This presentation is meant to review chapter 12 of Bowling’s book “ Grace-full leadership: Understanding the heart of a Christian Leader” to discuss how the concepts discussed can be applied in healthcare practices. This presentation begins with a summary of the chapter, followed by an analysis of its healthcare practices application. In chapter 12, Bowling (2011) starts his discussions with two interesting quotes that form the chapter's basis. Firstly, he quotes Frances Hesselbein’s words “ Learn to lead, not contain," followed by biblical verse in Prov. 27:1 “ The prudent see danger and take refuge. ” Consequently, Bowling (2011) continues to give an analogy of a fire event in Chicago that destroyed almost an entire town. From this analogy, the author deduces four types of leaders: inactive, reactive, proactive, and interactive leaders. Each category of these leaders aligns perfectly with the above-stated quotes.
As defined in the chapter, inactive leaders are managers who identify risks but fail to respond in mitigating them; that is, they will never get out of their comfort zone. Reactive managers perceive the environment negatively and wait for a disaster to strike before they can act. Proactive leaders perceive the environment positively and are always ready to deal with risks as they arise. Interactive leaders are similar to proactive leaders. However, these leaders have an added characteristic that they recognize that the surrounding environment can also influence them to change. These leaders acknowledge that no matter how much they try, there are some things that they cannot control. Likewise, these leaders also acknowledge that people react differently in their situations; that is, timing is the key. Thus, according to Bowling (2011), Grace-full leaders are full of wisdom when deciding on the right response.
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This chapter can be transferred to a nursing environment. Firstly, the nursing industry is highly volatile as human life is at stake. Nursing practice s impact the delivery of care, patients' safety, and outcome. That said, health care organizations have been subjected to strict regulations. While these facilities strive to comply with these regulations, new challenges arise that disrupt facility operations, jeopardizing care delivery. According to health care facility faces potential risks “from pandemics to violence in hospitals, alarm fatigue to healthcare-acquired
infections and contamination from pollutants, healthcare organizations will be put to the test in the coming months and years” (Doherty & Carino, n.d. P.2). Failure to prepare and address these issues might lead to litigations, damaged facility image and can also have adverse financial consequences. Therefore, managers need to deploy healthcare risk management practices in their organizations to avoid such risks.
The biblical verse Prov. 27:1 warns leaders to be cautious and remain alert so that risks don't get them by surprise. According to this verse, being optimistic is risky, and pessimism leads to safety. Prudent leaders should always need to stay ahead, making adjustments to avoid risks. Being vigilant helps such leaders identify risks that might impact them adversely; thus, they make adjustments in advance to avoid them. If such risks occur, such leaders always have a mitigation plan. Contrary, unwise leaders (inactive) live without minding their organization’s future working environments. Therefore, if risks occur, they find them unprepared and are left in a position that their firms cannot recover. For instance, pandemics, such as Ebola, have, in the past, forced healthcare to review their practices regularly so that the occurrence of such eventualities cannot find them off-guard. This has helped these facilities deliver maximum quality care under minimal disruptions and without risking other patients or health workers' health. Therefore, it is evident that today's preparation measures will determine their ability to cope with risks that might arise in the future.
References
Bowling, J. C. (2011). Grace-full leadership: Understanding the heart of a Christian leader . Beacon Hill Press of Kansas City
Doherty, D., & Carino, R. (n.d.). Business Descriptor Medical Risk Critical Risks Facing the Healthcare Industry . https://www.chubb.com/microsites/_assets/doc/healthcare-risk-collateral/chubb-healthcare-critical-risk-whitepaper.pdf
