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Abstract
In order for physicians to assume and exercise the kind of resilient leadership for which health care systems are crying out, they need to understand the available range of leadership styles and be open to learning and exercising new skills and behaviors. Research done by the consulting firm Hay/McBer found six distinct leadership styles in their study of thousands of executives. The commanding and pacesetting styles are useful and indeed essential in certain circumscribed situations, such as clinically in the operating room or the emergency department, and administratively in managing a crisis, kickstarting a turnaround or raising the bar on lagging performance. However, when overused, the behaviors characteristic of these styles contribute to a dissonant environment, driving down morale, motivation and performance. To be a resilient leader who creates resonance, you must have the ability to employ the four styles that have a consistently positive impact on organizational climate: 1. visionary, 2. coaching, 3. democratic, and 4. affiliative.