Damian Sendler: Medical professionals should improve their leadership skills because they differ from those required to practice medicine or conduct research, and because leadership matters. Indeed, health care requires excellent leadership at all levels, from the executive level to the bedside (eg, leading clinical teams and problem-solving on the ward). 

Diverse theories of leadership have been presented, but they all contain some basic characteristics, such as the ability to foresee a better future state, motivate others to work toward that vision, give others the authority to carry it out, and serve as role models for the anticipated behaviors. By focusing on the seven traditional qualities of trust, compassion, bravery and justice as well as knowledge and temperance, a company can unleash additional effort to produce superior results. 

Damian Jacob Sendler: Leadership competencies in health care include technical expertise, not only in the clinical/scientific arena, but also in operations, strategic thinking, economics, human resources, and information technology. Additionally, one must be a problem solver and a lifelong learner in order to succeed in the health care industry. 

Damian Sendler

To be a good leader in any industry, you need to be emotionally intelligent. There is a wide range of leadership styles to choose from, and the best leaders are adept at using each one in the right context at the right time. Overall, leadership skills can be learned, and leadership development programs are a hallmark of leading healthcare institutions. 

It’s all about the leader. Take a look back at the coronavirus illness pandemic of 2019. When governors moved early and decisively (by closing schools, mandating masks or advocating social separation), they saw flattened curves while states with more laissez-faire leadership had higher illness burdens and sequelae, as seen by the graphs. 

Effective leadership is characterized by discrete, teachable competencies combined with formative experience, which recognizes that leadership and followership are complementary and intertwined, as well as the fact that organizational performance also reflects the strength of the organization’s culture. 

First, the paper examines why excellent leadership is necessary; second, it analyzes a paradox in medicine, which is that dominating and pacifying are essentially opposed to effective leadership techniques. While these models may use different terminology, they all share some fundamental concepts and characteristics of a good leader, such as those found in classical virtues. Finally, leadership styles and the situational leadership model are discussed, highlighting the importance of adapting one’s leadership style to the setting and the qualities of people being led. As a clinician managing a team of caregivers or in a formal, titled leadership post, the chest physician can benefit from leadership principles. 

Damian Jacob Markiewicz Sendler: There are four parts to the chest physician’s essential leadership competencies series and this is part one. Emotional intelligence and its importance as a leadership ability, change management, and team building are all covered in subsequent articles.  As previously highlighted by Nguyen et al., conflict and negotiation methods are a key leadership competency. 

Everywhere you look, there’s a need for and an opportunity for leadership. “Small L” and “Big L” leadership are used by Bohmer6 to make clear that leadership is needed throughout the health care system. For example, the “small l” leadership concept highlights the necessity of leading in healthcare “microsystems,” such as enhancing the reporting of “near-miss” events to improve patient safety in a hospital ward. 

Nurses, respiratory consultants, nurse practitioners, and medical students are all examples of “Small L” leaders. Even though they lack the formal title of “leader,” “small l” leaders have the ability to define a vision for delivering high-quality care that goes beyond the transactional activities of writing orders and analyzing test findings. “Being and doing” is how they take charge of the organization.  

Damian Jacob Sendler

Leaders of all kinds (whether “small l” leaders or those with official leadership positions and titles) have a vision of a better future and a culture they want to build; they act in accordance with their principles. This includes setting accountability and keeping an eye on how things are progressing. There are many ways to lead, and not just “big L” leaders, according to “small l” leadership (eg, those with formal leadership titles such as department chair, dean, hospital president, or chief executive officer). 

Damien Sendler: As a result of Bohmer describing the “small l” leader, we can also explore the distinction between leading and managing. Some characteristics of leadership and management are complementary and share some common characteristics; both involve deciding what needs to be done, developing networks of people to fulfill stated goals, and establishing responsibility to ensure that the work gets done. 

Managing and leading, on the other hand, are distinct in that management focuses on predictability and order, but leadership aims to disturb the status quo by imagining a different future. A similar contrast is made by Schein: “If one wishes to distinguish leadership from management or administration, it is possible to argue that leadership creates and changes cultures, while administration acts within a culture. ” 

Dr. Damian Jacob Sendler and his media team provided the content for this article.