Masoud Ghaffari
Benedictine University, USA
Title: An intelligent leadership model for creating an intelligent health care organization
Biography
Biography: Masoud Ghaffari
Abstract
Introduction: Effective health care in the 21st century will require holistic leadership. Nursing as the nation’s largest healthcare professional group has a major role in the development and structuring of a more effective healthcare system. Creating and leading an intelligent organization needs intelligent leaders ↔ managers ↔ followers. Intelligent organizations are able to optimize their intellectual capital. Intellectual capital is not one’s finite asset but a collective infinite organization’s wisdom. Working environment in general, and health care organizations, in particular, are rapidly and nonlinearly changing. This requires a paradigm shift in the way we have explored the process of leadership. Considering leadership as a process and not a product, future nurse leaders need to be nurtured in a learning environment where innovation and creativity are encouraged, supported, and valued.
Purpose: The purposes of this study were to explore MSN Administrative track nursing students’ perceptions of: 1) an intelligent leader, and 2) an intelligent organization.
Design & Method: The University IRB granted permission to conduct the study. A purposive sample of nineteen students was selected to participate in this study (N=19; female n=18, and male n=1). Participants ranged in age from 28-48 years. All the participants were employed and performed at different levels of managerial and leadership positions. An interpretative description qualitative method was used.
Results: Eight themes emerged from this study. Drawn from the themes, “an Intelligent Model of Leadership and Organization” is developed. Two theories guided interpreting the data: Trinity Paradigm of Intelligence and Caring Theory.
Summary and Implications: the Intelligent Leadership Model (ILM) is a unique leadership style which capitalizes on its essence (interdependence), supports and strengthens strategic alliances, and promotes interdependence among healthcare team members, organizations, and systems. Transformational leadership (TL) is one of the most important components of Magnet award program. Magnet accreditation and transformational leadership make a difference for nurses and healthcare facilities in terms of improved patient and organizational outcomes, among other benefits. ILM provides a more holistic approach to achieve those goals and outcomes by starting from self-mastery and goes beyond TL style.