Introduction
Effective leadership qualities are significant among healthcare providers since they contribute to efficient service providers. Advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) play a crucial role in the routine operations of healthcare organizations. Additionally, APRNs are involved in key decision-making that is influential to the organizations. Although the nurses may not be directly involved in strategic planning, their inputs bolster healthcare activities. A strategic leadership philosophy is crucial for my effective and productive leadership skills. Therefore, my belief that a leader must be strategic, will become essential in my nursing profession.
Leadership Philosophy
Personal Leadership Philosophy
Increased productivity and teamwork among organizational members are greatly influenced by the kind of leadership style adopted. A strategic leadership philosophy involves an ability to influence team members to voluntarily make decisions for long-term organizational viability ( do Adro et al., 2021). Therefore, the philosophy is applicable among corporations with intention of streamlining processes, increasing productivity, and fostering innovation. Therefore, the strategic leadership philosophy is important in today’s disruptive healthcare environment since it ensures value addition to nurses.
Effective Leadership
Effective leadership is a multifaceted concept, involving different definitions by different scholars. However, the traditional definition of effective leadership is executing organizational goals and setting a cordial tone and culture that is acceptable to various stakeholders (Jochum, 2021). Effective leadership skills have been exhibited by renowned world leaders. For instance, Nelson Mandela was an effective leader since he helped his country fight against discriminative policies. Additionally, Nelson Mandela was known for speeches that promote national unity and regional cooperation in South Africa and beyond. Therefore, effective leadership is the ability to lead people in a manner that advocates their interests as a team and at a personal level.
Positive Leadership Qualities
Excellent Communication
Routine communication is significant for organizations since it allows the leaders and team to track their performance. A hospital’s executive gives its stakeholders annual objectives and specific organizational goals. Excellent communication skills include the ability to send information on time and the use of an appropriate tone when disseminating information (Adro et al., 2021). Moreover, using the proper channels for communication promotes the execution of communicated activities. Excellent communication skills help positive leaders promote unity and hard work among their subordinates.
Decisiveness
Effective decision-making allows positive leaders to have a stand in particular business situations. Although effective leaders take into account the opinions of their team members, some may be misleading. Consequently, the team leader must be decisive by weighing the available options and choosing the most relevant. Upon making the decision it is important for the leader to effectively communicate and state their rationale for deciding. Decisive leaders help an organization follow appropriate steps for productivity.
Creative-Thinking
Creativity fosters a successful and healthy working environment through problem-solving. Leaders act as an example to their subordinates and must give creative solutions when faced with a problem. Creative thinking involves gaining insights and new ideas through existing information and situations. Creative leaders can meet the ever-shifting organizational challenges and unpredictable future catastrophes (Jochum, 2021). Additionally, creativity promotes innovation and increased productivity due to the formulation of new product development ideas. Creative thinking is an essential quality for nurses when in problems.
Passionate
A positive attitude towards an organization fosters teamwork and a unity of purpose. Passionate leaders are infectious since they lead their team members by example. Passion drives a positive leader to fully commit and do anything possible for productivity and profitability. Consequently, the team members are encouraged to take part in achieving set objectives. Moreover, passionate leaders quickly identify problems and creatively solve them. Therefore, passionate leaders encourage positive performance among their subordinates.
Strong Personal and Work Ethics
Every community has its ethical approach to professional activities. Meanwhile, leaders may have a personal moral consciousness that guides them in decision-making. Work ethics are acceptable behaviors of professionals that is acceptable by society. Positive leaders operate in the interest of their organization and team members (Jochum, 2021). Therefore, positive leaders do not allow personal selfishness to influence their decisions. Strong personal and work ethics help positive leaders effectively interact with various stakeholders.
What Has Shaped Me as A Leader
Personal experiences and external factors have influenced my leadership style. As a first-born child in our family, my parents involved me in daily decision-making. For instance, I am responsible for scheduling my siblings’ study time among other activities. Meanwhile, at school, I am the head of the research society and my discussion groups. I often make decisions that impact my family and coursemates. My personal experience as a family and school leader has been shaped by a strategic leadership approach. Reading books and following examples of global leaders such as Nelson Mandela has influenced my leadership philosophy. My ethical behavior, creativity, and passion for my community play a significant role in my strategic leadership approach.
My Inspiration
Although my leadership skills are effective, I aspire to become a better version of myself. Therefore, I am working on my weaknesses that encumber effective leadership. First, aspire to be a leader with effective anger management. Second, as an individual from a society that is discriminative against race, I would like to become a leader who symbolizes and promotes cultural diversity in an organization. Adopting positive leadership qualities will help me become an effective leader going forward.
Significant Problems with American Healthcare System
Problem
Social security involves the acquisition of health insurance and access to quality healthcare services. The U.S. healthcare system is associated with unequal access to medical insurance coverage. The most vulnerable communities including the minorities and dysfunctional families lack insurance coverage as shown in figure 1.0. Consequently, they face more health-related problems than insured Americans do. According to Chemweno “the uninsured may not seek medical care due to high costs and avoid regular health screenings” (Chemweno 2021, para. 3). The unequal access to medical insurance cover is detrimental to U.S. economic growth.
This prevalent problem is the one that I am passionate about seeing change. It is highly important because healthcare is not cheap and insurance is sometimes the only way to afford quality healthcare. Moreover, expensive healthcare can throw people who cannot afford it in the first place further into poverty. The cost of employer-provided health insurance, “not only holds down wages but also destroys jobs, especially for less skilled workers, and replaces good jobs with worse jobs at lower wages” (Case & Deaton, 2020). Therefore, addressing the unequal access to medical insurance coverage is vital for U.S. economic growth.
Possible Solutions
Various actions can be taken to address the unequal accessibility to medical insurance in U.S. First, the government should formulate legislation that favors the minorities’ access to medical services (Zieff et al., 2020). For instance, they should be prioritized when recruiting Medicare beneficiaries. Second, the private sector should be actively involved in addressing the issue. The sector should be encouraged to adopt a strategic plan that would help them provide medical coverage for all of their employees. Last, public awareness of the importance of medical insurance should be encouraged to influence the minority population.
Strategic Leadership Plan
My Leadership Philosophy and Solution
My leadership philosophy, as described in the first section, involves strategic planning and decision-making. I believe that community issues should be addressed in a manner that is objectives and focused on future viability. Therefore, the issue of unequal access to medical insurance cover should be addressed with long-term solutions. Teamwork, as part of a strategic leadership style, will play a significant role in uniting the public and private sectors to solve the problem. Additionally, my aptitude for cultural diversity would help me take the issue from a personal perspective. Consequently, I shall be passionate about promoting equality in the accessibility of medical insurance coverage.
Actions To Be Taken
Two crucial steps will help me become part of the solution to unequal access to medical insurance coverage. First, I would start an online campaign that promotes equality in securing social security and encouraging the purchase of insurance covers. The campaign will allow me to engage relevant sectors in solving the problem. Involving social media influencers and non-government organizations will make the campaign a success. Second, I would use my personal experiences of discrimination to petition the government into addressing the issue. Collecting as many signatures as possible would help in reminding the government that the issue is of great public concern.
Conclusion
Effective leadership promotes organizational growth and increased profitability. Strategic leadership philosophy involves creative solutions that have a long-term impact on existing problems. Effective leadership qualities include excellent communication skills, decisiveness, creative thinking, and strong personal and work ethics, among others. These qualities help in solving problems such as unequal access to medical insurance in the U.S. Teamwork and unity between the private and public sectors can help solve the discriminative access to medical insurance in the U.S. Therefore, an effective strategic leadership approach is important in addressing healthcare problems.
References
Case, A. & Deaton, A. (2020). How Healthcare costs hurt American workers and benefit the wealthy. Time. Web.
Chemweno, J. (2021). The U.S. Healthcare System is broken: A National perspective.Managed Healthcare Executive. Web.
do Adro, F., Fernandes, C. I., Veiga, P. M., & Kraus, S. (2021). Social entrepreneurship orientation and performance in non-profit organizations. International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal.
Jochum, C. J. (2021). The Department Chair: A Practical Guide to Effective Leadership. Rowman & Littlefield.
Tolbert, J., Orgera, K., & Damico, A. (2020). Key facts about the uninsured population. KFF. Web.
Zieff, G., Kerr, Z. Y., Moore, J. B., & Stoner, L. (2020). Universal Healthcare in the United States of America: A Healthy Debate. Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania), 56(11), 580.