Invisible challenges in healthcare leadership
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.56294/hl202335Keywords:
Healthcare Leadership, Invisible Challenges, Mitigation Strategies, Quality of CareAbstract
This paper explores ten hidden challenges in healthcare leadership and provides practical strategies to address them. These challenges include a lack of self-awareness, ineffective communication, empathy deficiency, resistance to change, delegation issues, overconfidence, accountability shortcomings, cognitive biases, time management problems, and issues related to pride and ego. Leaders in healthcare must first focus on self-awareness by regularly reflecting on their values and seeking honest feedback from colleagues. Effective communication skills are crucial, and leaders must convey information clearly, adapt to their audience, and foster open and honest communication. Empathy is essential for healthcare leaders, as it helps build strong relationships and fosters a collaborative work environment. Leaders should actively listen, show genuine interest in concerns, and seek to understand perspectives beyond differences of opinion. Resistance to change can limit growth, so leaders must adopt an open mindset, surround themselves with diverse perspectives, and be willing to learn and adapt. Delegation is crucial, and leaders should trust their team and assign tasks based on individual skills. Overconfidence can lead to poor decisions, so leaders must practice humility, consult with colleagues, and conduct reviews before important decisions. Accountability is essential, and leaders must acknowledge their responsibility and be transparent about their actions. Cognitive biases can influence decision-making, so leaders should develop emotional intelligence and awareness of their biases. Effective time management involves setting realistic goals and prioritizing tasks. Finally, pride and ego can hinder collaboration, so leaders must practice self-control and connect their leadership to a higher purpose. In conclusion, healthcare leaders must address these challenges to ensure quality healthcare and patient safety. By focusing on self-improvement and building collaborative teams, leaders can play a pivotal role in delivering quality healthcare and promoting patient well-being
References
1. Jeyaraman MM, Qadar SMZ, Wierzbowski A, Farshidfar F, Lys J, Dickson G, et al. Return on investment in healthcare leadership development programs. Leadership in Health Services 2017;31:77-97. https://doi.org/10.1108/LHS-02-2017-0005. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/LHS-02-2017-0005
2. Mousa M, Boyle J, Skouteris H, Mullins AK, Currie G, Riach K, et al. Advancing women in healthcare leadership: A systematic review and meta-synthesis of multi-sector evidence on organisational interventions. eClinicalMedicine 2021;39. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eclinm.2021.101084. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eclinm.2021.101084
3. Leach L, Hastings B, Schwarz G, Watson B, Bouckenooghe D, Seoane L, et al. Distributed leadership in healthcare: leadership dyads and the promise of improved hospital outcomes. Leadership in Health Services 2021;34:353-74. https://doi.org/10.1108/LHS-03-2021-0011. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/LHS-03-2021-0011
4. Dierdorff EC, Fisher DM, Rubin RS. The Power of Percipience: Consequences of Self-Awareness in Teams on Team-Level Functioning and Performance. Journal of Management 2019;45:2891-919. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206318774622. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206318774622
5. Muratore M, Tuena C, Pedroli E, Cipresso P, Riva G. Virtual Reality as a Possible Tool for the Assessment of Self-Awareness. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience 2019;13. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fnbeh.2019.00062
6. Zapata RE, Guerrero JAO, Narváez FJS, Andrade JMM. Estilos de liderazgo: un estudio en Latinoamérica, Estados Unidos y Europa. Salud, Ciencia y Tecnología 2023;3:401-401. https://doi.org/10.56294/saludcyt2023401. DOI: https://doi.org/10.56294/saludcyt2023401
7. Rasheed SP, Younas A, Sundus A. Self-awareness in nursing: A scoping review. Journal of Clinical Nursing 2019;28:762-74. https://doi.org/10.1111/jocn.14708. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/jocn.14708
8. Hartung P. The impact of self-awareness on leadership behavior. Journal of Applied Leadership and Management 2020;8:1-21.
9. Rueda R, Castillo D, García MD, Mena Y. Estrategia de consolidación organizacional de la Asociación Civil Líderes Enfermeros. Community and Interculturality in Dialogue 2023;3:91-91. https://doi.org/10.56294/cid202391. DOI: https://doi.org/10.56294/cid202391
10. Bhatti MW, Ahsan A. Effective Communication among Globally Distributed Software Development Teams: Development of an “Effective Communication” Scale. Research Anthology on Recent Trends, Tools, and Implications of Computer Programming, IGI Global; 2021, p. 2014-39. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-7998-3016-0.ch091. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-7998-3016-0.ch091
11. Vanderhooft JE. Lack of Effective Communication to Injured Workers. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine 2020;62:e475. https://doi.org/10.1097/JOM.0000000000001936. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1097/JOM.0000000000001936
12. Cabrera OA. Estilos de liderazgo de la enfermera jefa y motivación del personal de enfermería. Salud, Ciencia y Tecnología 2022;2:54-54. https://doi.org/10.56294/saludcyt202254. DOI: https://doi.org/10.56294/saludcyt202254
13. Musheke MM, Phiri J. The Effects of Effective Communication on Organizational Performance Based on the Systems Theory. Open Journal of Business and Management 2021;9:659-71. https://doi.org/10.4236/ojbm.2021.92034. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4236/ojbm.2021.92034
14. Rahman IA, Gamil Y. Assessment of Cause and Effect Factors of Poor Communication in Construction Industry. IOP Conf Ser: Mater Sci Eng 2019;601:012014. https://doi.org/10.1088/1757-899X/601/1/012014. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1088/1757-899X/601/1/012014
15. Whittaker JD, Davison I. A Lack of Communication and Awareness in Nontechnical Skills Training? A Qualitative Analysis of the Perceptions of Trainers and Trainees in Surgical Training. Journal of Surgical Education 2020;77:873-88. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsurg.2020.01.006. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsurg.2020.01.006
16. Ataguba OA, Ataguba JE. Social determinants of health: the role of effective communication in the COVID-19 pandemic in developing countries. Global Health Action 2020;13:1788263. https://doi.org/10.1080/16549716.2020.1788263. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/16549716.2020.1788263
17. Moudatsou M, Stavropoulou A, Philalithis A, Koukouli S. The Role of Empathy in Health and Social Care Professionals. Healthcare 2020;8:26. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare8010026. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare8010026
18. Decety J. Empathy in Medicine: What It Is, and How Much We Really Need It. The American Journal of Medicine 2020;133:561-6. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amjmed.2019.12.012. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amjmed.2019.12.012
19. Bas-Sarmiento P, Fernández-Gutiérrez M, Baena-Baños M, Correro-Bermejo A, Soler-Martins PS, de la Torre-Moyano S. Empathy training in health sciences: A systematic review. Nurse Education in Practice 2020;44:102739. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nepr.2020.102739. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nepr.2020.102739
20. Kang ES, Di Genova T, Howick J, Gottesman R. Adding a dose of empathy to healthcare: What can healthcare systems do? Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice 2022;28:475-82. https://doi.org/10.1111/jep.13664. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/jep.13664
21. Velásquez IC, Gutiérrez GS. Diagnosis of human talent needs required by organizations at Magdalena. Community and Interculturality in Dialogue 2021;1:20-20. https://doi.org/10.56294/cid202120. DOI: https://doi.org/10.56294/cid202120
22. González NG. Estilos de liderazgo y clima organizacional percibido por el personal de enfermería de un hospital público de la ciudad de Bahía Blanca. Salud, Ciencia y Tecnología 2021;1:5-5. https://doi.org/10.56294/saludcyt20215. DOI: https://doi.org/10.56294/saludcyt20215
23. Kerasidou A. Artificial intelligence and the ongoing need for empathy, compassion and trust in healthcare. Bull World Health Organ 2020;98:245-50. https://doi.org/10.2471/BLT.19.237198. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2471/BLT.19.237198
24. DuBose BM, Mayo AM. Resistance to change: A concept analysis. Nursing Forum 2020;55:631-6. https://doi.org/10.1111/nuf.12479. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/nuf.12479
25. Shahbaz M, Gao C, Zhai L, Shahzad F, Hu Y. Investigating the adoption of big data analytics in healthcare: the moderating role of resistance to change. J Big Data 2019;6:6. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40537-019-0170-y. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s40537-019-0170-y
26. Fisher MC, Alastruey-Izquierdo A, Berman J, Bicanic T, Bignell EM, Bowyer P, et al. Tackling the emerging threat of antifungal resistance to human health. Nat Rev Microbiol 2022;20:557-71. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41579-022-00720-1. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41579-022-00720-1
27. Matthiessen LE, Hald T, Vigre H. System Mapping of Antimicrobial Resistance to Combat a Rising Global Health Crisis. Frontiers in Public Health 2022;10. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2022.816943
28. Tagliabue A, Rappuoli R. Changing Priorities in Vaccinology: Antibiotic Resistance Moving to the Top. Frontiers in Immunology 2018;9. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2018.01068
29. Stelmaszczuk J. Estilo de liderazgo e indicadores de resultado organizacional desde la óptica del personal de enfermería. Salud, Ciencia y Tecnología 2021;1:10-10. https://doi.org/10.56294/saludcyt202110. DOI: https://doi.org/10.56294/saludcyt202110
30. Mirhoseiny S, Geelvink T, Martin S, Vollmar HC, Stock S, Redaelli M. Does task delegation to non-physician health professionals improve quality of diabetes care? Results of a scoping review. PLOS ONE 2019;14:e0223159. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0223159. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0223159
31. Snowdon DA, Storr B, Davis A, Taylor NF, Williams CM. The effect of delegation of therapy to allied health assistants on patient and organisational outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis. BMC Health Services Research 2020;20:491. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-020-05312-4. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-020-05312-4
32. Saqer TJ, AbuAlRub RF. Missed nursing care and its relationship with confidence in delegation among hospital nurses. Journal of Clinical Nursing 2018;27:2887-95. https://doi.org/10.1111/jocn.14380. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/jocn.14380
33. Shore CB, Maben J, Mold F, Winkley K, Cook A, Stenner K. Delegation of medication administration from registered nurses to non-registered support workers in community care settings: A systematic review with critical interpretive synthesis. International Journal of Nursing Studies 2022;126:104121. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2021.104121. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2021.104121
34. Dusik YP. Influencia de factores organizacionales en recursos humanos asistenciales y gerenciales de enfermería. Salud, Ciencia y Tecnología 2021;1:32-32. https://doi.org/10.56294/saludcyt202132. DOI: https://doi.org/10.56294/saludcyt202132
35. Lepez CO, Simeoni IA. Pedagogical experience with Public Health campaigns from the design of socio-educational projects with insertion in the local territory. Community and Interculturality in Dialogue 2023;3:74-74. https://doi.org/10.56294/cid202374. DOI: https://doi.org/10.56294/cid202374
36. Canady BE, Larzo M. Overconfidence in Managing Health Concerns: The Dunning–Kruger Effect and Health Literacy. J Clin Psychol Med Settings 2023;30:460-8. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10880-022-09895-4. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10880-022-09895-4
37. Kovacs RJ, Lagarde M, Cairns J. Overconfident health workers provide lower quality healthcare. Journal of Economic Psychology 2020;76:102213. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joep.2019.102213. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joep.2019.102213
38. Murphy SC, Barlow FK, von Hippel W. A Longitudinal Test of Three Theories of Overconfidence. Social Psychological and Personality Science 2018;9:353-63. https://doi.org/10.1177/1948550617699252. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1948550617699252
39. Li H, Cao Y. The bright side of the COVID-19 pandemic: Public coughing weakens the overconfidence bias in non-health domains. Personality and Individual Differences 2021;178:110861. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2021.110861. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2021.110861
40. Benegal S. Overconfidence and the discounting of expertise: A commentary. Social Science & Medicine 2018;213:95-7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2018.07.039. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2018.07.039
41. Vian T. Anti-corruption, transparency and accountability in health: concepts, frameworks, and approaches. Global Health Action 2020;13:1694744. https://doi.org/10.1080/16549716.2019.1694744. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/16549716.2019.1694744
42. Lodenstein E, Molenaar JM, Ingemann C, Botha K, Mkandawire JJ, Liem L, et al. “We come as friends”: approaches to social accountability by health committees in Northern Malawi. BMC Health Serv Res 2019;19:279. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-019-4069-2. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-019-4069-2
43. Purkey E, MacKenzie M. Experience of healthcare among the homeless and vulnerably housed a qualitative study: opportunities for equity-oriented health care. International Journal for Equity in Health 2019;18:101. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12939-019-1004-4. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12939-019-1004-4
44. Siddiqy MR. Present status of accountability on health related activities among city corporation’s officials: A qualitative study. Kasetsart Journal of Social Sciences 2022;43:503‒508-503‒508. DOI: https://doi.org/10.34044/j.kjss.2022.43.2.31
45. Alvarez LM. Influencia del entorno de práctica de enfermería en el desempeño laboral. Salud, Ciencia y Tecnología 2022;2:63-63. https://doi.org/10.56294/saludcyt202263. DOI: https://doi.org/10.56294/saludcyt202263
46. Royce CS, Hayes MM, Schwartzstein RM. Teaching Critical Thinking: A Case for Instruction in Cognitive Biases to Reduce Diagnostic Errors and Improve Patient Safety. Academic Medicine 2019;94:187. https://doi.org/10.1097/ACM.0000000000002518. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1097/ACM.0000000000002518
47. O’Sullivan E, Schofield S. Cognitive Bias in Clinical Medicine. Journal of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh 2018;48:225-32. https://doi.org/10.4997/jrcpe.2018.306. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4997/jrcpe.2018.306
48. Fodor LA, Georgescu R, Cuijpers P, Szamoskozi Ş, David D, Furukawa TA, et al. Efficacy of cognitive bias modification interventions in anxiety and depressive disorders: a systematic review and network meta-analysis. The Lancet Psychiatry 2020;7:506-14. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2215-0366(20)30130-9. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S2215-0366(20)30130-9
49. Hwang K, Lee B, Hahn J. Green Restaurant Consumers’ Pride and Social Healthy Narcissism Influencing Self-Actualization and Self-Transcendence That Drive Customer Citizenship Behavior. Sustainability 2020;12:10339. https://doi.org/10.3390/su122410339. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/su122410339
50. Meyer HS, Durning SJ, Bader-Larsen KS, Hamwey M, Varpio L. Perseverance: An Essential Trait of Military Interprofessional Healthcare Teams. Military Medicine 2021;186:29-34. https://doi.org/10.1093/milmed/usab185. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/milmed/usab185
51. McCallum CM, Boone A, Long S, Mackerl-Cooper K, Vasquez E, Fonseca-Borlin G. Black Doctoral Students’ Mental Health: Unmasking Student Experiences. Currents: Journal of Diversity Scholarship for Social Change 2022;2. https://doi.org/10.3998/ncidcurrents.1778. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3998/ncidcurrents.1778
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2023 Carlos Oscar Lepez (Author)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
The article is distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License. Unless otherwise stated, associated published material is distributed under the same licence.
