Leadership Differences In The Healthcare Industry

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There is no disagreement that the healthcare industry has been through its own scrutiny for several years. This particular industry has very unique characteristics. With that said, it is important for the leaders of the healthcare industry to be knowledgeable about the differences that each of the classified generations can and will bring to the workforce and use the benefits of the differences. Healthcare employers who can develop leadership strategies that appeal to the mulitgenerational facet will gain the competitive edge within the market (Carver & Candela, 2008). It is quite necessary for all employers, specifically within the healthcare fields, to notice the traits and characteristics of each generation’s employees. As highlighted by …show more content…
A survey was completed by the Center for Creative Leadership of organizational leaders over a period of seven years in attempts to determine how the healthcare industry could use these similarities and differences (Deal, 2007). There were three top values of all the generations involved. These included the importance of family, love of the job, and integrity among leaders. From a managerial viewpoint, knowing this information gives a more informed understanding of how to best handle misunderstandings and conflict in the workplace (Deal, 2007). Two other components that must be addressed by leadership involve the attributes of retention and motivation (Glass, 2007). The various age groups have extreme expectations of what will motivate them and cause them to remain with their specific system. These along with each generation’s size within the system, the transition of the Generation X’ers into Baby Boomer and Traditionalists leadership roles and the declination of specific healthcare occupations, such as certain jobs merging, also present challenges for the healthcare employer (Barmeka & Mannix,