ETHICAL LEADERSHIP 1

Ethical Leadership

Sitara Monnappa

Capella University

Collaboration, Communication, & Case Analysis for Health Care Master’s Learners

Ethical Leadership Preparation

January, 2017

ETHICAL LEADERSHIP 2

Ethical Leadership

Leadership is the ability to empower the people in a team mentally and emotionally.

Convincing people about their own abilities and talents as well as persuading all team members

to have a shared vision can help create an empowered team and, in turn, lead to effective

leadership.

An Evaluation of Leadership Strengths and Weaknesses

Every leader has certain qualities that set him or her apart from the rest. I believe that

some of my qualities will strengthen my leadership abilities while others may weaken them.

Compassion is one of my strengths. It involves a desire to alleviate others’ suffering. In health

care, one can exhibit compassion by responding to the suffering and vulnerability of patients and

their relatives with kindness and sensitivity, which is a feature of compassionate leadership.

Compassion is essential toward patients who may fear the uncertainty of the future and the

possible loss of their autonomy, dignity, and body control. However, compassionate leadership

can be challenging and difficult to sustain in health care organizations. Sometimes, as a health

care professional, I may not have the time to listen to patients. Instead, I may have to take quick

actions that may seem harsh. These conflicts might cause me to experience burnout or an

overload as a health care leader (de Zulueta, 2015).

I also possess empathy and the ability to listen, both qualities that can be analyzed using

the servant leadership model. Servant leaders are empathetic and good listeners. They never

hesitate to help others, even their subordinates (Boden, 2014). This quality will help me

understand the issues and concerns of my team members and provide me the motivation to do

everything in my capacity to help them. However, I might be taken for granted as I consider

others’ needs first, which might affect my leadership.

Comment [A1]: The page recommendations are 8-10 pages. Pay special attention to length, organization, and precision in writing to the feedback.

Comment [A2]: Good identification of this style. This might be a good place to define this with the literature for support

Comment [A3]: Yes, this is an occupational hazard for many. How does an effective leader manage a balance, being compassionate while maintaining boundaries? Any thoughts about this?

Comment [A4]: Yes…again this area of balance seems relevant. How might this be addressed in practice?

ETHICAL LEADERSHIP 3

I also possess the ability to adapt. Adaptability helps leaders accept new challenges and

change behaviors and policies to tackle these challenges. The ability to overcome challenges

through collaboration is a primary characteristic of adaptive leadership (Trastek, Hamilton, &

Niles, 2014). Collaborative leaders understand the needs of different functions and business

units. They patiently interact with colleagues who may initially find the shared purpose of

collaboration difficult to understand. They are open to multiple opinions and perspectives and

empathize with colleagues whose positions are different from their own (Lash, 2012).

Along with my strengths, I will have to acknowledge my weaknesses, too. I have realized

that I lack foresight and the power to persuade. I would like to develop the foresight to be able to

anticipate possible roadblocks and guide my team in the midst of challenging circumstances. I

would also like to develop the ability to persuade others to understand my vision and point of

view. The transformational leadership model states that this ability is important when one wants

to empower others by making them believe in their abilities (Malloch, 2014).

I have identified my strengths and weaknesses after self-introspection. However, they are

based on my opinions about myself and what my friends and family have said about me.

Therefore, biases may be present as these qualities are not a result of any personality test that

measure personality traits objectively. What I consider strengths may be considered weaknesses

by others. For example, my adaptability may be considered a lack of decision-making ability by

others. Similarly, my compassion may be regarded as an excess of patience while dealing with

peers and patients. I will have to be aware of these biases as I grow as a leader.

Leadership Characteristics and Change Management

As one grows in one’s leadership roles as a health care leader, one will face new

challenges such as insufficient funding and complicated treatment dilemmas. In these

Comment [A5]: A fine strength!

Comment [A6]: Good identification of these traits with support from the literature…

Comment [A7]: Good. How might this be accomplished? What steps will you need to take to integrate these characteristics into your repertoire of skills?

Comment [A8]: Good point about potential biases and the difference between subjective and objective data from supervisors/subordinates, etc.

Comment [A9]: Yes, the ability to be self- aware and present is so important for leaders in the field. Excellent point

ETHICAL LEADERSHIP 4

circumstances, leaders will have to implement a few changes in organizational policies, which

may not be readily accepted by team members. Some of the barriers to successful change

management are overly strict guidelines, ineffective leadership, unrealistic planning, lack of

collaboration, and unclear goals and performance expectations (Longenecker, & Longenecker,

2014). Ensuring compliance to policies, encouraging all team members to be part of the decision-

making process, and clearly communicating the organizational goals can help leaders overcome

obstacles in change management effectively. Thus, effective change management becomes an

essential skill that health care leaders should possess.

The complexity model of leadership may help my team thrive in the midst of

organizational changes. This model is based on understanding the external environment, adaptive

capacity, and connecting with the internal organizational culture. This model can improve

collaboration among teams. My adaptability will help me guide my team to face new situations

and resolve issues collaboratively. I can help my team members adapt to the changes by

addressing their concerns and projecting the positive aspects of the changes. My communication

skills will allow me to facilitate interprofessional collaboration as I will be able to ensure that the

views of the members of each department are communicated to other departments to set

parameters to guide the organization. By communicating with different departments, I will be

able to build a strong network and implement distributed decision-making, which will help the

organization adapt to the pressures of change quickly. (Weberg, 2012). Ensuring that my

compassion is reflected in my team members, while treating and handling patients may foster

collaboration as compassion is found to make teams self-organizing and able to solve problems

creatively (de Zulueta, 2015).

Comment [A10]: Good identification of these factors.

Comment [A11]: A great strategy, communicates the value of each member to the group.

Comment [A12]: An excellent section; showing respect for team members and establishing relationships with departments leads to trust, effective communication and collaboration.

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