The Concept of Leadership in the Health Care Sector

Reuben Olugbenga Ayeleke,Annette Dunham,Katharine Wallis,Nicola North

doi:10.5772/intechopen.76133

Abstract

The health care sector is characterised by constant reforms aimed at the efficient delivery of safe, effective, and high-quality care. Effective leadership is required to lead and drive changes at all levels of the health system to actualise the goals of the ongoing reforms in health care organisations. Leadership in the health care sector is spread across management and clinical workforces, creating peculiar challenges. The chapter examines the concept of leadership in the health care sector within the context of the recent drive by health care organisations to identify essential competencies and training required by health management and leadership workforces for effective performance in roles. It concludes that further research is needed to build the evidence on the relationships between targeted training and professional development interventions, individual competence of leaders from health management and clinical backgrounds and organisational performance.

Highlights

The health care environment is complex and dynamic; it experiences problems peculiar to its unique characteristics as well as those besetting organisations in other sectors [1–3]
Current interests in health management and leadership are, geared towards identification and assessment of essential competencies required by health managers and leaders for effective performance in roles. Identification of such competencies is central to initiating appropriate training or professional development to enhance individual competence and improve organisational performance [21]
An added challenge to leadership development is that leadership is spread across health management and clinical workforces; while some clinical leaders may work in management roles, for others leadership is exercised from a clinical position

Summary

Introduction

The health care environment is complex and dynamic; it experiences problems peculiar to its unique characteristics as well as those besetting organisations in other sectors [1–3] Such problems include internal pressures arising from increased demands for transparency and accountability, increasing influence of various stakeholders, such as political and social groups, who have vested interests in the sector, and shortages of health care professionals due to the effect of ageing workforces [4–6]. Effective leadership has been recognised as crucial in shaping organisational culture and driving the implementation of reforms in health care sector This is evident in the growing interests in the concepts of health management and leadership, especially since the turn of the century, as reflected in the prevalence of studies on health management and leadership across different countries. This is achieved through a review of key studies on health management and leadership to provide contextual understanding of the concept and identify key areas of focus by health care organisations and researchers related to leadership in the health care sector

Overview of the concept of leadership in the health care sector

Health management and leadership competencies

Leadership development in the health care sector

Conclusions