Leadership must change if person-/patient-centered care are to take root

I have been blogging a lot lately about why patient-centered care and person-centered care have not taken firm root. Readers of the blogs came back to one systemic issue—leadership. A couple of recent Harvard articles might hold the answer to the leadership question. The article, “Are You Ready to Manage in an Irrational World?”, is a primer for the second entitled “Leadership in a (Permanent) Crisis”.

Here are three shifts I see taking place:

1. From Play Caller to Context Provider
The new leadership calls for people to help paint a picture and create a context.

2. From Checklists to Collaboration
New leadership style must embrace staff empowerment, collaboration, and shared problem solving.

3. From ‘I Have to do it’ to ‘I Want to do it’
Fundamental shifts come from self-driven authentic change by empowered people. When you are passionate about something, where you have come to a belief for yourself, when you understand the bigger picture, change happens faster. You change because you want to change.

Anthony Cirillo, FACHE, ABC, is a marketing consultant, professional speaker, aging and senior health expert, and the owner of Fast Forward Consulting. Visit his personal blog at www.anthonyssong.blogspot.com.

Anthony Cirillo

Anthony Cirillo, FACHE, ABC, is president of The Aging Experience. He’s a passionate advocate for family caregivers and older adults, helping them lead a quality life through a platform of educated aging – physically, emotionally and financially. Cirillo is a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives with a Masters from the University of Pennsylvania, His clients have ranged from the Cleveland Clinic, Unisys, and King Faisal Hospital in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, to Carolinas Health Care, Novant Health, Wall Street startups and many more. Anthony serves on the Editorial Advisory Board for PPS Alert for Long-Term Care and is an editorial board member for the Journal of Aging and Geriatric Psychiatry.