Health care leadership in the public interest

Successful institutional leaders articulate a sense of organizational purpose and mission, and establish and maintain an organizational culture that fits with that purpose, while anticipating and responding to external and internal dynamics that will affect the organization's capacity to meet its role. In health care, the organizational purpose is necessarily directed to the broader community, and the dynamics that must be anticipated include not only technological and economic change, but also changes in public attitudes and expectations. In order for the institution to thrive over time, it must both be near the front of the curve of those changes while protecting and preserving excellence in its core activities. The key to effective leadership in health care organizations is effective two-way communication with internal constituencies, with the organization's communities, and with the broader public policy process. Health care leaders must take a more active role in responding to their communities' health needs and in shaping public policy toward health care.