Building Blocks of a Healthcare Leader

Do Athletic Trainers have the building blocks to be a healthcare leader? Or are ATs just glorified sports medicine managers?

Concept of leadership includes personalities; values; and competencies categorized as task-related, interpersonal/relational, and change/adaptive or as cognitive, interpersonal, business, and strategic planning.

Leadership competency frameworks emphasize transformation and change management.

As a leader are you a part of the organization’s strategy formulation, operations, and governance; have relationships among senior leaders; and have an understanding of current and perceived gaps in leadership knowledge and skills?

Do athletic trainers really have a seat at the leadership table?

Characteristics to help create a seat:

1. Authentic belief in and understanding of what information solutions and technologies mean for organizational strategy and operations.

2. Understand the importance of the consumer experience

3. Must adapt, constantly learn, and be willing and able to give up the bias that their expertise in one area (e.g., manual therapy) equals expertise in another (e.g., operations). Leaders must have patience and be relentless in the pursuit of what’s possible. These competencies and behaviors are within the leadership competency-enabling domain, often referred to as “self-awareness” and “self-development.”

4. Has to be strengthening skills and knowledge in multiple ways. Especially recognizing that we don’t know everything, spending time to learn, and allowing others to lead (Ask a lot of questions, read a lot, request reads from your team).

5. Routinely and authentically use data to drive strategy and decision-making and should weave that insight throughout the organization’s culture.

6. Change occurs more easily when team members at every level feel safe

Lemak, Christy Harris PhD, FACHE; Pena, Dalton; Jones, Douglas A. PhD; Kim, Dae Hyun PhD; Guptill, Janet FACHE, CPHIMS. Leadership to Accelerate Healthcare’s Digital Transformation: Evidence From 33 Health Systems. Journal of Healthcare Management. 2024:69(4), 267-279. DOI: 10.1097/JHM-D-23-00210

Shelby 7/2024