Leaders' actions are pivotal in ensuring success for themselves and their team, according to two American College of Healthcare Executives members.
It also is important to develop habits that allow leaders to analyze goals and progress to address issues or redefine expectations, Carson Dye and Andrew Garman, PsyD, wrote in an ACHE newsletter posted Aug. 1 on LinkedIn.
Here are four takeaways for healthcare leaders to know:
1. Exceptional leaders remain focused on improvement.
These leaders, Mr. Dye and Dr. Garman said, are able to bring conversations back to the most important goals, such as efficiency or bottom line. Those who are unorganized and unfocused can create unnecessary problems, such as failing to monitor progress or not prepping meeting attendees, for example, which can lead to inefficiency.
2. Creating effective working relationships is necessary.
The success of driving results relies on positive working relationships, which can be hindered if a leader is overly concerned with being liked and does not hold others accountable, according to the authors. This can lead to avoiding addressing performance issues.
3. Flexibility is needed in a changing environment.
Healthcare leaders should be able to admit mistakes and change direction when an initial plan no longer seems realistic, the authors said.
4. Boundless energy leads to success.
Exceptional leaders see every barrier as temporary and look to find a way around it whenever possible. They address indirect barriers head on, Mr. Dye and Dr. Garman said. Meanwhile, less energetic leaders tend to procrastinate pursuing projects or abandon them too early.