Introduction
Effective leadership plays a vital role in the healthcare sector, influencing pivotal roles, particularly when initiating transformative changes. This critical reflection essay outlines the leadership styles I adopted as the project leader for the dental screening program for all registered diabetics at the district clinics. In this context, the emotional intelligence skills used in implementing and ensuring the project’s success take center stage. The objective of this critical essay is to reveal the roles of a healthcare organization leader. The paper will emphasize the importance of delegation, collaboration, and empathy while undertaking healthcare initiatives.
Oral screening programs display the challenges that leaders face while managing healthcare institutions. The programs are a critical element of healthcare management as diabetic people with diabetes are at a higher risk of developing dental complications (Chan et al., 2021; Rohani, 2019). Before launching such a program, leaders and stakeholders involved need to conduct a needs assessment to identify the specific oral health needs of people with diabetes in the district. Things to consider include the total number of diabetic people with dental complications compared to the resources and infrastructure available. Leaders must also establish guidelines for screening procedures and seek collaborations with relevant partners to ensure the effective implementation of these measures.
Leadership Style
Delegations
As a leader of the oral/dental screening program for registered diabetics, my leadership style was characterized by delegation, collaboration with other parties, and empathy. Delegation is defined as the act of empowering another person to act on behalf of another (Mortenson and Bagley, 2021). The art of delegating tasks to others was at the heart of my leadership style. I am aware of the diverse and multifaceted nature of rolling screening programs for people with diabetes at district clinics and the need to leverage a large talent pool. This move was a contributing factor to the project’s success, as it not only prevented some individuals from being overworked but also ensured that the team’s diverse skills and expertise were utilized.
The delegation of duties also facilitated the organization’s roles to be performed in a fast and efficient manner. When a team member was entrusted with a specific duty whose outcome was tied to them, they worked harder to produce better results. This finding aligns with studies that reveal people who are held accountable for their duties outperform those who are held liable (Connolly, James, and Fertig, 2019). I noticed that empowering various employees to undertake their responsibilities made them take the initiative and be more inventive. Furthermore, this approach also fostered collaboration among team members, thereby enhancing the project’s cohesion towards achieving a common goal.
Collaboration
In addition to implementing delegation principles within the organization, we also sought to promote collaboration principles among various stakeholders. This project involved experts from two different categories, each possessing varying levels of expertise. Dental professionals have extensive experience in dental health, while medical professionals are responsible for managing diabetes.
Collaborations in the healthcare industry are also associated with resource allocation, thereby optimizing operational costs (Javed et al., 2020; Tseng et al., 2022). All the members of the project used the pronoun “we” rather than “I” when discussing the tasks we were undertaking in the venture for subsequent checks. Systems were also designed to encourage open and transparent communication among team members. The collaboration during the project exceeded the team’s expectations by including relevant stakeholders, such as healthcare experts in the field, to ensure a holistic approach was undertaken.
Leading with Empathy
Being empathetic is an essential skill for all individuals, and it plays a vital role in dental screening programs at district clinics. Empathy is defined as the ability of an individual to understand and share the feelings of another person (Fletcher-Watson and Bird, 2020). In the healthcare industry, empathy is not just a skill but a necessity for all healthcare professionals. Empathy in this context entails understanding the perspectives, emotions, and feelings of the patients and the team members.
As the project leader, I practiced empathy through actively listening and responding to the rest of the employees. I also deliberately created an environment where all team members felt comfortable giving me their feedback, even when they felt uncomfortable. Adopting this leadership style reinforced the idea that the inputs of all team members would be considered valuable.
As the project leader, I was also keen to ensure that the physicians were empathetic while dealing with the patients. In the healthcare industry, empathy is not just about understanding the client, but also about having a profound understanding of their needs and ensuring that these needs are addressed (Winter et al., 2022). Although the screening’s main aim was to assess the medical oral condition of diabetic patients, it was also essential to display empathy to make the patients feel more comfortable. Before screenings were conducted, we made an effort to communicate to the patients the importance of the procedure, citing the risks they face to their dental health. As the project leader, I encouraged all stakeholders involved to put themselves in the patient’s shoes and seek to make the process as comfortable and practical as possible.
Leading from the Back
In this project, we took an unconventional approach, leading from the back, where I, as the team leader, allowed the members to make most of the decisions. This approach meant that I assigned team members to respective leaders within their departments and empowered every employee to be their own leader, guiding themselves to make better decisions. The leadership from the back theory is rooted in the principle that leadership is not about asking people to do specific actions and micro-managing them, but creating an environment that enables them to excel (Jordan, Wade, and Yokoi, 2022). This leadership style is often associated with servant leadership, which entails enabling employees to work more effectively rather than controlling them (Pawar et al., 2020). I sought to empower the workers, build their trust, support the screening staff, mentor junior staff, and solve any conflicts within the workplace.
When approaching the project, the principles of delegation, collaboration, empathy, and flexibility guided us. The positive traits were combined with emotional intelligence skills, including self-regulation and self-awareness, to provide a robust foundation for success. We understood that patients are more likely to adhere to treatment plans when they feel heard and understood by the medical experts (Stephany, 2022). We initiated training for various team members on how to communicate emphatically with the patients being screened.
The approach enabled the project team members to deliver high-quality services, thereby boosting their self-confidence in their work. Leading from the back proved to be a successful leadership strategy, resulting in all team members excelling and the project having a positive impact on the entire healthcare industry in the districts.
Emotional Intelligence in Leadership
Self-Awareness
As briefly mentioned in the previous section, for this project to be successful, emotional intelligence principles had to be applied to facilitate better collaboration between the screeners and their patients. Indeed, these ideologies regarding emotional intelligence shaped the leadership approach that I undertook. The skills needed for an emotionally intelligent leader usually include self-awareness, empathy, and self-regulation (Sowndarya and Elavarasan, 2022).
Self-awareness is the backbone of emotional intelligence and played a key role in shaping many of the decisions I made as a project leader. I first tried to understand my strengths and weaknesses in terms of emotions and self-control. A critical self-analysis made me aware that, although I excelled in many areas, I could not be an expert in every aspect of the program.
I appreciated that the project was to be done as a team, and my capable colleagues would be able to complete tasks that I would otherwise have struggled to execute. Therefore, the delegation of duties approach undertaken in the project was catalyzed by a self-awareness that I was incapable of handling some tasks as well as, or better than, my colleagues. Adopting this approach required me to be humble and have trust in the rest of the team.
Being self-aware as a leader also enabled me to navigate emotionally draining situations that arose during the project. Dental screening programs for individuals with diabetes are usually commonplace (Alzahem et al., 2020). When healthcare providers react impulsively to such situations, they are likely to make wrong decisions.
Self-awareness enabled me to prevent unnecessary reactions as a leader and, therefore, make more informed and critical decisions. The skill was particularly invaluable when we realized that we were behind schedule. Still, self-awareness enabled me to remain calm and reassure the rest of my colleagues to keep making minor improvements until we were back on track. Moreover, when some team members criticized my approach as the team leader, my self-awareness allowed me to view this as an opportunity for improvement and change, rather than a personal attack on me as an individual. The ability to receive, access, and utilize feedback as a tool for improvement significantly contributed to the project’s success.
Self-Regulation
Another critical aspect of emotional intelligence that played a significant role in the project’s success is self-regulation. This is defined as the ability of an individual or a leader, in this case, to control, monitor, and manage their thoughts and emotions to achieve a particular goal and adapt to different circumstances (Chang et al., 2022). The project presented us with unforeseen challenges, but self-regulation enabled me to maintain focus and composure during the difficult times. I had anticipated these challenges even before the project began, as healthcare projects are often susceptible to unanticipated challenges, ranging from resource constraints to resistance from key stakeholders. When these challenges came, self-regulation enabled me to remain calm and solution-oriented rather than succumbing to frustration and despair.
Self-regulation played a critical role in the project by facilitating various conflict resolutions. In the healthcare setting, decisions have significant consequences, and leaders must make thoughtful and rational decisions (Søvold et al.,2021). When I was faced with the task of resolving conflicts between project team members, I remained calm and attempted to understand the root cause of the problem. I used information and some questioning techniques to get the complete picture of the problem before making a decision. In dispute resolutions, I was not quick to remove important team members from the group; instead, I sought to ensure that the members forgave each other and would work together in harmony. I was also required to follow the institution’s set rules and regulations when handling various projects, ensuring uniformity in decision-making in the face of conflicts.
Empathy as an Emotional Intelligence Pillar
Empathy, a critical aspect of emotional intelligence, played a pivotal role in shaping my decisions as the project leader. When dealing with various colleagues, I was keen to listen to them and get their concerns, feedback, and criticisms. I employed active listening skills, giving the talking parties my full attention, free from any external interruptions. Actively listening entails focusing entirely on the speaker, providing them with necessary feedback, and demonstrating an understanding of what they say (Jonsdottir and Fridriksdottir, 2020). I followed this definition to create an atmosphere where all the staff members felt heard, valued, and respected.
The empathy that I displayed to the team members was, in turn, reflected in our patients who required the screening sessions. The team members understood the importance of understanding the patient’s fears, concerns, and their specific needs as diabetic patients who may be experiencing dental issues. We also made an effort to establish written guidelines for the workers, guiding them on how to ask questions to patients they are screening to make them feel more comfortable. This was based on previous research that has shown that having a clear set of communication guidelines could improve doctor-patient interactions (Kwame and Petrucka, 2021). Empathy also guided our interactions with other stakeholders, including partner medical institutions, governmental bodies, and the broader community.
Challenges in Leading the Project
Resource Constraints
Leading the dental screening program presented several key challenges that required me to draw from the leadership style and emotional intelligence principles discussed in the previous sections. The biggest problem encountered in the project was related to finances, as the budgeted allocation was insufficient to meet all the required needs. Delegation of duties was one of the solutions we used to address the budget constraint challenge. We appointed a manager with financial acumen to handle the money management decisions, and they were capable of allocating the finances only to the most important avenues.
We had to apply the principles of empathy when managing budgets, as we understood the personal needs of healthcare professionals tasked with dealing directly with patients. For instance, we allocated sufficient budgets to support our dental personnel while cutting expenditures on other less critical areas, such as administrative duties. Self-regulation was also critical for survival with a limited budget, where we sought to optimize what we had rather than complaining about our deficiencies.
Resistance to Change
Another formidable challenge the project faced was resistance to change from some key stakeholders. Generally, this resistance is brought by the fear of the unknown, concerns about patient safety, and skepticism from stakeholders (Shahbaz et al., 2019). This problem was particularly evident among healthcare professionals and administrators who were accustomed to outdated procedures. These parties were reluctant to adopt the oral screening program for diabetic people as a new initiative. Other challenges faced by the project included logistics problems, patient compliance issues, and fixed deadlines.
Reflection of the Learning Experience
Leading the dental screening program for all residents with diabetes at the district clinics was a professional endeavor that transformed my experience as a leader. The journey provided me with new insights into leadership and reinforced the importance of emotional intelligence in managing complex projects. One of the key takeaways of performing the project was the importance of adaptability and innovation in leadership.
When faced with significant challenges, I have learned that the best approach is to take baby steps towards addressing them and seek help from other parties. Many leadership studies have emphasized the importance of effective communication and conflict resolution mechanisms in people management (Newman, Ford, and Marshall, 2020; Yang, Kuria, and Gu, 2020). I learned this practically through the project, witnessing the empathy and active listening of team members transform the nature of work and create a culture of trust and collaboration within the team.
Conclusion
Leadership in the healthcare industry can significantly shape and transform the success of initiatives. To achieve optimal outcomes, leaders must employ effective leadership styles and integrate principles of emotional intelligence. Some of the leadership styles employed in this case study included delegation, where we leveraged our vast talent pool to achieve effective results across diverse areas. Collaboration as a leadership tool helped create understanding between dental and medical professionals, thus facilitating a holistic approach to the project. Leading with empathy created an environment where all the members felt free to communicate their problems, resulting in better operational processes.
Additionally, by putting myself at the back and employing a servant leadership strategy, team members were able to display more responsibility. Nevertheless, there were challenges, such as budget constraints and resistance to change, highlighting the importance of flexibility. This project made me understand the importance of adaptability, innovation, communication, and empathy in healthcare leadership.
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