Organizational Background
Legacy is a “full-service, Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) that identifies unmet needs and gaps in health-related services and develops client-centered programs to address those needs” (Legacy Community Health, 2015). It exists since the end of 20th century in the Houston area and provides the clients with a range of various services for children and adults, including primary and dental care, etc. Its team of health care professionals is ready to help poor Texans regardless of their sex, race, and age.
Leader Biography
Sarlonda Moore is a leader who was interviewed. She is a Referral Coordination Manager for Legacy Community Health Services. Moore works there for 2 years already in the heart department.
She is a licensed vocational nurse for 10 years. She earned her diploma and license from the Memorial Hermann School of Nursing in 2005. She worked as a Staff Nurse for nearly 2 years at Memorial Hermann Northwest and as a Clinical Charge Nurse for the Harris County Hospital District for just over a year. She was the Heath Services Supervisor for HealthSpring for 8 years.
Currently, Moore is attending Houston Community College where she plans to transit from an LVN to RN obtain an Associate of Applied Science Degree.
Organizational and Leader Communication Style
Moore does her best to organize the work of the team. As she came, they did not understand the concepts especially dealing with the insurance. As she worked within this sphere before, Moore paid attention to the personnel’s realizing the idea of what is expected from them. As the working week starts, she gathers the team and informs them. Her communication is flexible, as she combines different communication styles. Still, it is rather formal and assertive.
Leadership Style
Moore’s leadership style is transformational, which means that she can easily adapt to the changes. Thus, she works with the team to generate “creative solutions to complex problems, while also developing them to handle a broader range of leadership responsibilities” (Bass, Jung, Avolio, & Berson, 2003).
Leadership Influence
She has a great influence on her team. They listen to her opinion, share the same goals, and support her. Thus, the personnel share her values (Thompson, 2013). They are ready to implement the changes she proposes for the improvement of the working process.
Teamwork Approach
Moore treats her team as one unity. She pays more attention to the needs of its members than to her own ones. She is always ready to support them even though they have made a mistake. Moore says that she is ready to defend them as much as she can. The department is the reflection of her.
The Goal Setting Method
Setting the goals, Moore explains her expectations. In the morning, she gathers the team and informs them of what is to be done. She utilizes the electronic medical system to streamline the process. Thus, they do not need to coordinate with lots of staff, such as medical assistants. Now they can accomplish the goal that is not urgent within two or three days. To close the gap, she encourages the team to make sure that when a patient goes out of the clinic one reaches the destination, and the results come back.
Leadership Rewards
Subordinates are rewarded for the leadership demonstration. Moore tells them that she appreciates their work in a face-to-face conversation or via e-mail. Thus, they know that they are recognized and become more motivated. Little “thank you” can be very effective. As she gains some gifts from the patients (rodeo tickets, etc.), she gives them her employees.
Connection with Subordinates
Moore has 9 employees and is going to have 2 more people next week. The budget is enough for 2-3 more people, but she is to prove that these are people she really needs.
She considers the team as a whole but always tries to give the individuals a chance to show what they can do and how they can cope with the issues. If they are concerned about something or do not understand something, they are encouraged to come up and ask for clarification, which is of advantage for the working environment (Maxwell, 2007). Sometimes they send time together (have lunch outside, for example).
Emotions toward the Position
Moore loves her job. She always wanted to work within the medic field. She is happy to work for her team. Moore tries to identify the personality type of her employees, as it allows understanding them better and finding a common language.
She loves her independence being a leader. Still, she mentions that the higher one gets up, the more he/she has to prove oneself. Thus, being a leader, she needs to prove that she refuses this position and is able to work with different people, find an approach to them and deal with all possible issues.
Support
“How you treat your employee such attitude you will get” claims Moore (S. Moore, personal communication, Oct. 11, 2015). She is a supported manager. She does not only tell the people what to do but takes into consideration what they want to do and what they can do.
She is not looking for acceptance of all her thoughts but emphasizes that the manager is to be supported, as it is the only way to work successfully. If the leader is supported, one will support the team (Walumbwa, Avolio, & Zhu, 2008). Thus, she asks the personnel to keep her informed and support her. Every member of her team said that if she leaves the job, they will leave too.
Demographical Characteristics
She used to be the person they are serving now. Moore works at a community clinic. When she was a baby, she was consulting it. Thus, she knows these people and understands them, which gives her a little advantage. She can easily connect with the patients and help them even though the community is diverse.
Comparison with the Superior
Her leadership style differs from the one her superior has. She says that her director is a little bit of a micromanager. Thus, she is always to prove that she can do her work and refute any possible inabilities.
Moore makes people feel accountable for what they do. Still, she is little more laid back. She thinks that happy people give happy work. The superior taught her the peculiarities of management, but she utilized her own ideas regarding leadership.
Best Practices
Moore treats the team as a whole unity. She addresses the issues to the team several times giving as many chances to fix them as possible. If they still fail, Moore refers to the members of the team individually. She tells the person what one’s good qualities are, and what she sees in this person. She praises one up before letting down. Thus, the person is somewhere in the middle and does not feel frustrated. Supporting, listening and understanding are the most important actions to be conducted by the leader.
She looks at the people’s emotions and their mimic to see how they treat this or that issue. Moore encourages the personnel to speak up. Thus, she talks to the team members face to face as well as to the whole group. Her greatest strength is motivation. She is ready for changes and understands why they are happening and how they will affect the work.
References
Bass, B., Jung, D., Avolio, B., & Berson, Y. (2003). Predicting unit performance by assessing transformational and transactional leadership. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88(2), 207-218.
Legacy Community Health. (2015). Web.
Maxwell, J. (2007). The 21 irrefutable laws of leadership the 10th. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.
Thompson, L. (2013). Making the team: A guide for managers. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Walumbwa, F., Avolio, B., & Zhu, W. (2008). How transformational leadership weaves its influence on individual job performance: The role of identification and efficacy beliefs. Personnel Psychology, 61(1), 793-825.