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Management Development Plan
Concordia University
Amber France
Management Development Plan
Leadership is the complex process by which a person sets direction and influences others to work towards goals and objectives and directs an organization in a cohesive manner (Borkowski, 2011). Certain traits and behaviors of individuals dictate their leadership style and the way they guide people through organizational change and improve the system’s performance. In order to ensure Beltway Healthcare System has leadership that is driving organization change and improving the system’s performance, a management development program has been developed to ensure the necessary skills and knowledge is present with each manager. The goals of the program are to understanding current leadership styles, learning strengths and weaknesses, and how to enhance weaknesses by utilization of theories and trainings.
Leadership style has a clear impact on group productivity (Borkwoski, 2011). Not one leadership style works with all groups of individuals and it is important for leaders to assess their leadership style and the impact it has on productivity. For example, a democratic leadership style appears to be the most successful at enhancing groupmorale and productivity typically remains high even when the leader is not present. However, some prefer a more authoritarian leadership style or a laissez-faire leadership style in order to perform efficiently and effectively. Therefore, the first part of this management development program is to identify what kind of leadership style the organization needs and the managers possess. There are many different leadership style questionnaires that can be taken in order to determine what type of leadership style and individual has. Borkwoski (2011) utilizes the Blake and Mouton’s Managerial Grid that consists of five quadrants: 1) impoverished manager, 2) task manager, 3) middle-of-the-road manager, 4) country club manager, and 5) ideal manager. A leadership questionnaire that consists of 18 questions with the two categories, concern for people and concern for task, is taken in order to obtain the points to plot on the grid, which determines which type of leadership style the manager possess. The questionnaire also gives the manager a good idea of where their strengths and weaknesses lie. The Don Clark Leadership Matrix Survey, which is very similar to the Blake and Mouton’s Managerial Grid, encourages an individual to do deep reflection (NWLink, 2011). Individuals should start with a reflection on why they scored the way they did and then analyze, reconsider, and question experiences that have shaped them into the leader they are. Reflection should then be made on learner characteristics, environmental characteristics, and reflection task characteristics. Feedback should then be shared between the manager and their manager to encourage interaction and ongoing reflection of how areas of weakness can be enhanced.
Once a mangers leadership style, as well as strengths and weaknesses, are identified it is important to look at traits and behaviors that will influence positive change. Barr (2010) discusses eight characteristics of a great strategic leader: 1) clear choices and tradeoffs, 2) sets high standards, 3) combines analytic rigor with serendipity, 4) builds a strong team, 5) follows through with individuals and tasks, 6) relies on numbers and relationships, 7) focuses on a few big things as opposed to a lot of small things, and 8) is passionate about their line of work. Borkowski (2011) also identifies five personality factors as 1) extroversion, 2) agreeableness, 3) conscientiousness, 4) emotional stability, and 5) openness to experience. Taking these leadership traits and the leadership style of an individual into account, the organization should be able to place a manager in the appropriate managerial position to effectively carry out and lead the work of the organization. Not all managers will have the same leadership style, and they shouldn’t. Contingency theories around leadership show that one leadership style is not effective across all variable situations in an organization (Borkowski, 2011). A leader must be able to effectively respond to situations and change in order to effectively increase employee levels of motivation, satisfaction, and productivity. Therefore, comprehensive leadership training to gain skills and knowledge on how to better lead groups of individuals is necessary to build skills and knowledge.
A significant portion of leadership can be learned (Borkowski, 2011). Leadership competencies are important and ultimately impact performance outcomes of the organization. As part of this management development plan, each manager is responsible for developing an individual leadership development plan that aligns with the strategic goals of the organization. Once the plan is developed resources that provide learning opportunities will be made available by the organization. The National Center for Healthcare Leadership (NCHL) as well as the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) provides leadership competency trainings, which will be utilized as a part of this management development program. The NCHL is a non-profit organization that provides training to ensure that high-quality, relevant, and accountable leaders are available in the healthcare setting (NCHL, 2014). The NCHL focuses on tested models for competency-based learning and establishing standards for best practices and can be implemented with mid-level and senior-level manager in the organization. The ACHE is a resource that provides access to networking, education, and career development at all levels of management in the healthcare system (ACHE, 2014). The ACHE provides distance programs as well as face-to-face education to develop skills in certain areas of leadership, productivity, and other healthcare practices.
As part of the management development plan, continuing education opportunities will be made available to managers annually in order to develop ongoing skills surrounding leadership styles, traits, and behaviors. Successful leaders must be able to predict how, when, where, and why things happen, as well as recognize and accept the role of control (Borkowski, 2011). The organization is responsible for finding managers whose leadership style and competencies fit with the organization’s strategic goals and then provide them with opportunities to enhance their leadership skills and knowledge. Having an individual leadership development plan for each manager will allow the organization to most effectively train and utilize their leadership to drive organizational change and improve the system’s performance.
References
ACHE. (2014). About ACHE. Retrieved from
Barr, C. (2010). 8 characteristics of great strategic leaders. Morgan Cross Consulting. Retrieved from
Borkowski, N. (2011). Organizational Behaviors in Health Care 2 edition. Miami: Jones and Bartlett.
NCHL. (2014). Leadership development & customized solutions. Retrieved from
NWLink. (2011). Learning through reflection. Retrieved from