Leadership is a significant phenomenon in every sphere of life, and health care is no exception. Medical professionals need to choose an appropriate behavior model to lead their teams, subject patients to care, and others. Among possible variants, servant leadership is a popular option in health care because this model relies on credibility and trust between a leader and their followers. Thus, this paper’s principal aim is to comment on whether this behavior model is useful in a health care setting.
Servant leadership relies on the idea that a person needs to serve first (Allen et al., 2016). Such a manager shares power and puts the needs of others first, which provides followers with more freedom of action at the workplace. Simultaneously, Farrington and Lillah (2019) explain that this behavior model leads to greater job satisfaction among employees. That is why one can say that servant leadership is positively appraised in a health care setting. However, it is also necessary to mention that transformational leadership is more suitable in the health care industry that often depends on a hierarchy of command. Andersen (2018) addresses this thought and indicates that “servant leaders focus on their followers’ well-being, while transformational leaders tend to focus more on organizational goals” (p. 763). It means that a transformation behavior model can be more appropriate for medical leaders.
In conclusion, one can say that servant leadership is a widespread phenomenon in a health care setting. It makes managers draw more attention to what their followers think and feel, meaning that the quality of care can be underestimated. That is why transformational leadership is more effective because this behavior type focuses on organizational goals, which denotes that patients’ safety is of top priority for leaders and their followers.
References
Allen, G. P., Moore, W. M., Moser, L. R., Neill, K. K., Sambamoorthi, U., & Bell, H. S. (2016). The role of servant leadership and transformational leadership in academic pharmacy. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 80(7), 1-7.
Andersen, J. A. (2018). Servant leadership and transformational leadership: From comparisons to farewells. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 39(6), 762-774.
Farrington, S. M., & Lillah, R. (2019). Servant leadership and job satisfaction within private healthcare practitioners. Leadership in Health Services, 32(1), 148-168.