Subsequent to treating patients for years, at times, doctors or nurses may get promoted into a leadership position. To be a leader in healthcare, one would need a specialized range of skills. As per Gina Temple, in addition to their existing clinical abilities, medical professionals also need to learn how to lead. In many health care institutions, leadership skills can be as important as clinical ones. There is a strong connection between effective leadership and the quality and efficiency of medical teams.

Gina Temple underlines certain popular leadership styles in health care

Not every leader has the same approach. Moreover, not every situation at a healthcare facility requires the same style of leadership. While a certain situation may require a leader that gives orders and demands compliance, another circumstance may benefit from a democratic, shared decision-making. Many leadership styles have come up over the years, allowing healthcare leaders to evaluate and determine which works best in their specific situations. The more styles a leader knows and understands, the more successful and flexible they will be in addressing the needs of their healthcare facility. 

Here are some of the most popular leadership styles in health care:

• Affiliate: An affiliate leader puts emphasis on relationships. They strive to create emotional bonds among workers, and maintain harmony at the workplace. Affiliate leaders tend to have a strong sense of empathy, and are competent in dealing with the feelings of other people.  An affiliate leadership style can be useful in maintaining peace and coordination in a team that has been split by conflict and distrust. It is also useful in motivating staffers in high-stress conditions, like the emergency department of a hospital. 

• Authoritative: Also known as transformational leadership style, as per this approach, leaders have to lay out a vision and attract others towards it.  Authoritative leaders typically set a common goal, and empower workers to come up with their unique ways of reaching it. This style of leadership would be ideal for circumstances that require a radical break from past practices, like turning around an under-performing hospital department.

• Coaching: This style aims at developing the individuals within a team. It provides healthcare employees with the encouragement they need, and invites them to align their personal goals with the goals of the healthcare facility. Coaching leadership style can help improve employee performance and encourage them to live up to their capabilities.

• Coercive: This is a top-down leadership style. It works by giving orders to the employees. If the orders are not followed, then the employees have to face certain consequences. A coercive style is common during short-term crisis situations where immediate action is needed and there is no room for debate, like providing care after a natural disaster. However, in case this style is practised for the long term, it may damage the team morale.

• Democratic: Democratic leadership puts emphasis on collaboration, treating team members as equals, and valuing everyone’s contributions to problem-solving. In this approach, a leader focuses more on asking questions and listening than on issuing directives. This style is particularly effective when a team of healthcare professionals requires consensus to progress and when open sharing of ideas is essential.

As per Gina Temple, in addition to gaining a good understanding of the variety of leadership styles in health care, one would also have to develop certain attributes and skills to work in a leadership role in the industry.