Leadership Philosophy

Leadership is the exercise of influence to co-create coordinated movement by a group of people toward a shared goal.

Just as electricity flows through a wire,
leadership influence flows through relationships.
This is how work gets done.

Effective Leadership is essential to any human endeavor.  It's the product of genetics and skills that are learned and honed throughout one's career.

Peter Drucker, the father of modern management and one of the 20th Century's most noted philosophers on leadership, had a high view of heathcare leadership in particular:

“The four hardest jobs in America (not necessarily in order) are: President of the United States, a university president, a hospital CEO, and a pastor.”

“Health care is the most difficult, chaotic, and complex industry to manage today.”

“The hospital is altogether the most complex human organization ever devised.” 

Leadership is the exercise of Influence.   It is a process that results in coordinated and intentional action by others to attain a goal. The litmus test of leadership is when others choose to follow.

Leadership is different than Management.  Both are essential to success, yet the technical competencies required for Management are insufficient without the behavioral competencies required for Leadership.

Technical Competencies include specific skills, knowledge and abilities that are applied to accomplishing a specific task, job, or function.  They describe WHAT managers are to do, such as writing a business plan, reading financial statements and knowing how to run a meeting.

Behavioral Competencies are learned based on experiences early in life and refined over time.  They describe HOW a job is to be done. Examples include Integrity, Trust, Collaboration and Adaptability.  Leaders rarely fail because they don’t know What to do - - they fail because of How they do it.  Leadership influence flows through relationships.

The more one grows in Leadership, the greater the importance of knowing how to manage relationships in areas like:

·      Integrity

·      Conflict management

·      Building Commitment

·      Accountability

·      Effective communication

·      Trust and respect

·      Team Building

·      Strategic Perspective

·      Decisiveness

·      Collaboration

·      Vulnerability and Innovation