Leadership Self Reflection

Leadership has many different definitions, but simply stated leadership can be defined as the ability to motivate others while earning their trust and confidence so that they follow your guidance. In individual settings, leadership traits can be more specifically defined based on the environment in which they are displayed.  Leaders can utilize different skills and styles of leadership based on the particular situation that presents or the individuals they are tasked to lead. A strong leader possesses the ability to identify differences in circumstances and are able to employ different skills and styles based on the needs of the specific situation.

As a leader, I work to remain fair yet firm, while always keeping the focus on the ultimate goal. I believe in leading by example while creating an environment of trust and partnership. Developing an environment in which employees feel engaged and a valued part of the team will naturally encourage them to become more involved and invested in the organization and in specific jobs or tasks to which they have been defined. It is important to develop an atmosphere in which employees are content and self-motivated. 

One’s purpose as a leader can vary between individuals. Personally, I feel that I have two main purposes as a leader. The first is to help those that work for me to learn and grow, both professionally and personally, on their pathway to attaining their individual goals. Those goals will undoubtedly vary between employees. It is incumbent upon a good leader to be able to identify each individual’s needs and be able to aid not only in their professional development, but to guide them towards successfully accomplishing their aspirations. My second purpose as a leader is to be familiar with both the short and long term objectives of the organization for which I work, and to be able to help the company attain those goals. As a leader, I feel that it is incumbent upon me to not only personally work toward achieving organizational success, but to be able to guide a group of employees in that same direction. I believe that individuals are elevated to positions of authority and leadership because certain skills have been identified in them, and it is expected of them to be able to guide employees toward successfully achieving set organizational objectives.

     One component of remaining an effective leader over time is being an authentic leader. As defined by Riggio (2014), an authentic leader posses four main attributes. These are maintaining one’s moral perspective, remaining genuine, having a strong sense of self awareness and staying open to all perspectives. I essence, the authentic leader is one who maintains a vision of truth, honesty and morality and uses these to guide him or her in their leadership decision making. I think in order to remain an authentic leader over time, I must remain open to discussion and honest but constructive criticism of my work as a leader in the field. I believe that authority can easily begin to jade one’s perspective of themselves, their relative importance and eventually lead to a loss of authenticity. It is therefore extremely important to remain grounded in one’s roots.

The course that I am currently enrolled in is called “Leading with Authenticity in the Healthcare Sector”. It has brought to light many important skills and styles of leadership that I had never thought about. My readings have exposed me to points of view that I believe will be extremely important and valuable lessons for me to remember as I broaden my role as a healthcare administrator. One set of concepts that I will be able to begin to immediately revolves around how to identify the strengths and weaknesses of employees, and therefore how to use each of them most effectively. As an example, Lomardi and Slonim (2014) explain a system which classifies employees into three categories; action agents, steadies and nonplayers. On the other hand, there are some strategies which I will need to work on before I can effectively implement them in the work place. An example of this would be the implementation of service learning, explained by Wiegand and Strait (2000) to be the ability to foster learning in particular environment designed with the pain purpose of giving back to a given community or less fortunate group. While there are many ways to implement service learning in healthcare, being able to do so in my specific setting will take some thought and planning before successful implementation.

REFERENCES:

Lombardi, D. N., & Slonim, A. D. (2014). Manual of Healthcare Leadership - Essential Strategies for Physician and Administrative Leaders. McGraw-Hill Education.

Riggio, R. E. (2014, January 22). What Is Authentic Leadership? Do You Have It? Retrieved      March 04, 2018, from https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/cutting-edge-leadership/201401/what-is-authentic-leadership-do-you-have-it

Wiegand, D. and Strait, M. (2000). What is service learning? Journal of Chemical Education; Easton 77(12), 1538-1539.