Medical organizations are complex institutions that need strong, collaborative, and comprehensive leadership; that is why I regard leadership training as highly important for health care professionals. Effective leadership skills play a central role in their ability to deliver high-quality care and improve both clinical outcomes and patients’ satisfaction. The purpose of this paper is to suggest a framework for the development and implementation of a leadership coaching program for health care organizations.
I think that an effective leadership coaching program should be based on several principles. It should be flexible and comprehensive, begin at the early career stage, and develop both personal and professional skills. First, I would introduce leadership development training at the early career stage. It would help to identify potential leaders and set a foundation for the further development of young professionals who may choose to pursue leadership opportunities later in life.
Second, the program should be focused on the development of both personal and professional skills. Advancement to leadership positions in health care has traditionally been based on the person’s clinical and academic prowess (Sonnino, 2016). However, it does not guarantee that a person can be a successful leader. Certain personal and professional qualities are required to achieve the success that can be developed through leadership training courses. The personal qualities of an effective leader include empathy, awareness, emotional intelligence, listening, persuasion, and negotiation skills. Crucial professional qualities required for a leadership position are team building, problem-solving, and conflict management skills. In order to build high-skilled efficient leaders within my organization, I would focus on incorporating management strategies that were developed for the business setting to the health care environment.
Third, in order to align a coaching program with my organization’s mission, I would suggest taking a two-directional approach. On one hand, the principles that the program is based on should be implemented in the organization’s management practice. On the other hand, the program should be developed with the consideration of the organization’s values and objectives: improvement of patient care, attention to moral aspects, and the improvement of clinical outcomes and patients’ satisfaction (Hargett et al., 2017). Health care leaders should see their main task in contributing to my organization’s mission at their level of leadership, and I would address this idea in my training program.
Fourth, an effective leadership coaching program should be designed to cover a range of practical issues. These issues may include preparing potential leaders to take a new position within an organization, to transition to a new organization, or to take a position that requires substantially different leadership skills that they currently possess. I would address them with the help of a flexible program aimed at developing a set of leadership qualities that are inherent to any position and organization. In order for leaders to be able to develop goals for specific situations, the training program should include a comprehensive range of tasks, including clinical cases, theoretical problems, moral dilemmas, and management challenges (Hopkins et al., 2018). When developing a program, I would also focus on it being comprehensive and interdisciplinary, allowing its participants to immediately practice their newly acquired skills.
Developing a leadership coaching program with careful consideration of the organization’s values, practical issues, and problems, and management requirements helps to produce highly skilled, efficient leaders. I believe that an effective program should incorporate all the traditional health care elements, such as research, education, and clinical practice in order to create leaders that are aware of all processes within an organization. When developing my program, I would incorporate the principles of business management training strategies into the specifics of the health care industry.
References
Hargett, C., Doty, J., Hauck, J., Webb, A., Cook, S., Tsipis, N., Neumann, J., Andolsek, K., & Taylor, D. (2017). Developing a model for effective leadership in healthcare: Aconcept mapping approach. Journal of Healthcare Leadership, 9, pp. 69–78.
Hopkins, J., Fassiotto, M., Ku, M., Mammo, D., & Valantine, H. (2018). Designing a physician leadership development program based on effective models of physician education. Heath Care Management Review, 43(4), pp. 293–302.
Sonnino, R. (2016). Health care leadership development and training: progress and pitfalls. Journal of Healthcare Leadership, 8, pp. 19–29.