Two healthcare leaders. Deborah Bowen and Anthony Armada Healthcare Leaders

Deborah Bowen and Anthony Armada Healthcare Leaders Healthcare is a very sensitive field since it deals with the lives of people. For this reason, effective leaders in this sector must have outstanding qualities since they shape the quality of patient care and other medical services provided by the healthcare providers. The two primary leaders selected from ache.org are Deborah Bowen, the chief executive officer (CEO) and president of the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) and Anthony Armada, ACHE’s governor and the chief operating officer (COO) of Verity Health System. Both of these individuals have proved over many years that they have what it takes to be effective leaders in the realm of medicine. Bowen and Armada have a distinction certification from the Fellow of the ACHE (FACHE). However, their rise to the top was not straightforward, and they faced various challenges and overcame them. The paper focuses on the biographies of Bowen and Armada, historical events, and leadership qualities and styles. Deborah Bowen, the CEO and President of ACHE Bowen has an undergraduate degree in the field of psychology, which she received from the University of Illinois. She also has a postgraduate degree in science from Wisconsin-Madison University and another one in business administration from the University of Loyola, Chicago. Bowen is certified by FACHE, Baldrige Executive Fellow, and the American Society of Association Executives. Before she was appointed as the president and CEO of ACHE in 2013, she had served at other high-ranking positions in the same organization. Bowen was an assistant director of public affairs between 1986 and 1987 at Wisconsin State Medical Society, Madison. From 1987-1992, she was the director of communications at ACHE. Between 1992 and 1994, Bowen was the director of government relations. From 1994-2000, she was ACHE’s administration vice president. Before she rose to the topmost position, she served as the COO of ACHE from 2003-2013 (American College of Healthcare Executives, 2019). Currently, Bowen leads over 48,000 healthcare executives in the United States of America (USA) who are responsible for improving patient care at all costs. As a charismatic leader, Bowen is always ready to handle any issues that might arise in her career. She is an eloquent and effective communicator. The individual has the ability to motivate healthcare executives in doing their best in improving patient care. She is also a good listener and a critical thinker. The most significant thing about this person is that she can evoke emotions of her followers. For this reason, it becomes easy for her to persuade her followers. Bowen is an excellent team leader and player who considers how her actions affect others. One of the things that contributed to the effectiveness of this person as a leader was her early childhood in Park Ridge, Chicago. Bowen was aware of racial disparities at a very young age since her mother taught piano lessons to black people who were financially challenged (Furstgroup.com, 2017). The individual had a chance to interact with individuals from other cultures, which is the reason why working with others from different cultural backgrounds has never been a problem for her. Bowen was angered by how some of her neighbors perceived African Americans as violent people. Consequently, she was determined to change that perspective and did everything to become a leader so that she can give other people chances to be themselves. Bowen is a charismatic leader. The primary objective of this leader has always been to improve the well-being of people. In the 1980s, before she joined ACHE, she was working with drug addicts. She said that many drug abusers failed to change their behavior due to the lack of relevant support. As the COO of ACHE, she managed to impact many lives through healthcare executives positively. Bowen understands that one should be transparent and authentic to motivate others to do their best. Healthcare executives cannot adopt appropriate strategies to improve the quality of treatment for patients if they are not motivated. Through determination, Bowen has broken barriers that no other woman had never overcome, particularly in becoming the first female president and CEO of ACHE. Although the primary leadership style for Bowen is charismatic, sometimes she has to shift to transformative and participative to influence others. For example, when she wants healthcare executives to do something, she does not command them, but she works in close collaboration with them to set a good example. Bowen believes that one should lead by setting good examples and be a role model for others so that they can be motivated to do the right thing. The primary leadership tools that Bowen uses to succeed in influencing positive change in the healthcare industry are conflict resolution, strategic thinking, decision-making, and teambuilding skills. She believes that healthcare executives must know where they are headed and plan well to achieve their goals. The contingency and situational leadership skills are portrayed when leaders change their styles of leading to match with a particular occurrence. In Bowen’s publication “Leading With Intent,” she says that every leader ought to have a purpose so that one can change things positively (Bowen, 2016). When she first became the president and CEO of ACHE, there was a problem of diversity in the organization. As such, Bowen had to adopt contingency leadership skills to convince healthcare executives about the need to handle all patients equally regardless of their religion, sexual orientation, culture, race, skin color, and ethnicity. The most critical characteristics that enabled Bowen to rise in her career ladder and become the CEO and president of ACHE include effective communication, listening skills, self-confidence, humility, and devotion in improving people’s lives under all circumstances (American College of Healthcare Executives, 2019). Bowen does not run away from challenges, but instead, she faces and address them to the best of her abilities. She uses the collaboration style of conflict resolution to solve issues. For example, when addressing the issue of diversity, she called all relevant stakeholders, the key ones being healthcare executives, where together they came up with appropriate and sustainable solutions. The iconic situation that gained Bowen recognition as a leader was the ILPEx Gold Award for her Achievement of Excellence in 2016 (Bailey, 2019). Specifically, a Baldrige Executive Fellow membership shaped Bowen’s career by expanding her network in the healthcare industry. In 2018, Bowen also won Samuel Shapiro Award for her outstanding leadership qualities. In reality, the environment that Bowen grew up played a significant role for her excellence in leadership (Furstgroup.com, 2017). Furthermore, time was vital since it enabled her to take over the CEO position when her predecessor retired. Having served as a COO was an added advantage since she understood how to carry out various operations at ACHE. By considering the leadership style and theory, one...