Leadership qualities are necessary to enhance performance within the healthcare setting. Identifying strengths and weaknesses related to leadership helps leaders identify the area of improvement and make adjustments. Leadership skills facilitate making sound decisions in the clinical environment and improve patient satisfaction and care standards. The American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) provides an assessment instrument to analyze five domains of leadership along with strengths and weaknesses. The research uncovers the five domains of ACHE, the positive and negative aspects, and leadership qualities. The assessment also analyzes the personal leadership skillset and initiates a one-year personal development plan to enhance leadership abilities.
Part 1: Leadership Self-Reflection
Five Domains of ACHE
The ACHE has developed an assessment tool to measure a leader’s competency in five leadership domains. The five domains of ACHE highlight the significance of knowledge and which healthcare leaders require to excel in the field. These domains provide a comprehensive framework for healthcare leaders to develop and use the skills required to perform the job successfully.
Communication and relationship management is the first of the five domains which evaluate a leader’s capability to communicate effectively with stakeholders. Communication helps develop strong relationships and timely conflict management (American College of Healthcare Executives, 2021). The strengths include active listening, empathy, and trust development among the team. However, the weaknesses include a lack of collaboration to form a shared goal or vision.
The second domain of ACHE is leadership. It facilitates assessing a leader’s ability to make effective decisions and execute strategic plans. Leaders can analyze information and make timely decisions adhering to the organization’s mission (American College of Healthcare Executives, 2021). The ACHE identified strengths are the competence in making sound decisions and the utilization of critical thinking to follow through with the required adjustments. In contrast, the recognized weakness is less experienced in strategic planning in an organization which may lead to numerous obstacles in achieving the goal.
Professionalism, the third domain, helps the leader manage the team effectively while commanding professional behavior to achieve the set goals on time. In addition, fostering a culture of accountability and making a cohesive team encourages the team members to participate in delivering high-quality care with enthusiasm (American College of Healthcare Executives, 2021). Strengths in professionalism are setting clear goals and instilling a culture of accountability. However, the weaknesses are a lack of vision and mismanagement of the team.
Knowledge of the healthcare environment is the fourth domain that helps the leader to comprehend the healthcare industry. Leaders must know healthcare policies, evidence-based practices, and patient-oriented care to enhance the organization’s performance (American College of Healthcare Executives, 2021). Information and expertise to integrate the technology and policies to enhance the organization’s performance are strengths. The knowledge gap and less familiarity with the healthcare industry reduce the likelihood of positive outcomes and are considered weaknesses.
The fifth domain is business skills and knowledge, which involves leader competence in applying the organization’s resources effectively. Leaders must have the expertise to manage financial and material resources and reduce risk and financial loss. Nurturing a culture of improvement by alleviating risk and utilizing resources facilitates achieving the desired goals (American College of Healthcare Executives, 2021). The key strengths are possessing financial management and resource allocation capabilities, and commitment to accountability. In contrast, poor financial management and lack of transparency in utilizing resources are considered weaknesses in this domain.
Strategies to Develop Leadership Skills
Strategies are necessary to develop strength and cope with the weaknesses of the leadership domain identified by the ACHE tool. The five domains have positive and negative aspects, so strategies help enhance leadership qualities. Practicing active listening techniques help enhance team collaboration and develop a relationship with the stakeholder in the communication and relationship management domain (Jonsdottir & Kristinsson, 2020). Transparent communication also enhances the trust between the team members, which is vital to achieving the goal.
According to the identified strengths and weaknesses of the second domain of ACHE, participating in a different leadership program and adopting a change management approach helps cultivate a culture of professionalism. The Lewin Change Model or Six Sigma can be used to pursue organizational change and achieve t