I went to see Mrs. Sullivan, the clinic’s manager. The purpose of the interview was to evaluate her contribution to the organization’s effectiveness as well as the effectiveness of the organization as a whole. Additionally, the purpose of the interview was to assess how she had made a number of contributions that were critical to her personal growth throughout her tenure as a manager for the company. During the interview, Mrs. Sullivan discussed a number of ideas that were crucial to the clinic’s evolution during her time as management (Lahey Clinic 1). Mrs Sullivan stated that sensitivity to individual differences and need especially regarding resilience during a hard time in the organisation became particularly significant when the clinic was embarking on the various initiatives of change which the clinic required to transform its services. She said that even when the change appears relatively straightforward, the reality during the transformation is likely to be complex and messy. During the interview, she emphasised on embracing different individuals. This was because when organisations are working through change, and it appears to be imposed externally, the manager of the organisation needs to take a different dimension regarding the required sensitivity. Mrs Sullivan told me that during these situations, there is need of implicit change requirement in belief and attitude. Such changes can lead to a new mind-set, the new perception and new attitude that will enable people to adjust and cope with changes globally. She told me that during this time, effective management is essential and managers are expected to understand the strains that the employees go through during the change time but at the same level be in a position of dealing with their levels of stress because adopting new changes requires time. She further stated that a clear understanding of individual differences has been vital in her operations as she has been able to understand all her employees and minimise manager-to-employees’ conflicts (Rowitz 35).
Emotions
On the emotion concept, Mrs Sullivan began telling me that in the past, working places were considered logical and rational places where emotions were excluded. Currently, these jobs have proven to be stressful and require an emotional conscious when handling all activities of the organisation. She also told me that there is the need for anyone working in the organisation to control his or her emotions. Failure to do so, reaction to the stressful situation within the organisation can lead to emotional outburst affecting the relationship with other fellow workers. Also, the reputation of her as a manager can be at stake if she fails to control her emotions thus affecting her productivity in the organisation (Rowitz 38).
She described some of the stressful situations in the workplace which are common that included staff layoffs, budget cuts and departmental changes. She told me that it is harder to manage emotions under these circumstances, but is important for her as the manager to ensure that she manages her emotions so that she can be able to manage the organisation. She told me that she is cautious in managing her emotions because if she let herself to be carried away by them, she can fail to deliver as required. According to her, the same should apply to all employees as at times, there is much pressure in the clinic in case of an emergency, and everyone needs to coordinate quite well in the absence of emotions to ensure effective coordination of activities in the hospital. In some cases, the managers are forced to lay off employees who are not able to handle emotions and be left with ones who can handle pressure (Rowitz 42).
Social Perception
Mrs Sullivan told me that there was the need for her as a manager to know how to control social perception. Perception is influenced by various factors in which we perceive people and the world. She told me that to be a good manager; she first understood different cultural backgrounds, personal values and life experiences that affect our relationship and interaction with other. She told me that understanding various social perceptions was a necessity as she was dealing with people of different cultures and race in the clinic. She also took some time to understand the social skills, personalities and approaches of her employees so that she can be in a position to deal with them. As a manager, she needed to learn different skills that will enable her to manage and understand the perceptions of different people (Lussier & Achua 34).
She clarified to me that understanding social perceptions is not that difficult though it requires a good deal of motivation, thoughts, practice and self-awareness. Once one has the skills, it is easier for him or her to motivate and communicate with employees and be able to lead them without much problems. She disclosed to me that through social perceptions she has been able to lead employees who hold different perceptions in her place of work (Rowitz 88).
Managing Diversity
Mrs Sullivan told me that learning how to manage diversity is essential as it provides many benefits to the organisation. She told me that it is essential to her as a manager to understand how to manage diversity within the organisation and also help employees understand that they should focus on their professions and should work effectively with everyone rather than concentrating on the diversity of someone. After she was appointed as the manager of the clinic, she took various initiatives and steps to encourage employees and lead them to perform effectively regardless of their diversity. She had first to understand her behaviour and background better and how it affects the decision-making and perspective (Lussier & Achua 56).
For Mrs Sullivan to be a successful manager, she is in a position to manage diversity through culture building of tolerance through training, education, conflict management and communication strategies. She also told me that effective management of diversity maintains and creates the positive environment of working where the differences of individuals are valued. She mostly emphasised on the culture of the organization, the impact it has on openness, practices of human resources, organisational context and institutional environment. As diversity, have been changing time to time, she was examining potential barriers to diversity in the workplace that could affect the clinic and suggest new strategies that would enhance inclusiveness and diversity in the workplace. Mrs Sullivan told me that successful diversity management leads to better satisfaction, commitment, employee performance and better financial performance in the organisation (Lussier & Achua 58).
Employee Motivation
Mrs Sullivan also told me that there was need of her as the manager to figure out how to inspire her employees’ motivation in the clinic. To create an ample environment for employees to work effectively, she had to involve both extrinsically encouraging and intrinsically satisfying factors that would make the employees more comfortable. The motivation of employees involves the combination of their needs including promotion, paying for overtime and incentives for the best performers. This enabled the employees in the clinic be able to accomplish vision and mission of the clinic. She also told me that managers have the responsibility of understanding the best motivation method that would enable employees to utilize their knowledge and skills fully for the growth of the organisation. For her to be successful in her career, she had to pay attention to the employees’ communication, relation, involvement issues and recognition (Rowitz 59).
Performance Management
The other concept that Mrs Sullivan discussed with me during the interview was the performance management. For effective management of performance within the clinic, she worked out on the best strategy that would effectively plan, monitor and review the objectives of employees and their overall contribution to the clinic. To improve the performance of the clinic throughout, she implemented a continuous process of objective setting, provision of on-going coaching, assessing progress and feedback to ensure that the employees in the clinic meet their career goals and objectives (Lussier & Achua 60).
She told me that she considers performance management as a way of translating goals into objective enabling the clinic to meet its set goals through management of performance. Performance management not only focuses on employees of the organisation but also on the programs, teams, processes and the clinic as a whole. Mrs Sullivan has been able to develop an effective program that would address organisational and individual performance which is essential to create and sustain an effective and healthy result oriented culture in the clinic (Lussier & Achua 60).
Leadership
Mrs Sullivan also emphasised on the effective leadership qualities. She said that effective leadership that she possesses usually influences the effectiveness in the clinic by inspiring and monitoring the workforce. Loyal and committed employees expect their managers to provide the clear vision of the organisation strategic direction and Mrs Sullivan considered it in her leadership skills. She also told me that employees who are committed to the goals and objectives of an organisation always want to see consistent decision making in responses to issues or problem. Clear communication to employees ensures that they can respond to emergencies when she is not in the hospital. This makes sure that employees are aware of the culture of the organisation and can operate under minimal pressure. She told me that when she is not in the clinic, there is no power vacuum due to the leadership skills that she as installed to her employees and can carry their activities without supervision. She prefers using the charismatic style of leadership as a way of motivating employees (Rowitz 62).
Team Building
She told me that for successful leaders to function well; they need to build team members who collaborate on various activities. Managers need to conduct the exercise of team building and ensure that members feel their contribution to the role they play in the team. In this team, they should be well aware of the goals and objectives of the company and why they need to work together as a team to ensure to meet them. Team building is essential as employees improve their knowledge and skills by learning from others (Lussier & Achua 70).
Mentoring
Mrs Sullivan told me that effective leaders are usually keen on mentoring subordinates to help them develop leadership skills which are beneficial to the organization. Leaders need to install leadership competencies to the employees so as to ensure that the organisation do not fall after their exit. She told me that if she were to leave now, the clinic would be on safe hard as she has mentored her juniors and shown them how to lead the clinic (Lussier & Achua 72).
Mrs Sullivan completed by telling me that there is need for managers to ensure that they practice all good skills of leadership to ensure that their organisations meet the set goals and objectives. She also emphasised on the need of employees to ensure that they do not give their leaders a hard time to govern them. Employees need to be ready to improve their skills and be able to operate under pressure (Lahey Clinic 1).
Works Cited
Lahey Clinic. About Lahey Clinic. 2017. Web. April 2nd, 2017
Lussier, Robert & Achua, Christopher. Leadership, Theory, Application, & Skill Development (4th Ed.). Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning, 2010. Print.
Rowitz, Louis. Public Health Leadership: Putting Principles into Practice (3rd Ed.). Jones & Bartlett Education: Burlington, MA, 2012.Print.
