Leadership
Good leadership and management are about providing direction to, and gaining commitment frompartners and staff, facilitating change and achieving better health services through efficient, creative and responsible deployment of people and other health resources. [1]
WHO Definition of Leadership
Good leadership and management are about providing direction to, and gaining commitment frompartners and staff, facilitating change and achieving better health services through efficient, creative and responsible deployment of people and other health resources. [1]
Other definitions of Leadership
Government of Canada
Leadership is described in many ways. In the field of public health it relates to the ability of an individual to influence, motivate, and enable others to contribute toward the effectiveness and success of their community and/or the organization in which they work. It involves inspiring people to craft and achieve a vision and goals. Leaders provide mentoring, coaching and recognition. They encourage empowerment, allowing other leaders to emerge.
PubMed Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)
The function of directing or controlling the actions or attitudes of an individual or group with more or less willing acquiescence of the followers.
Hintea et al [2]
Leadership revolves around vision, ideas, direction, and has more to do with inspiring people as to direction and goals than with day-to-day implementation
Leadership is a process of influence/inspiration upon others, it is a group phenomenon. It is goal oriented – in the sense that the influence process is made in order to achieve some kind of goal or purpose; there is emphasis on emotions, values.
Leadership of Ministries of Health
Kirigia et al [3]
Extent to which the MoH gives direction and effectively communicates that vision to align people with it; protect the health system from external threats; clarifies the roles and responsibilities of various actors; manages conflict internally and externally; motivates and inspires health workers (and other stakeholders) by satisfying their basic human needs to sustain their focus on the health development vision; and shapes the norms (including challenges unproductive norms)
Cases of Leadership
- Center for Global Development CGD’s 2004 Commitment to Development Index Rankings: Defining Global Leadership. https://www.cgdev.org/event/2004-commitment-development-index-rankings-defining-global-leadership
- Distributed leadership of health policy development in the UK | Oborn et al, 2013
[1] Strengthening management in low-income countries. Geneva, World Health Organization, 2005 (WHO/EIP/health systems/2005.1).
[2] Hintea C., Mora C., &Ticlau T. 2009. Leadership and management in the health care system: Leadership perception in CLUJ country children’s hospital. Transylvanian Review of Administrative sciences, 27E: 89-104.
[3] Kirigia J. &Kirigia D. 2011. The essence of governance in health development. International Archives of Medicine, 4(11).