Adult and Graduate Education at Roberts Wesleyan College

Introduction

Can strong leaders be trained and developed over time or must a person be born with inherent leadership traits in order to truly be a “successful” or “effective” leader?  Most leaders could probably make a case for both sides of this age old debate, but the purpose of this article is to focus in on the trainable aspects of leadership; competencies that can be improved over time.  It is generally accepted that all human beings consist of several different elements including our physical body (measured by behavior), our mind (measured by intelligent thoughts or beliefs), and our soul (measured by emotions, will, and desires).  As seen in the following literature review, each of these components has been positively linked to leadership outcomes.  A more controversial component, however, and one that is just now coming to the surface in leadership research, is that of the human spirit.  Are all humans spiritual beings?  Should spirituality play a role in the workplace?  Is spiritual competency more important than other human abilities as they relate to leadership effectiveness?  Can higher levels of spiritual competency be developed through training and application?  These are a few of the questions explored in this article.

How to Address Low Morale in the Workplace through Servant Leadership

Today more than ever, the healthcare sector faces growing pressures that will further tax its capabilities and inhibit its ability to meet growing consumer demands.  Significant challenges of healthcare organizations include: financial pressures, increasing competition, staffing shortages, employee and patient safety concerns, and a significant increase in the consumption of healthcare related services (Kovner & Neuhauser, 2004).  Overcoming these challenges will require that leaders of healthcare organizations seek creative strategies to improve and maintain high performance of employees.  With that being said, it becomes obvious that improving and maintaining high employee morale is a key factor to consider in the pursuit of organizational success.

Turn your midlife crisis to your own advantage by making it a time for renewal of your body and mind, rather than stand by helplessly and watch them decline.   Jane E. Brody

An Opening Analogy

Several years ago I recall hearing a manager tell an emotional employee to leave her “personal problems at home” – as if she could actually divorce the trauma of her personal experience from her work persona. I recall thinking how insensitive and ridiculous that request was. Of course it is impossible to segregate our emotions, conscience, thoughts, etc., simply by the locale of our physical being. These things stay with us no matter where we go. As human beings, we are a complex composite of physical capacities, perspectives, interests, talents, experiences, wounds, weaknesses, willfulness, values, and ethics which accompany us across our destinations and shape the way we act and interact.

Pictured on the right: Master's in Health Administration (Cohort 11 - Graduates of May 2012)

It is often said that the only constant in the world is change. Whether this idea applies to every scenario and environment can be debated; however, one area in which the idea is undeniably true is the health care industry in the United States. Various forces, such as the our aging population, technological advances, health care reform efforts, and increasing patient expectations are driving change at an accelerating rate. These socioeconomic and political forces are pressuring health care organizations to improve  quality of care, provide care to more people, and cut costs. Essentially, health care must learn to do more with less, and to do it better than ever before.