Adequate Preparation vs Thought Processes—It’s not the Preparation, It’s the Strategy

Abstract

Leadership is a major issue in management. This is clear from the top ranking it received from hospital administrators and registered dietitians (RDs) in the research discussed in the article by Gregoire and colleagues ( 1 Gregoire M.B. Sames K. Dowling R.A. Lafferty L.J. Are registered dietitians adequately prepared to be hospital foodservice directors?. J Am Diet Assoc. 2005; 105: 1215-1221 Google Scholar ). As the article points out, the American Dietetic Asssociation (ADA) has stated in its position paper on management that “RDs are uniquely qualified to direct foodservice departments” ( 2 American Dietetic AssociationPosition of the American Dietetic Association Management of health care food and nutrition services. J Am Diet Assoc. 1997; 97: 1427-1430 Google Scholar ). While foodservice directors and hospital administrators agree on the broad issue of leadership, there are different levels and perceptions of leadership ( 3 Studer Q. Hardwiring Excellence. Fire Starter Publishing, Gulf Breeze, FL2003 Google Scholar ). This may be why some aspects of leadership were perceived differently by department heads and hospital administrators.