Necessary Skills for Leadership in Healthcare

Author(s):

Ali Nagem*

Clinical leadership and the clinical leader’s time have come. It’s a new agenda in the health service, which focus on innovation, change and a drive for quality. Health care practices are also changing. It’s recognition that greater change needs stronger leadership and that leaders can come from any stratum of the health industry. The main qualities of a healthcare leader are approachability, empowerment and motivation, being visible in practice, clinically competent and clinically knowledgeable, has values and beliefs on show, has effective communication skills, copes well with change, has integrity, is supportive, inspires con idence and is a positive clinical role model. A better outcome is the end in mind. Performance excellence achieves better outcomes. Process improvement leads to performance excellence. Healthcare leadership requires clinicians to consider the needs of the wider patient population; to take decisions that not only make the best of resources but also deliver clinical quality; and implement clinically-led service improvements that are likely to succeed. A scienti ic methodology and change leadership combine to enable teams to improve processes. In current healthcare settings, an effective organization consists of integrated teams in which individuals combine their expertise, abilities, and experience in order to solve difficult challenges and pursue innovative solutions. We need to develop ever more advanced diagnostic and treatment technologies, but we don't need to become mere technicians. The leaders of medicine need to understand how much their success depends on the quality of the science that we support. If the ield stagnates due to lack of resources, funding, or interest, then the advancement of innovative and more productive means of health promotion and disease prevention, diagnosis and treatment will struggle.