Unlike many other industries, in healthcare, the clinical outcomes are determined at “bed-side” or what we call “last-mile” with sometimes extreme consequences. Many of the metrics that affect hospital performance like re-admissions, errors, etc. happen at the level where doctors and nurses interact with patients. Moreover, unlike other industrial settings, performance improvements arise from professional engagement and not necessarily from organizational measures. Hence a senior manager in the hospital`s administrative block cannot direct a doctor or the nurses like employees in a bank or other industrial settings. On the contrary, one of the primary tasks of a leader is to provide direction and this is especially true in hospitals.

The direction given by the leader has a lasting impact on all stakeholders in the healthcare environment and, thus, should be right and beneficial to all stakeholders like patients, relatives, healthcare professionals, cooperation partners, government, investors, and benefactors. But, hospitals are complex systems in which the various stakeholders might have conflicting agendas or objectives. Hence, providing direction and accordingly moving the hospital and its employees can not only be a difficult task but may sometimes provoke significant opposition. Leadership in such scenarios requires skills, knowledge about leadership frameworks, and robust easy-to-apply tools. Those cornerstones will serve as a solid foundation even for leaders in healthcare who never before were systematically educated in leadership or (erroneously) feel that mainly qualities of charisma and extrovertedness would qualify for being a good leader.

This module is not about creating a generic strategic direction with the participants that they can take as a blueprint for their specific leadership tasks. It is not about “where-to-lead-my-hospital”. Instead, this module provides knowledge about different leadership styles, principles, and tools that can be customized to fit each participant’s individual situation.

The module is about “how-to-lead-my-hospital.” Therefore, we encourage the participants to capitalize on their individual character and temperament to develop their unique leadership style. One is capable of providing direction only when one can direct attention. The ability to pay attention to ourselves and examine our nature intrinsically will help us to create a style of leadership that is very personal and also genuinely authentic.

Eventually, the participants will appreciate different styles of leadership and compile an individual leadership toolbox to address the myriad of variables that affect their role as leaders in hospitals.