One of major issues the organization is facing is lack of strategic management. The interim director as well as employees understand the need for change but there is no particular plan how to handle the change (Rubino, 2014). Another issue is inappropriate attitude towards the organization’s rules and culture as people do not follow them.
In the first place, it is necessary to note that the fact that Dr. Silver is an Interim Director may have certain effect on employees’ attitude towards her as well as changes she is trying to introduce. Nonetheless, Swayne, Duncan and Ginter (2009) stress that development of a strategic plan has to be a group process. Therefore, Dr. Silver has to create a working group including key players to develop a comprehensive strategic plan that will be successfully implemented. Dr. Silver tries to introduce changes she deems beneficial.
However, she fails to explain relevance of the changes (and there are odds she does not understand the relevance of the strategies she is introducing). Autocratic leadership is unlikely to be successful at the stage of forming a strategic plan as employees will be unwilling and even resistant to implement it without their participation.
It is possible to note that a crucial leadership trait is being a strategic thinker. A strategic thinker is a person who understands various trends and sees their interrelationships, can forecast a variety of changes internal as well as external (Swayne et al., 2009). The strategic thinker can develop a strategic plan and inspire employees to participate as well as implement the change. Notably, Dr. Silver is hardly a strategic thinker as she tries to employ strategies she knows little about and does not even try to adjust them to peculiarities of her organization. She does not see the system and existing trends. One of strategic management principles is to provide the “style and culture” (Swayne et al., 2009, p. 18).
Hence, Dr. Silver has to pay more attention to the organization’s culture and make sure employees share organizational values. She has understood that the employees do not follow rules and do not pay attention to the organization’s culture. At the same time, she does not make any effort to develop an effective culture (which would be up-to-date as the game rules have changed) and encourage employees to get involved in the process of its creation and implementation.
The Vice President of Medical Affairs may need to get involved as the atmosphere in the working place is becoming counterproductive. More importantly, the healthcare system is undergoing significant changes and the organization has to respond adequately but without proper strategic planning and strategic thinkers, this will be impossible. The Vice President of Medical Affairs has to discuss the issue with Dr. Silver and ask her to come up with a strategic plan for change and encourage her to involve key players. It is also important to look for a permanent director since Dr. Silver is not ready for such a post.
It is necessary to note that the reading provides helpful insights into the concept of the modern leadership. It is clear that strategic thinking is of paramount importance for implementing changes. It also helps understand the importance of strategic thinking for an effective leader. At the same time, the case study unveils some of common mistakes made by people who try to handle a change.
Reference List
Rubino, L. (2014). Transitioning to a new leader. In S. Buchbinder, N. Shanks, & D. Buchbinder (Eds.), Cases in health care management (pp. 93-95). Sudbury, Mass.: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Swayne, L., Duncan, J., & Ginter, P.M. (2009). Strategic management of health care organizations. San Francisco, CA: John Wiley and Sons.