QUESTION

7411PBH Leadership in Management for Health Services

Assignment – Interview and Report

The task in this assignment is to arrange and have an interview with a person working in a leadership role in health care services and prepare a report.

Objective:  Students will undertake an interview with a person working in a healthcare system leadership role and prepare a report on the outcomes of that interview in line with learning module material in the course.

Report Length:  2,000 words (+/- 10%) – word count does not include reference lists; tables and charts etc.

Marks:  The assignment will be marked out of 100.  This assessment work counts towards 50% of the total course mark.

Arrange to interview someone working in a leadership role in a health care or services organisation or setting.  The purpose of this interview is to find out about the leadership traits and characteristics of the person you are interviewing and to gain some insight as to how they may have been developed or shaped in their career etc.

You should make all the arrangements for this interview which would need only to be about 30-40 minutes duration.  Some issues to consider in making your arrangements:

• you must tell the person the purpose of your interview and that you will be writing an assignment report on the interview and your findings – you need to ensure the interviewee consents to this interview on those terms
• if possible arrange a face-to-face interview at mutually convenient times etc but if necessary a Skype interview might be an option – affirm again at the beginning of your interview that you are conducting the interview as part of your report writing in this assignment
• you might know someone in an organisation you are associated with (e.g. ward manager; imaging manager; chief medical technologist; director of nursing; mental health services team leader; director operations; community health team leader  etc etc etc) or you might arrange an interview with someone you have not met before (helps build your network of contacts and enables you to meet people working in areas of health that you might not be familiar with)
• you can, of course, de-identify the name and identity of the person you interview when you prepare your report

Use material covered in Module 3 of the course to develop appropriate questions and an interview line or approach to find out about/from your interviewee:

• what traits and characteristics they feel they have in their leadership style
• what factors (e.g. personality, situational, learned etc) influenced, affected and emerged those traits and characteristics
• any issues or aspects of leadership traits and characteristics they think leading in the health care environment are important, difficult, need to be developed etc

Prepare a report on your findings and relationship to the literature and learning from this course.Develop an appropriate framework or approach to compare and contrast your findings from interview to the traits and characteristics outlined in the literature that we have looked at in this course.  Include in your report discussion on your findings; learning; and any issues related to traits and characteristics of the leader in a healthcare environment. Refer to appropriate literature to support your analysis and findings.

Remember if appropriate you can de-identify who your interviewee was in your report.

The format of your ‘report’ document can be any appropriate format (e.g. essay style; report style; case study style etc etc) you think appropriate for this task but you should include the following headings into your format:

• Introduction
• Methodology (includes detail of leadership role; type of organisation; how interview was carried out; reference to questions used etc etc –de-identified where necessary or appropriate)
• Results/Findings (main outcomes from the interview)
• Discussion (short discussion from outcomes of the interview and relationship to literature etc)
• Conclusion
• References

SOLUTION

Introduction

The influence and merit of effective leadership has turn out to be far more recognized and prevalent within healthcare management (Bass, 1985).  Superior leadership is important since the intricacy of the healthcare system calls for the skills of an efficient leader who could connect the management world with the medical or clinical practice world, while properly understanding individual’s requirements as well as accommodating and formulating the broad range of health facilities required by them (Gardener, 1990). Leadership is regarded as being both property and process (Kaiser et. al., 2008). Firstly, the process leadership is all about making use of non-coercive impact to mould a team or company’s objectives, direct behavior towards attainment of these objectives and to aid in defining team or organizational beliefs.  Secondly, the property leadership refers to the set of traits attributed to people who are supposed to be leaders. There exists the need for continuously balancing these two functions against a powerful understanding of healthcare system (Pfeffer, 1994).

Moving ahead, the most efficient leader is the one who could achieve the team objective while performing the chief duties of leadership important for success (Kaiser et. al., 2008).  So as to accomplish such degree of leadership as well as success, numerous significant issues come into view.  The highly essential and usually known are: shared vision, motivation, effective communication, effective time management, and lastly, a situational attitude to leadership (Griffin, 1993).  Moreover, appreciating such points and understanding ways to apply them in the applicable perspective of healthcare management makes difference in the achievement of leader or manager.

Taking a step ahead, in order to motivate individuals, a leader must understand their requirements.  “Anything which humans use effort for could prove to be a source of encouragement” (Kaiser et. al., 2008). Individuals expend effort in the best interests of their physiological wants, family, group faithfulness, money, safety and profoundly held beliefs such as religion.  Although, the jobs of a leader in context to motivation are several, he or she must identify the wants of followers and aid them understand how those wants could be achieved effectively (Bennis, 1989).  At times leaders help in removing the restraints or inhibitions which obstruct motivation.  Recognising how to deal with individuals holds a direct impact on the degree of efforts these individuals would be ready to put in in getting things completed.  Moreover, the leader might also get them to put in more efforts, chiefly by motivating them.  Further, once the leader thinks that the individuals are encouraged, the challenge exists in upholding their impetus, through watching for any indication of low morale and displaying appreciation for exceptional work (Kaiser et. al., 2008). Further, taking the above discussion into consideration this particular report attempts to provide an insight into the concept of leadership by way of interviewing Mr John (Senior IT Manager at Elli Lilly).

About Elli Lilly

Eli Lilly is a worldwide pharmaceutical corporation. The company’s global head office is situated in Indiana (the United States). Also, the organization has divisions within Puerto Rico as well as 17 other nations. Eli Lilly’s products are available in around 125 distinct nations. The organization was established in the year 1876 as result of the efforts of a pharmaceutical chemist namely; Eli Lilly (Kaiser et. al., 2008). Among the specialties, Eli Lilly was the foremost organization to mass-manufacture penicillin and one among the foremost pharmaceutical corporations to manufacture human insulin by making use of recombinant DNA. Today, the company is recognized as the world’s biggest producer as well as supplier of psychiatric medications.

Methodology

A face to face interview was arranged with Mr. John in order acquire answers to set interview questions. The basic idea behind conducting this interview was to discover traits and characteristics the person feels he has in his leadership style; factors such as personality, situational, learned etc. that influence, affect and emerge those traits and characteristics; any issues or aspects of leadership traits and characteristics he thinks leading in the health care environment are important, difficult, need to be developed. Moreover, the focus of leadership interview questions was on exploring and assessing recognized leadership skills. The interview questions are formed to evaluate whether the person being interviewed holds both leadership skills as well as leadership potential. Leadership interview questions required candidate to put forward instances as to how they have displayed these leadership abilities and were put in the form of capability-grounded or behavioural interview questions. Further, the purpose of these questions was to discover if the style of leadership exercised by the person is consistent with the company’s overall culture.

The questions which formed the part of the interview were: What are the most essential values and ethics an individual illustrates as a leader in healthcare sector? Some situations in which a leader might fail to perform his or her duties? What part does leadership perform for a manager? What innovative solution you developed to a non-traditional problem, if any? A time when the going gets really tough, how do you normally rally the staff and build morale? What techniques have been utilized or are utilized to obtain commitment from the staff members? How do you influence staff members to go with your strategic vision for the company? How have you motivated learning and growth of the employees? What has been the most noteworthy change introduced in the company recently? What are possible challenges that can affect the health care segment in coming years?

Moving ahead, the sections below now highlight the responsibilities of Mr. John being a Senior Health care information technology manager at Elli Lilly and duties as a leader.

A Senior IT manager at Elli Lilly oversees the management of health care IS (information systems). These Information Technology experts generally hold good amount of experience in IT management, few of which might be within the specialized sector of health care information. Moreover, the health care Information Technology manager might operate within an individual site like a hospital or in a bigger health care system. The duties of Mr. John in particular are listed in the continuing sections.

• Training and Support

The responsibilities of the health care manager revolve around offering assistance to physicians as well as those operating within the physician offices that use the health care IS. IT manager is also accountable for executing support programs and training in order to keep the employees and the other stakeholders working under them updated about any noteworthy alterations in the IT system and its use.

• Problem-Solving Duties

As the key link amid the health care offices and IT division that make use of the IS, IT manager at health care organization also functions like a support agent (Bass, 1990). He retorts to inquiries which come from the health care department which are technical in nature. Moreover, inquiries might be common questions or requirement for technical help to resolve an issue. In few situations, IT managers also delegates accountability to other IT experts working under him to deal with the issues on his behalf.

• Network Architecture Duties

The manager needs to remain conscious about the noteworthy technological advancements within the field of health care which might have an impact on the kinds and quality of technologies utilized (Kaiser et. al., 2008). In situations where technology needs to be advanced so as to move with the altering face of expertise, health care manager moves beyond his traditional duties of network as well as database administrators to undertake the task of network architects. The health care managers are also responsible for overseeing the replacement of obsolete techniques.

• Duty towards employees

It is also necessary for the manager to have good leadership skills and perform as a good leader (Fleishman, 1993). He must make sure that all the employees working under him are operating efficiently and giving out their best. Being a leader he is also accountable for offering proper direction to the employees and making sure that the individual goals of employees match well with the company’s overall goals.

Results or Findings

The interview carried out with Mr. John proved to be quite helpful in obtaining a good amount of resourceful information about the company, its environment and the strategies. The paragraphs below highlight the results of the interview questions.

Interviewer: What are the most essential values and ethics an individual illustrates as a leader in healthcare sector?

Mr. John: Being honest and truthful and holding conviction is a vital leadership skill. The efficient leader illustrates ethics and values within individual behavior and incorporates these ethics and values into organizational procedures. An efficient leader works with the audacity of his or her convictions.

Interviewer: Some situations in which a leader or manager might fail to perform his or her duties?

Mr. John: Several factors could fall outside the control of manager or leader like the available pool of skills within the company, time restraints and the economic environment

Interviewer: What part does leadership perform for a manager?

Mr. John: The role of a leader is to put across the strategic vision to the management that to with transparency to transform the vision to concrete plans and direction. The role also include recognizing and communicating preferences, short term goals, time-limit, performance measures and well-defined responsibilities and lastly, providing quality advice and judgment.

Interviewer: What innovative solutions have you developed to a non-traditional problem in company, if any?

Mr. John: Efficient leaders or managers motivate innovation and change. Discovering solutions to distinctive issues are facilitated through encouraging a continuous flow of information in all directions as well as laying emphasis on responsiveness to altering needs of the healthcare sector.

Interviewer: A time when the going gets really tough, how do you normally motivate the staff and build morale?

Mr. John: Managers develop a sense of shared purpose through encouraging the organizational vision externally and internally. They build up and execute efficient communication approaches in the company. They also remove obstacles to teamwork, offer clear direction on preferences and offer clear and true response to stimulate trust.

Interviewer: What techniques have been utilized or are utilized to obtain commitment from the staff members?

Mr. John: The managers or leaders obtain commitment through persuading and influencing the team to defined goals. They build up a spirit of teamwork and consistency for goal accomplishment. They stimulate a dedication to success and brilliance through illustrating passionate individual commitment and promoting a productive culture through valuing people and their participation.

Interviewer: How do you influence staff members to go with your strategic vision for the company?

Mr. John: Managers build up ownership through involving staff members in the decision-forming and planning procedure. They make available resources to assist employee accomplishment and empower them through decentralizing authority to get things completed competently. Effective managers or leaders build up procedures which involve employees in attaining the strategic vision.

Interviewer: How have you motivated learning and growth of the employees?

Mr. John: Managers act like a models for their staff members. The most efficient manager not just teaches by example but also takes a personal interest in learning of the employees and performs as a mentor. In addition, they manage learning all through the company by constantly concentrating on the learning program and offering the resources to assist it. Further, the managers supervise learning through regular feedback.

Interviewer: What has been the most noteworthy change introduced in the company recently?

Mr. John: the managers and leaders could effectively identify new openings and foresee long term prospects. The latest change in the company has been introduction of diverse workforce.

Interviewer: What are possible challenges that can affect the health care segment in coming years?

Mr. John: The possible challenges at manager level and for the company as whole could be to effectively manage the diverse workforce and retain and explore unmatched talent and expertise.

Conclusion and Discussion

To conclude, the above discussion effectively provided an insight into the strategies and business atmosphere of Elli Lilly which operates in health care segment. A face to face interview carried out with Mr. John (Senior IT Manager at Elli Lilly) highlighted several aspects associated with leadership and management. It also explored ways to manage employees in a productive manner and enhance organizational competitiveness.

References:

Bass, B. M. (1985) Leadership and Performance Beyond Expectation, New York: The Free Press.

Bennis, W. (1989) On Becoming a Leader, Addison Wesley, New York.

Fleishman, E. A. (1993) The Description of Supervisory Behavior, Journal of Applied Psychology, Vol. 37, No. 1, pp. 1-6.

Gardener, J. W. (1990) On Leadership, New York: The Free Press.

Griffin, R. W. (1993) Management, Boston: Houghton Miffin Company.

Kaiser, R. B., Hogan, R. and Craig, S. B. (2008) Leadership and the Fate of Organizations, American Psychologist, Vol. 63, No. 2, pp. 96.

Pfeffer, J. (1994) Competitive Advantage through People: Unleashing the Power of the Workforce, Boston: Harvard Business School Press.

JE76