Estimated reading time: 11 minute(s)
Adetutu Sobowale
The Chairman of the Nigeria Medical Association, Ogun State Chapter, Dr. Adekunle Ashimi has advised Nigerian health workers to acquire leadership skills along with her clinical training.
Dr. Ashimi gave this charge on Wednesday during a two-day leadership and mentorship conference held at the Telemedicine hall, Federal Medical Centre, Abeokuta the state capital.
The NMA chairman said the conference was held in an attempt to bridge the generational gap within the leadership and mentorship space in the health sector.
While advising health workers to acquire leadership skills, Dr. Ashimi stressed that the challenges of leadership are dynamic, saying there is a need to evolve with the changes.
He said, “Leadership is about you being able to do positive things to get positive results. So, everybody in the health sector, beyond our clinical training, needs to get themselves mentored and tutored in leadership training as well as its dynamics
“The significance of this conference is as such that we understand that leadership is global and local and there are a lot of gaps within the leadership and mentorship space.
“So, we deemed it fit to gather our people to re-examine our positions and activities in the mentorship and leadership space.
“And to understand that the challenges that we face are dynamic as such we know that we need to evolve with the changes so that we can meet up with the leadership needs of the present and the future.
“For this mentorship, we are looking out for the dynamics of the future. And we understand that the present generation of young people is spread everywhere.
“Their orientation and understanding towards life and culture are different from their leaders’ and so we need to understand them more to be able to lead and mentor them otherwise if we keep thinking that we can use the old way to achieve the new, it will be difficult.
“So, the need for us to start accepting the dynamism of this culture and make better use.”
During a session tagged, “Forward Thinking Leadership”, a leadership trainer, Adeyemi Ajayi emphasized the need for leaders to evolve with the world, noting that followers are interested in who leads them.
He stressed that to get ready for the future as a leader one must be able to think differently, develop a global mindset, be tech- driven, understand the business environment, manage changing human behaviours, acquire social intelligence and develop new competences.
He said, “those who will determine change are the leaders we are preparing now. Nowadays, people are more interested in who will lead them. Anyone that is not tech-inclined, will soon be irrelevant. So, evolve with the trend of change as a leader.
“A future leader must have vision, passion, and personal drive. Must be strategic, focused, result-oriented, strong mentally and has a high resilience/ adversity quotient.”
On his part, the Baale Onigbagbo Erunbe, Barrister Taiwo Adeoluwa stated that there must be trust and credibility in leadership.
Adeoluwa, therefore encouraged leaders in the health sector to ensure trust and credibility in the administration as leaders.
He said, “the greatest evil bedeviling our public space is the deficit of credibility and trust between leadership and followers.leadership at all levels appear to be disconnected from the fellowship.
“There is total distrust. Trust and credibility are mutually inclusive. Credibility qualifies trust.Once a leader exudes high credibility, he does not beg to be trusted.”
Speaking on how organisational culture and politics influence healthcare, the Medical Director, Ace Medicare Clinics Limited, said it affects the workers attitude to their duties.
According to Kukoyi, organisational culture and politics have a direct impact on the quality of healthcare patients receive.”
Kukoyi further explained that cultural attitudes towards cleanliness, timeliness, respect, and dignity play a significant role in shaping the workers’ attitudes towards their duties, sayings, this, in turn, affects the quality of healthcare services provided to patients.
“Additionally, the influence of organizational culture and politics affects the financial performance and overall effectiveness of the organization.”
Estimated reading time: 1 minute(s)
FOOTNOTE: Do you want to share a story with us? Do you want to advertise with us? Do you need publicity for a product, service, or event? Contact us on WhatsApp +2348183319097 or email: platformtimes@gmail.com
