personal Life. Strikes a balance between his working commitment and personal life. Neither of them is ever side tracked. 13. Self-Awareness. Knows his strengths and weaknesses and has the willingness to improve. 14. Puts people at ease. Displays the right amount of warmth to people and has a good sense of humour. Having a good sense of humour is not at the expense of hurting subordinates sentiments. 15. Manages his career. Remains focussed towards building this career through continuous investing in training, coaching and feedback.

Derailment Factors 1. Interpersonal Relationships. Finds it difficult to get along with subordinates which indirectly impact his work. 2. Building and Leading a Team. Finds it difficult to build and lead a team. 3. Manage change. He is not able to manage change. Finds it difficult to adapt to change and inherently shows resistance to change. 4. Fails to achieve goals. Finds it difficult to keep up with his commitments and fails to meet business objectives. 5. Narrow thinking. Does not get into details and fails to have a holistic view. 4 Closing the gaps

To close the leadership gap in the areas identified, organizations and individual leaders will need a solid understanding of the skills and behaviours required to be effective in each area. Here, is the starting point for understanding five areas that healthcare leaders and organizations should emphasize: 1. Leading employees. This requires a leader to be self aware and have strong interpersonal skills. They need to invest in creating and building a team. They provide ample opportunities and challenges to their subordinates which is followed up with continuous guidance and coaching. They look at being mentors to future leaders. . Encourage participation. A leader should look at getting his teams involved, build a consensus and have a concurrent decision with everyone’s strong participation. Should be able to communicate well and also be a good listener in order to be able to get the best out of his team members. Looks at multiple perspectives before arriving at a decision. 3. Relationship Management. A leader should look at building relationships with his subordinates and also be fair in handling these relationships. He should be able to relate to all kinds of people and easily gain support and respect of peers, senior management and customers. . Self-Awareness. Be aware of ones strengths and weaknesses. Some one who is aware of his own being will always seek feedback from others and try to improve him continuously. He would be open enough to admit his mistakes and self correct himself. 5. Organizational perspective. A leader should have a broad and holistic organizational view. If the thinking is narrow then it would hurt the team was well as the organization in the long term. Should be capable enough to handle the tactical and technical points required to manage his work. Nature of Motivation, Satisfaction & Performance

Motivation is something that makes people performs better. However, not everyone gets motivated by the same things: Someone who is motivated might be satisfied and would perform better by getting additional responsibilities, whereas someone would gets some flexibility in his working style might get motivated to perform better. It merely means that motivation to every individual might mean differently and his response to it would also differ. The various initiatives take at Bupa Care Services to contribute to the overall success of the leadership programme are listed below 1.

Clinical Leadership: Director of mental and physical disability care, Dr Graham Stokes, is responsible for driving forward the quality and scope of care for people living with mental and physical disability in Bupa’s care homes in the UK, Australia, Spain and New Zealand. 2. Fund Raising: Bupa is continuing their successful partnership with Alzheimer’s Society in England and Wales, and Alzheimer Scotland for the Bupa Great Run Series. They managed to raise close to ? 1 million in 2009, which is evidence of the shared commitment to continue to raise awareness of mental and physical disability.

Bupa has sponsored the Great Run Series for 17 years, making it one of the longest-running sporting partnerships in the UK. 3. Boosting Research: Alzheimer’s Society and the Bupa Foundation have formed a partnership to pioneer and boost research into physical & mental disability and its causes. They jointly launched a ? 1. 5 million fund to support research into the cause, cure, care, and prevention of physical & mental disabilities. Task Orientation among Teams Every organization wants to have a well collaborated team which can provide results effectively.

There are many factors which would define a team’s success but the key factor being a leader’s vision and control over his team. Leaders have to be a mix of task and team orientation. This capability to leverage on both orientations enhances the ability build trust, create stability, and bring effectiveness among the team. The various task orientation initiatives taken at Bupa Care Services are listed below. 1. Pioneering Champions: Alzheimer’s Society and Bupa have joined together to launch the first ever physical & mental disability Champions programme across 190 Bupa specialist care communities in the UK.

The programme aims to develop in-house bred leaders to combat physical & mental disability care in their place of work and has been successfully piloted in Bupa care homes. By changing the culture, the physical & mental disabilities champions aim to further improve quality of care and quality of life for people with physical & mental disability. 2. Supporting careers in their own communities: Bupa’s partnership with the charity for physical & mental disability aims to build capacity by developing new Admiral Nurse Posts in communities not served by this specialist nursing discipline. Physical & mental disability Pioneers’ are appointed to selected areas to spearhead development plans. The work of the Admiral Nurse in helping families and those living with physical & mental disability is well proven. Admiral Nurses have a significant role in helping families cope with the difficulties faced through their journey with physical & mental disability. Nature of group & group development There are four distinct stages that a group passes through as it comes together and starts to operate. The process can be known to all, but an understanding of the stages can help everyone attain effectiveness more quickly. . Forming: Being humans, everyone thrives to be accepted in their groups and also looks to avoid getting into conflicts. Everyone has a part to play in the entire jigsaw puzzle and thus they avoid getting into issues and hurting others feeling. But they have to accomplice their task by being in touch with their sub ordinates in order to achieve the results. 2. Storming: Every group has Individuals with varied natures. Some have a high degree of patience while some just get annoyed at everything. Similarly there is a threshold to everyone’s patience which eventually might lead to minor disputes or confrontations.

These might be related or totally unrelated to work. 3. Norming: As we progress from the storming stage, the group matures and starts understanding their roles and responsibilities. These become more clear and each one agrees to follow the same. They start understanding each other better having gone through the grind during the storming stage. This eventually would lead to forming a cohesive unit which is capable of achieving the desired results. 4. Performing: Reaching this stage for any group is an achievement as not many groups reach this stage.

Having attained this stage signifies that the group is highly collaborative and works as a cohesive unit. The group possesses high morale and has created a identity for itself which reflects through their loyalty for each of the members. Leading Virtual teams The last couple of decades have seen rapid globalisation which has also made an impact on the healthcare domain. Challenges have come up with leaders expected to manage teams which are geographically diverse in terms in distances and time zones and not being co located.

The problems however with managing virtual teams especially in the healthcare domain has not received enough importance the world over. 1 Creating the Virtual Team With the above problem statement, leaders today have an inherent wish to be able to select team members based on their ability to work in virtual teams. However, in the healthcare domain, this is not an option which is readily available since there are very limited options available when it comes to having the right skill sets. The choices are therefore made as far as ossible; collate team members who have experience in virtual teamwork, rest of the parameters remaining same. 1. Discovering Commonalities: It is a difficult task to find commonalities within virtual teams as it is very much possible that the team leader has never met all members face to face and thus does not have enough data points to gauge them on a level scale. Extra efforts have to be taken by the leaders to Identify commonalities between people to actually arrive at trying to group similar minded or similar skilled team members together. . Creating Trust: Trust and respect cannot be commanded, it is almost always earned from the members of a team that trust each other and will go far in working together as a team. It is important to make every member valued and appreciated. Everyone should be given the opportunity to voice their opinion and all opinions need to be heard. 3. Understanding team dynamics: Within virtual teams, there are no visual or physical cues and thus it makes it challenging for the leader to understand the team dynamics.

The likes and dislikes of the team members are also difficult to assimilate since the communication most of the times would be on phone or emails. 4. Team member interaction: An important component of virtual teams else would be difficult to handle such diverse user groups. Working virtually sometimes has its limitations that some of the team members might get missed out in the communications and which would be harmful for the team as a whole. It is sometimes observed than one member gets invited to fewer and fewer meetings and suddenly one is a non-entity on the team.

Now imagine this happening with multiple team members. 5. Communication: With virtual teams, there are various ways in which the communication happens – phone, phone conference, video conference, email, internet, chat rooms and IM. The leaders have to be well conversed with all these medias and should decide on the right channel when communicating with the members of the virtual team. Conclusion Hoping to get immediate results, healthcare organizations cannot be investing in too many leadership programmes especially in the uncertain times.

Therefore, it is important for the team to be conservative when it comes to making such decisions. Yet, it should be noted that leadership talent and technical expertise are necessary to meet the population’s healthcare needs, manage operations and find innovative and effective solutions to complex challenges. Good leadership initiatives, then, are essential for success. To start with, healthcare organizations have the opportunity to re-assess their organizational leadership capabilities and begin focused efforts to develop leaders and create a culture of collaboration.

References Ellerby, Mark and Dr. Bowman, Clive, Bupa Care Services, 2011, “Healthcare leadership in caring for older people” CCL Report Jun, 2010. “Addressing the Leadership Gap in Healthcare” retrieved on 29th September 2012 from “Group Dynamics: Basic Nature of Groups and How They Develop” retrieved on 29th September 2012 from < http://managementhelp. org/groups/dynamics-theories. htm > “Stages of Group Development” retrieved on 29th September 2012 from “InterActive Leadership”, Burnham Rosen Group retrieved on 29th September 2012 from

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