Pamela M. Waymack in her article describes characteristics of a great leader in the healthcare industry. She defines three major features that distinguish great leaders: strategic thinking, consensus building and impeccable execution (Waymack, 2008).
Strategic thinking. Here the author focuses on examining every decision for “its strategic implications”, meaning that every decision should be questioned in terms of its needs for the company, the benefits and its needs for the market. Great leader also should know when to say no to some initiatives, even though they seem “on trend” for continuous success of the company (Waymack, 2008).
Consensus building. This part describes the importance of managing agreement, as seeming consensus between group members does not always guarantee success. It is much better to have different views on the topic, as in the discussion the best decision will come up. So in decision making it is better to have “the debate that leads to consensus” (Waymack, 2008).
Impeccable execution. Here the author sais that many strategic plans are not implemented due to lack of attention to details. She argues that successful implementation plan should be executed very precisely, considering resources and time. Great leaders should not only create a vision, but also “guide its implementation” (Waymack, 2008).
What I found interesting in this article is the idea that great manager should know when to reject an innovative idea, even if it seems on trend at the time. In recent years, the market offers such divers ideas for the improvements of the companies, so the ability to choose what company is really needs is very important. The other points that were introduces in the article were familiar to me from my prior knowledge.
I am uncertain about the last point, as impeccable execution of the plan seems unrealistic due to uncertainty of internal and external environment of the company. I agree, that the plan should be executed very carefully, in detail and with consideration of the resources, but in my opinion here should be mentioned the importance of flexibility of the company. Thus, great leader should also know, when the plan should be changed.
Overall, I would rate this article as 3, as it gives interesting and useful ideas on what are the characteristics of a great leader, however this article is very general and I think it is missing some of the important points. Also, she mentioned in the article that she worked with the leaders in healthcare industry, and it would have been interesting to know if there are some specific features, that healthcare leaders should have.
References
Waymack, P. M. (2008). Lessons learned from extraordinary leaders: leadership and management are distinct, but the nuances are often hard to define. Healthcare Financial Management, 62(3), 92–94.
