Leadership models in health care - a case for servant leadership.

Our current health care system is broken and unsustainable. Patients desire the highest quality care, and it needs to cost less. To regain public trust, the health care system must change and adapt to the current needs of patients. The diverse group of stakeholders in the health care system creates challenges for improving the value of care. Health care providers are in the best position to determine effective ways of improving the value of care. To create change, health care providers must learn how to effectively lead patients, those within health care organizations, and other stakeholders. This article presents servant leadership as the best model for health care organizations because it focuses on the strength of the team, developing trust and serving the needs of patients. As servant leaders, health care providers may be best equipped to make changes in the organization and in the provider-patient relationship to improve the value of care for patients.

[1]  David M. Kreps Intrinsic Motivation and Extrinsic Incentives , 1997 .

[2]  Thomas F. Tumblin,et al.  The power of servant leadership to transform health care organizations for the 21st-century economy. , 2002, Archives of surgery.

[3]  Jean-Marc C. Haeusler Medicine needs adaptive leadership. , 2010, Physician executive.

[4]  D. Wood,et al.  Attitudes of medical students to medical leadership and management: a systematic review to inform curriculum development , 2011, BMC medical education.

[5]  M. Wanzer,et al.  Perceptions of Health Care Providers' Communication: Relationships Between Patient-Centered Communication and Satisfaction , 2004, Health communication.

[6]  D. Laurie,et al.  The work of leadership , 2002, IEEE Engineering Management Review.

[7]  E. Deci,et al.  Facilitating health behaviour change and its maintenance: Interventions based on Self-Determination Theory , 2008 .

[8]  Arthur L Kellermann,et al.  A decade of health care cost growth has wiped out real income gains for an average US family. , 2011, Health affairs.

[9]  L. G. Pawlson,et al.  Measuring patients' trust in physicians when assessing quality of care. , 2004, Health affairs.

[10]  N. Hamilton Assessing Professionalism: Measuring Progress in the Formation of an Ethical Professional Identity , 2008 .

[11]  P. Northouse Leadership: Theory and Practice , 2000 .

[12]  A. McAlearney Leadership development in healthcare: a qualitative study , 2006 .

[13]  Nick Petrie Future trends in leadership development , 2011 .

[14]  M. Mcclellan,et al.  Is technological change in medicine worth it? , 2001, Health affairs.

[15]  M. Porter,et al.  What is value in health care? , 2010, The New England journal of medicine.

[16]  Larry C. Spears Practicing servant‐leadership , 2004 .

[17]  Larry C. Spears,et al.  Servant leadership: A journey into the nature of legitimate power and greatness, 25th anniversary ed. , 2002 .