The Difference between Leadership and Board Governance in Establishing Strategic Planning for a Healthcare Organization
Leadership in strategic planning for a healthcare organization involves the ability to motivate the teams within the firm to act towards achieving certain goals. Leadership extends further to the accomplishment of the organization’s goals. To this end, a leader ought to possess the behaviors, skills and traits that will ensure the organization achieves its desired goals and aspirations (Bratton, 2004). On the contrary, governance points to the processes undertaken by the organization to ensure it meets its goals. Governance relies on laws that exist either within the organization or in the jurisdiction within which it is established. Therefore, governance in establishing a healthcare organization refers to the processes undertaken to ensure the organization operates successfully under the limits of the existing laws. Leadership and governance differ to some extent but are blended to come up with vibrant organizations. This paper evaluates the difference between leadership and board governance in establishing strategic planning for a healthcare organization.
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Strategic planning is a useful tool that drives many firms, including healthcare organizations. The strategic planning process is systematic, rational and holistic and integrates short-term, medium and long-term plans thus allowing a healthcare organization to focus on germane and lasting transformations for the future (Bratton, 2004). Therefore, the leadership in the organization initiates actions. Fundamentally, leadership begins even before the healthcare organization is formed. In essence, the leadership communicates the policies, goals and plans before the organization embarks on the strategic planning. The leadership also sets the laws upon which the governing of the healthcare organization may rely upon apart from the state’s laws that may exist (Collins, 2001). Also, leadership acts as a motivating factor to the organization’s employees in myriad ways during the strategic planning (Bratton, 2004). For instance, through the provision of sound policies, leaders can motivate healthcare workers to fully contribute to achieving the desired goals of healthcare planning. Additionally, the provision of financial incentives improves the work efficiency of the organization.
Likewise, leadership is also salient in the provision of guidelines to the organization during the establishment of strategic planning. Leaders provide their employees with prerequisite skills that can enable the success of the given strategy. The leadership can point to risk factors and the strengths of the strategy hence creating awareness among the employees on the pros and cons of a given strategy (Collins, 2001). Leaders also provide guidelines on how to undertake specific measures to ensure they work well for the strategic planning being undertaken so that the whole process does not go into waste. Moreover, in establishing strategic planning, leadership instills confidence among other healthcare workers (Collins, 2001). Essentially, the leadership acknowledges the abilities of those involved in planning and constantly embraces individual efforts. Also, in boosting confidence, the leadership provides solutions to teething problems during the establishment of strategic planning which may impede the employees from achieving the organizational objectives.
Additionally, leadership in establishing strategic planning for a healthcare organization builds and sustains an enabling working environment for the organization’s employees. The leaders have to maintain personal contacts with the employees and understand their challenges while working on a particular issue (Collins, 2001). In that regard, the leadership should listen to varying points of views and embrace disagreements. When the employees differ, organizational leadership should intervene fairly and provide a way out. Also, leadership in establishing strategic planning for a healthcare organization is needed for coordination. The leaders should balance the personal interests of the employees in the organization and those of the healthcare organization. Indeed, strategic planning may lose viability if personal interests surpass those of the organization. Furthermore, in establishing strategic planning, the leadership initiates succession plans by training employees who can continue with the management of the organization. Lastly, the leadership in establishing strategic planning brings change when necessary (Bratton, 2004). Leaders explain why change is inevitable and persuade the employees to embrace it without resistance.
While leadership provides confidence among employees during the establishment of strategic planning in a healthcare organization, governance is essential in preserving and strengthening confidence. A supportive governing body that is beneficial to the healthcare organization should provide social and emotional support to the employees (Collins, 2001). The board, through sound governance practices, should provide a viable framework for planning, implementation and performance monitoring. In a nutshell, while leadership creates change, the governing body should ensure the healthcare organization is ready for any change that may be needed, either externally or internally.
Also, in establishing strategic planning in a healthcare organization, board governance is needed to ensure reduced costs in delivering the strategies. Ideally, this is accomplished by ensuring transparency and compliance of set rules and regulations are adhered to (Mulyadi, Anwar, & Ikbal, 2012). Any person violating the set standards is eligible for punishment by the board either by expulsion or through the legal process. The board also ensures financial stability by reducing safety threats, legal performance and warranty concerns that can heavily impact the strategic planning process. Moreover, the board is responsible for the reputation of the healthcare organization. Essentially, a good reputation is enhanced by ensuring that the leaders and employees conform to high ethical conducts in the process of establishing strategic plans (Mulyadi, Anwar, & Ikbal, 2012). Lastly, the board is responsible for maintaining the culture of the healthcare organization. Culture is created by ensuring all levels of the healthcare organization conform to the proper guidelines that guarantee success.
In summary, leadership and governance are central to the organization since they correlate. Leaders should help the board of governance in building the culture of the healthcare organization while the governing body should support the leaders by creating an enabling environment.
References
Bratton, J. (2004). Organizational Leadership, Sage Publications Ltd, London, United Kingdom
Collins, J. (2001). Good to great: Why some companies make the leap ... and others don't . London: Random House.
Mulyadi, M. S., Anwar, Y., & Ikbal, M. (2012). The importance of corporate governance in public sector. Global Business and Economics Research Journal, 1 (1): 25-31 .
