Building the leadership team

Key learning points Understand the essentials of team building, and the key roles in a successful emergency department (ED) leadership team. Know how to appoint the right people, how to mentor junior team members, how to manage underperformance. Understand succession planning and the importance of achieving an appropriate work–life balance. An ED depends on a team culture and environment. A dysfunctional team will result in an unpleasant work environment and poor patient outcomes. Building the leadership team To build an effective leadership team, there are a few essential characteristics, as outlined in the following sections. Authenticity A leadership team requires a leader that other members of the team can respect and trust. The leader must believe in what he or she is doing and be enthusiastic and passionate about the outcomes. Although many managers will go through the motions of conveying a mission statement and strategic vision for their organization, this becomes pointless unless they are able to make the organizational members believe in the desired outcomes. If you can't articulate what it is that the organization stands for – and believe it yourself – then you will not succeed as a leader. In colloquial language, this means being able to “walk the talk.”