Part 9: The Courage to Lead
As I developed the recent blog entries, I was led to reflect on what is required of our leaders in the current health care environment. It seems to me that so many of those who allege to lead us suffer from a failure or fear to act. I think courage is one of the key elements required of true leaders, though I am not sure how much you will read about it in the literature. I know it is scary, but we must gird our loins and face the demons for the sake of the patients and our staff.
Are all of you ready to do that?
You might be interested in what I was able to come up with in the literature on the subject of courage in leadership. I think courage and a willingness to take risks instead of playing it safe is a key characteristic of great leaders.
-Clancy, T. (2003). Courage and today's nurse leader. Nursing Administration Quarterly, 27, 128-132.
-Hader, R. (2007). Leadership anxiety? Choose courage over complacency. Nursing Management, May, 6.
-Fifer, J. (2006). Courage in leadership: like a long distance runner? Healthcare Financial Management, November, 32.
-Fifer, J. (2006). Courage to lead in the revenue cycle. Healthcare Financial Management, September, 200.
Thinking about courage in leadership led me to reflect upon how management/administration is viewed by the rank and file. So often, administration is regarded with suspiciousness and doubt as staff believe they are not being told everything and think there is a hidden agenda that explains management's actions. However, once we are on the other side of the fence, it is so much different. Of course I would prefer transparency, just as I prefer complete honesty in personal relationships. But we all know that we must balance such honesty with tact and compassion. If we said everything we thought and felt to our spouses, significant others, parents, children, and friends...we would likely be voted off the island! The same is true for openness and honesty in management. How do we balance openness with the need to know? What if I need to be deceptive, but for a good reason?