Journal of Healthcare Management - July/August 2014 - (Page 245)

IMPLEMENTNG HEALTHCARE REFORM The Most Effective Leadership Style for the New Landscape of Healthcare John Delmatoff, president, PathFinder Coaching, Murrieta, California, and Ian R. Lazarus, FACHE, managing partner, Creative Healthcare, Del Mar, California W hen leaders in healthcare organizations are asked, "What's the one word that best characterizes the impact of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) on the U.S. healthcare delivery system," most will answer "Change." And when mid- to lowerlevel employees in those same organizations are asked to describe the one thing they dislike or fear most about the ACA, they, too, say "Change." As if they are not already challenged by implementing the ACA, today's healthcare leaders are faced with the challenge of overcoming staff's resistance to change. Furthermore, too many leaders do not understand just how change resistant many of their employees are, although these employees are the very people who will be charged with implementing the tremendous changes the ACA will require. Some leaders have tried to persuade their staff that surviving healthcare reform is the latest burning platform threatening the prosperity and security of their organizations. But they generally find that change management challenges, such as ACA implementation, do not come with a one-size-fits-all solution or that their staff do not view the ACA as "their problem." W H AT ' S A L E A D E R T O D O ? Changes in every aspect of healthcare delivery-from reimbursement to quality control to elimination of wasteful and inefficient practices-are having a tremendous impact on the U.S. healthcare delivery system, with many more changes to come. But the impact of all of these changes on the people who will be implementing them may get overlooked in all the haste for compliance. Add to the mix the initial rocky launch of the reform law and uncertainty regarding its sustainability, and the suggestion that a profound shift is ahead could easily be regarded as an understatement. People at every level of provider organizations are stressed, confused, and bewildered by the blizzard of changes occurring, and many-perhaps most-are ill suited to absorb these changes, and the organizational dysfunction that will likely accompany them, easily or gracefully. The result is a growing insecurity, anxiety, and outright resistance among these workers, leading to a demoralized workforce and compromised compliance. Healthcare leaders must understand the value and critical importance of delivering an emotionally and behaviorally intelligent style of leadership to ensure that their staff feel empowered and supported as they work through and implement some of the 245

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Journal of Healthcare Management - July/August 2014

Journal of Healthcare Management - July/August 2014
Contents
Interview With Charles R. Evans, FACHE, President of the International Health Services Group and Senior Advisor at Jackson Healthcare
The Most Effective Leadership Style for the New Landscape of Healthcare
Exploring Obstacles to Success for Early Careerists in Healthcare Leadership
Decisions Through Data: Analytics in Healthcare
Sustainable Competitive Advantage for Accountable Care Organizations
Hospital Characteristics Associated With Achievement of Meaningful Use
The Effect of Professional Culture on Intrinsic Motivation Among Physicians in an Academic Medical Center
Abstract from the Academy of Management

Journal of Healthcare Management - July/August 2014