Global Leadership Development: Education is the Key to Success

The healthcare systems are inadequately designed FOR chronic care management to keep people out of acute care system; FOR systems designed to prevent illness by focusing on the social determinants of health, FOR patients with mental and behavioral health conditions esp. when accompanied by other chronic conditions; FOR populations of immigrants, refugees, minorities and those without access to care because of the barriers of financing, geography and/or language. Our present healthcare system is reactionary and reductionistic, designed for the diagnosis and treatment of silo illnesses, polypharmacy and reimbursement. Patient centered care calls for systems designed for team resources in community based outreach aimed at sharing information, not diagnosing and drugging. Our models of leadership education need to change from individualism in behavior and focus to frontline engagement of teams based on needed resources and internal motivation; from secrecy and control by those at the top to assure accountability and safety to creating environments of common vision, transparency and a culture for safety with all. Leadership education needs to shift its overall focus from budgeting, staffing and performance evaluation to creating environments that develop staff and measure results. Leadership reform must examine models of duality from either-or, black-white, best-worst to models that are inclusive of And-Both. Leadership must educate for innovation, creativity and risk-taking, not simply risk reduction and avoidance. The medium for all this change is relationship-based action. Relationship based care follows patients and populations from prevention through recovery and not simply through the paid visit. Health records need to be universal and based uopn relationships of necessary resources, not upon legally protectinging providers and systems. Leadership education must follow the prescription of reflection, interaction and validation, not "we know what's best for you so do what we say, how we say and when we say." Examinig and developing leader authenticity and purpose helps to move away from ego driven arrogance, bureaucracy and complacency. Economic models of care will change when leader abilities shift to the wholism of health and illness.