Building leadership capabilities in maternity

BackgroundOver recent years, there has been increasing recognition that effective leadership is critical to establishing positive organisational culture and improving patient outcomes. In maternity, there is a unique interplay between different specialties and disciplines in providing high-quality services.MethodsReview of literature pertaining to leadership and maternity.ResultsGood leadership is the key determinant in ensuring that our multi-professional teams function effectively. The relational aspects of teamworking, linked to safer delivery of services, have been explored in great detail in maternity services. However, there has been less focus on the application of leadership theory in this environment and the impact of interventions used in developing leadership skills within maternity teams.ConclusionsIn this paper, we discuss how leadership theory can be used to understand high profile maternity service failures and how effective team culture, clinical team building and individual leadership skill-development are strong contributors to this thinking. Specific examples are used to describe ongoing work in our drive for improvement and to highlight the current lack of evidence in this area.

Work Performance of Extension Agents: Skills of Transfer of Technology and Human Resource Development in Cocoa Industry

Transfer of technology (ToT) and human resource development (HRD) are essential components to acknowledge extension agents’ performance. Understanding the foundations and implications of ToT and HRD is vital for improving agriculture extension agents in research and extension programmes. This study was designed to determine extension agents’ ToT and HRD skills to explain the work performance of Malaysian Cocoa Board (MCB) extension agents in East Malaysia. A total of 315 productive cocoa farmers exposed to the extension activities for a minimum of five years and had attended two basic training from the agency were selected to answer the questionnaire within a month. The researcher applied Krejie and Morgan formula to determine the sample size based on the population using stratified random sampling. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics, multiple regression and Pearson correlation analysis. Results showed a positive and moderate relationship between ToT and HRD towards work performance. However, from the six variables tested, only three variables were significant towards work performance, namely technical skill (p=0.000), leadership skill (p=0.015) and decision-making skill (p=0.000). Therefore, the extension agents’ skills must be strengthened, their working knowledge updated, and new concepts for developing agriculture that can fulfil complicated demand patterns, reduce poverty and pressure and increase productivity must be developed. This study also strengthens the iceberg model by adding six characteristics of skills in extension agents. The outcomes would contribute to the policymakers and MCB’s management in elevating the extension agents’ performance through training and developing ToT and HRD.

Clinical Scholars: Making Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Learning an Integral Part of Leadership Development

The plethora of persistent and pervasive health inequities in the United States is a Wicked Problem which threatens the health and wellbeing of all people. To dismantle them is no easy task, and requires a health care workforce practiced in leadership skill sets embracing a deep focus on areas of equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI). This chapter describes how the core competencies and curriculum of the Clinical Scholars Program have been designed to offer this set of skills. To start, the program’s foundational set of 25 competencies cover four domains (Personal, Interpersonal, Organizational, and Community & Systems) and include both more traditional leadership competencies as well as contemporary competencies focused on equity, diversity, and inclusion. The curriculum takes the set of 25 leadership and EDI competencies and breaks them down into learning sessions where participants listen, practice, and apply the ideas, behaviors, and mindsets. The leadership core and the EDI core of the curriculum exist both in tandem and in unison to provide the full Clinical Scholars experience. At times, sessions focus on one core or the other, and at times, both leadership and EDI are present in the learning of a session. Example learning sessions for each core and the weaving of the cores together are provided. Four challenges to creating an equity-centered leadership program are identified: 1. The personalized nature of the journey of self-development; 2. Shifting Mindsets and Skill Sets; 3. Piloting an evidence-based curriculum on EDI; and 4. Maintaining engagement with participants over time and across distance. A set of top recommendations for weaving EDI and Leadership learning are also offered. The chapter details the importance of meaningfully focusing on EDI when tackling modern, wicked problems.

Just a leader? Leadership work challenges and identity contradiction experienced by Finnish physician leaders

PurposeThis study seeks to improve the understanding of physician leaders' leadership work challenges.Design/methodology/approachThe subjects of the empirical study were physician leaders (n = 23) in the largest central hospital in Finland.FindingsA total of five largely identity-related, partially paradoxical dilemmas appeared regarding why working as “just a leader” is challenging for physician leaders. First, the dilemma of identity ambiguity between being a physician and a leader. Second, the dilemma of balancing the expected commitment to clinical patient work by various stakeholders and that of physician leadership work. Third, the dilemma of being able to compensate for leadership skill shortcomings by excelling in clinical skills, encouraging physician leaders to commit to patient work. Fourth, the dilemma of “medic discourse”, that is, downplaying leadership work as “non-patient work”, making it inferior to patient work. Fifth, the dilemma of a perceived ethical obligation to commit to patient work even if the physician leadership work would be a full-time job. The first two issues support the findings of earlier research, while the remaining three emerging from the authors’ analysis are novel.Practical implicationsThe authors list some of the practical implications that follow from this study and which could help solve some of the challenges.Originality/valueThis study explores physician leaders' leadership work challenges using authentic physician leader data in a context where no prior empirical research has been carried out.

Cross-echelon managerial design competencies: Relational coordination in organizational learning and growth performance

We followed the continuity perspective of leadership skill requirements to examine the interplay between the design competencies of different management cohorts, relational coordination, and organizational learning and growth performance outcomes. Using a two-source sample of 103 organizations, we found evidence for compensatory effects. Specifically, a conditional process analysis (moderated mediation) revealed that: (a) design competencies are a highly relevant type of managerial knowledge or skill, (b) competent middle-level managers compensate for a lack of design skills and design-related knowledge at the top management level, and (c) top- and middle-level managerial design competencies simultaneously create a cross-echelon complementarity effect on organizational learning and growth performance. JEL classification

LEADERSHIP SKILLS OF PRE-SERVICE TEACHERS AND CAREER TEACHERS: A QUASI-EXPERIMENTAL STUDY

<p>This quantitative, quasi-experimental study examined the leadership skills of pre-service and career teachers to determine how education influences leadership skills when assessed by two valid and reliable leadership assessments. The general problem was some teachers leave the field of education, due to lack of effective leadership skills in managing the classroom to include practicing leadership power skills, organizational skills, and classroom management skills. This study has revealed the significance of how engaging in effectual leadership skill instruction by embracing leadership power skills and organizational skills, which may assist teachers remaining in the educational domain. The theoretical framework most closely related to this study was transformational leadership theory and concerned whether or not leadership skills can be learned. Three research questions were analyzed and the findings affirmed the second and third hypotheses. The summary of results determined most teachers were rewarding, legitimate, expert, referent, or coercive leaders. The findings suggested doctoral level research was successfully conducted; leadership skills can be learned and further research was recommended. The conclusion was hope was given to future students and future teachers who enroll in leadership training programs. Recommendations derived from this study included universities should require mandatory leadership classes be offered to most all students, especially educational students; continued professional development seminars to career teachers was encouraged in order to educate and support career teachers as they develop into successful leaders in their classrooms, communities, and throughout the United States. </p>