The Challenges of Being a Positive Role Model for Your Employees

Abstract

Being a positive role model for your employees is a lot harder than it sounds. This article describes the values, attitudes, and behaviors that are worth modeling for healthcare employees. It explores four popular misconceptions about being a role model that can interfere with a leader’s ability to model excellence. It then describes five of the biggest role modeling challenges that healthcare executives will face and how to overcome them. These are the challenges of striking out with employees, having only reverse or negative role models, making a mistake that has big consequences, coming across as too perfect, and feeling that a leader is under almost constant scrutiny. This article also offers healthcare executives five practical strategies they can use when they can’t find leadership role models who look like them.