Leadership Questions for Health Care Professionals: Applying Theories and Principles to Practice

• The essence of leadership
• Leadership development
• Teamwork and communication
• Change
• Organizational culture and complexity
• Leadership ethics and power
• Diversity and multicultural leadership

Dedication

Acknowledgments

About the Author

Preface

Introduction

Section I Questions About the Essence of Leadership

Question 1 Why Does Everyone Make Such a Big Deal Out of Leadership?

Question 2 So, if Leadership Is so Important, What Is It Exactly?

Question 3 I Learned A Lot of Management in College—Is That the Same as Leadership?

Question 4 So, I Want To Be a Better Leader—How Do I Develop a Philosophy of

Leadership That Informs My Leadership Journey?

Question 5 Do All Leaders Demonstrate Leadership Behaviors, and Is Everyone

Who Demonstrates Leadership Behaviors a Leader?

Section II Questions About Leadership Development

Question 6 Can Leadership Be Learned, and if so, How?

Question 7 So, What Happens When Someone Performs

Leadership Behaviors Well?

Question 8 I Heard Leading Is Difficult—Does Practicing Leadership Generate, or

Reduce, Stress?

Question 9 Leadership Is an Old Construct, With Many Different

Ideas Attached to It—How Has Leadership Evolved Over Time?

Section III Questions About Teamwork and Communication

Question 10 Teamwork Is Important—So, What Do I Need to Do

to Be a Valuable Contributor to My Team?

Question 11 I Get Along Great With Most of My Colleagues, but

How Do I Navigate Difficult Coworker Relationships?

Question 12 I Know Change Starts With Me—How Do I Begin to

Develop Good Relationships With Coworkers?

Question 13 Okay, I Was Asked to Lead a Team—How Do I Develop a

Good Team That Performs Well?

Question 14 Why Is It so Hard to Communicate Clearly on

Teams Made Up of a Variety of Different Professionals?

Question 15 Is There Something I Can Do Better to Communicate

Well With All the Members of My Team?

Question 16 Shouldn’t They Just Do What I Say? Why Do I Need to

Communicate Clearly? Everyone Knows We Have a Job to Do

Question 17 What Is Followership, and How Is It Possibly Related to Leadership?

Section IV Questions About Change

Question 18 Everyone Talks About Change Like It Is the Plague—

Why Is Change so Difficult?

Question 19 People Seem to Dislike Change, but Embrace Innovation—

What Is the Difference Between Change and Innovation?

Question 20 I Need to Get a New Change Initiated—Is There a Best or

Better Way to Do That?

Question 21 Is Work-Life Balance a Real Thing? How Can I Balance Them, and

Will That Balance Reduce Burnout?

Section V Questions About Organizational Culture and Complexity

Question 22 My Professional Involvement Is Clinical—

What More Do I Need to Know About Leadership?

Question 23 How Can I Figure Out What the Unwritten Rules Are, and

How Can I Diagnose the Organizational Culture Around Here?

Question 24 What Is a VUCA Organization, and Why Does It Matter to Me?

Question 25 Health Care Is so Multifaceted—How Can I Explain the

Nuance of Complexity to Others?

Question 26 Does Leadership Work the Same Everywhere, and

Can I Transfer My Leadership Skills Somewhere Else?

Section VI Questions About Leadership Ethics and Power

Question 27 I Know Ethics Is Important, but Do I Need to Worry About

Ethical Leadership? Shouldn’t That Be Natural?

Question 28 How Can I Get More Power at Work Without Manipulating People?

Is That Even Possible?

Section VII Questions About Diversity and Multicultural Leadership

Question 29 Really? Medical Tourism? Is That a Real Thing That

Came From Globalized Health Care?

Question 30 I Know It’s Important, but Why Does Diversity and

Cultural Competence Seem so Divisive?

Question 31 Seriously, I Have Enough to Learn and Manage, and

Now I Need to Be Concerned About Different Cultures’ Worldviews?

Okay, What Are They?

Index

“The best aspects of this book are the sections on teamwork and communication and diversity and multicultural leadership. The strength of this book is the author's ability to connect leadership questions to healthcare professionals. Its design is user friendly and the presentation specific, using questions as chapter titles. It enables readers to link to a section based on their own experiences and questions they have. While I have been exposed to some of these theories, none has ever been presented in a way that relates directly to healthcare administration.”