Many physicians indicate their health system leaders do not fully demonstrate qualities they admire most in leaders, according to a recent survey by Quantia.
Most physicians surveyed (80 percent) value integrity in their leaders, but less than half feel their current leaders embody this quality, according to the survey. Physicians also felt their systems' leaders fell short in terms of intelligence and compassion.
The good news is their leaders still have some redeeming qualities, according to the survey. The majority of physicians reported their leaders demonstrate vision and experience, qualities valued by 54 percent and 45 percent of physicians, respectively.
Physicians are demotivated when their leaders are dishonest about the reasons behind decisions (75 percent), and more than half feel their leaders are not honest about decision-making. More than half of physicians surveyed also reported their leaders made promises without delivering, did not include them or trust them with decision-making, and used platitudes and vague business concepts while speaking, all behaviors physicians ranked as demotivating.
However, more than half of physicians surveyed felt their leaders communicated with them honestly and supported them with resources, according to the survey.
"I don't believe that values important to physicians are largely taken into account in the formulation of my health system's strategic direction," said a physician in the survey.
Health system leaders should include physicians more in the decision making process to improve physician satisfaction, the study suggested.
Roughly 4,000 physicians participated in this survey.
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