Leadership in the healthcare industry, which is quite dynamic, is irreplaceable. Leadership takes care of health systems, big and small, examining their complexities and challenges. When an average-sized hospital sees internal conflicts, high staff turnover, and a startling number of medical errors, whether better or worse, the way leadership points to the direction the institution is heading to resolution or a more significant crisis. In this essay, the readers are taken through analyzing various leadership styles, including democratic, autocratic, laissez-faire, transformational, transactional, and bureaucratic leadership styles. It also has content on different leadership perspectives, such as Servant leadership and emotional intelligence. This study will examine the diverse leadership strategies that help address the multitude of challenges that the hospital faces. However, a servant leadership approach, which roots itself in empathy, care, and servant leaders’ tendency to invest in and develop their subordinates, might be a solution needed to change the leadership of the hospital and the challenges into a success.
One of the significant features of democratic leadership is the inclusion of all team members. Every member is allowed to give input and opinions regarding the decision-making process. It can facilitate the proper resolution of existing issues inside the hospital as long as a transitory setting is maintained. A democratic leader can promote agreement and dedication to the aim by letting managers and staff members be involved in problem-solving processes and decision-making (Kotamena et al., 2020). This will considerably reduce employee turnover and surely elevate the staff morale. Initiating task forces or committees with diverse stakeholders who could solve issues like workplace conflict or high rates of medical mistakes could be one implementation of democratic leadership. It would be the main driving force behind the joint attempts to do away with the existing issues. A study by Devi, 2021 emphasizes how democratic leadership improves organizational quality by allowing for participatory decision-making. The study demonstrates how employee and manager participation in decision-making improves work satisfaction and service quality, providing a solid basis for tackling the issues raised in the hospital case study (Devi, 2021).
Autocratic leadership concentrates decision-making power on the leader, frequently leading to swift decision-making at the expense of worker autonomy and happiness. Autocratic leadership could hasten the deployment of corrective measures for medical blunders in a crisis like the one the hospital found itself in. Over-reliance on this approach, however, may increase employee unhappiness and attrition, indicating that it is not very applicable to managing the hospital’s problems (Oh, Kim H & Kim, 2023). An autocratic strategy might be helpful in the short run for putting essential safety procedures into place to immediately reduce medical errors. However, careful communication would be necessary to minimize any potential adverse effects on worker morale during continuous use. Erdem 2021 offers insights into the negative impact of autocratic leadership, including encouraging unproductive habits and alienation at work. This implies that while autocratic leadership may provide quick fixes for crises, it exposes employee involvement and morale over the long run (Erdem, 2021).
When there is no direct oversight or management, people are trusted to exercise initiative and judge under laissez-faire leadership, also known as delegative leadership. Although this approach can foster creativity and independence, it might not be appropriate for the hospital’s current circumstances, where a lack of direction and responsibility has increased medical blunders and internal conflicts (Ågotnes et al., 2021). The laissez-faire attitude may weaken managers’ and employees’ sense of accountability, hindering initiatives to raise hospital performance. This style could be selectively applied in departments where teams are highly skilled and self-motivated but with stronger leadership styles to meet overarching goals. In their analysis of the detrimental effects of laissez-faire leadership, especially during organizational change, Lundmark et al. 2022 observe a decline in effectiveness and motivation. This suggests that more involved leadership is required to address the hospital’s current problems (Lundmark et al., 2022).
The transformation of the hospital may proceed through the vehicle of transformational leadership, where the inner drive is the ability to inspire, motivate, and create a team with the bigger picture in mind instead of self-interest. This style fosters vision-driven, change-oriented management to make the personnel innovative, committed, and competent. The primary role of a transformational leader is to tackle the causes of team member turnover and mistakes made by clinicians by aligning the hospitals and personal values (Siangchokyoo et al., 2020). This helps to drive a culture of continuous improvement and excellence throughout the organization. Through the demonstration of transformational leadership, as the CEO, I may create a culture of accountability and constant improvement by inspiring a shared vision for enhanced patient safety and quality of care. A study by Asbari, Santoso, and Prasetya, 2020 demonstrates the importance of transformational leadership yet aspires to motivate and bring staff toward the same target. This keeps the transformation leadership model that drives a positive and participative hospital culture (Asbari et al., 2020).
Through precise implementation of standards and measurements, a transactional style with a rewards-punishment focus can present fast solutions to the problem of medical errors. While its short-term focus is on successfully executed goals, neglecting the truth that intrinsic motivation is a crucial factor will not contribute to solving the problems with team member turnover and dissatisfied workers (Febrian, Rajab & AR, 2023). This method might be limited to just one facilitation of the operations rather than a general transformation of a complete set of operations. For example, incorporating items such as punishment tariffs for error into a more comprehensive system that seeks to improve accuracy can be another element of a more complex system that encourages people to perform well on the job. Purwanto et al. 2020 highlight the usefulness of transactional leadership in boosting organizational performance by implementing clear guidelines and awards based on performance (Purwanto et al., 2020).
Bureaucratic leadership can create an exact and mistake-free environment using severe organizational controls and operating procedures. For example, leadership ensures a standardized, error-free operation process by focusing intensely on regulations and SOPs (standard operation procedures). Such a participative leadership style may successfully solve the strenuous challenge of medical errors because it involves implementing standard procedures. (Sihite et al., 2020). However, there should also be leadership methods that would be more responsive to avoid stifling the creativity and commitment of the employees. Enhancing procedures relating to areas most closely affecting patient safety is commendable, but the flexibility of procedures should be upheld to improve processes as this hospital grows. We do everything possible to avoid giving any room for errors, accelerate production, and elevate education standards. The study by Kadiyono et al. 2020 discusses the role of the bureaucratic leadership style. This is similar to the requirement for organized approaches in healthcare, which is necessary to promote safety and quality (Kadiyono et al., 2020).
Based on servant leadership, the needs of other people, including employees, are regarded as more important than those of a leader. It points out that providing training and support, keeping people abreast of decisions affecting their work, and recognizing their efforts contribute to successful human resources management. Considering that the hospital has leadership-related issues such as high staff turnover, frequent disruption in normal operations, and several medical errors yearly, a servant leadership model can make a difference in how the company conducts business and drives its operations (Lo et al., 2020). Hospital matters can be tackled immediately by the leadership style of stewardship by focusing on the development and welfare of its staff members. Servant leaders could be an issue that helps minimize job dissatisfaction among medical assistants and nurses and make them stay at work thanks to their leadership style that focuses on team members’ needs above their leadership position. It is a way of carrying out the main task of recognizing issues raised by the staff, handing them some necessary equipment to implement their plans effectively, and seeking ways to build on their talent. Servant leadership revolves around the duty of employees who manage and lead other colleagues to develop a self-sustainable working space by upholding good leadership skills that could improve job satisfaction and encourage understanding between the workers.
Moreover, servant leadership can produce improved patient care by developing a sense of recognition and empowerment for employees. They can become more responsible for identifying and fixing clinical mistakes that could cause medical errors and thus improve patient safety standards and quality of care (Lo et al., 2020). The Servant leader creates communication and collaboration across different functional areas by identifying and removing operational inefficiencies and misalignment of managers and personnel. As a result, the hospital becomes more coherent. A study by Langhof and Güldenberg, 2020) proved servant leadership’s effectiveness. It has outcomes like increased team member satisfaction, higher team effectiveness, and improved organizational performance. According to the researchers, the factors that are attributed to Servant Leadership, such as empathy, listening, and stewardship, go hand in hand with positive results such as employee growth, organizational citizenship behaviour, and trustworthy organizational cultures that breed support and care (Langhof & Güldenberg, 2020).
The leadership calls for awareness of emotional intelligence (EI), particularly in healthcare facilities, which are stress domains. Its determination has three key components: sensing, understanding, and regulating emotions from oneself and others. As shown in this character, good leadership is the only great one capable of helping our somewhat big hospital right at the centre of the case study do what is possible to come out of the internal conflict, high shift rate, and increasing number of medical mistakes (Specchia et al., 2021). A high level of emotional intelligence in management can foster positive mutual respect and mediation as a communication model. Therefore, it provides solutions to the problems in the hospital. Skilled, emotionally literate leaders successfully mediate inter-manager tension and crisis de-escalation by unraveling the root causes of conflicts in the organization based on emotional appeals. Moreover, leaders may channel their feelings and set a good example in a very emotional healthcare environment. People require emotionally stable leaders because of the heightened stresses of the healthcare environment.
Highly empathic leaders find employees’ early signs of discontent or fatigue and take preventive steps to battle staff turnover. They can participate in the dialogue and ultimately contribute to the changes that will improve the work environment (Specchia et al., 2021). This individualized strategy can lower turnover rates by increasing job satisfaction and commitment. Regarding medical blunders, emotional intelligence can help foster a culture where employees can admit mistakes without fear of punishment. This transparent setting promotes learning from mistakes, which enhances patient safety and care.
The importance of the role emotions, emotional regulation, and emotional intelligence play in the healthcare industry has been discussed, specifically for healthcare providers working with situations that demand emotionally exhausting moments (Carminati, 2021). It has been revealed that the emotional control of healthcare workers mainly affects work outcomes and becomes a factor in the medication and wellness of the patients and everyday relationships. The ability to communicate better, lead with empathy to others and understand problems in difficult situations are skills one can acquire through emotional intelligence (EI) to promote productive teamwork and decrease disagreements. This data emphasizes how important emotional intelligence is in tackling the issues facing the hospital in the case study (Carminati, 2021). Carminati’s research provides a solid basis for applying emotional intelligence in the context of hospitals, highlighting the significance of this skill in leadership, especially in emotionally charged settings such as healthcare.
The multitude of leadership theories and pearls of wisdom signify the options for ideas to tackle complex cases in medium-sized institutions. First, informed research has shown that one leadership style can’t stand alone. Therefore, employing a variable strategy that comprehensively accounts for the best attributes of bureaucratic, transformational, transactional, autocratic, and democratic leadership and applying the knowledge and sensibility of emotional intelligence and servant leadership to it is more helpful for solving hospital problems. Specifically, emotional intelligence, regarded as imperative in handling emotion-charged interactions, and servant leadership, emphasizing empathy and nurturing, are critical elements of a positive work culture. These management styles are mighty tools to handle internal struggles, reduce personnel turnover, and prevent mistakes. Integrating these practices in the hospital can transform its problems into chances for the administration to improve care, enhancing patient service and quality of care in the long term.
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