Communication Strategies for Healthcare Leaders

Leading with Impact

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Course Dates

STARTS ON

December 7, 2023

Course Duration

DURATION

6 weeks, online
3-5 hours per week

Course Fee

Effective Healthcare Communication for Optimal Patient Care

The fast-paced, high-stress environment presents unique healthcare communication challenges for leaders. Communication breakdowns can occur at any stage of the care process, often due to frequent interruptions or misunderstandings between healthcare staff and patients and their families. The consequences of inadequate communication can be dire, even contributing to in-hospital deaths, fragmented care, operational inefficiencies and subpar staff performance. Effective communication across all stages can lead to better care planning and improved patient care.

The six-week Communication Strategies for Healthcare Leaders course offers a valuable opportunity to build core leadership capabilities beyond business acumen. The immersive learning journey emphasizes rational and emotional competencies as well as collaboration and conflict resolution, enabling you to gain a competitive edge in leadership roles. Through innovative frameworks, real-world case studies, insights from industry experts, and peer discussions, you will hone your communication to drive a positive impact and establish an influential executive presence for improved patient outcomes.

Who Is This Course For?

This course is ideal for you, if you are a:

  • New or aspiring clinical leader looking to supplement healthcare knowledge with hands-on communication strategies to lead and influence high-performing teams, and effectively improve the quality of patient care
  • New or aspiring non-clinical leader looking to develop strong communication skills to implement strategic vision, be more persuasive, and impactfully influence decision-making that affects patient care
  • C-suite executive or healthcare leader looking to build on your business acumen with communication strategies to drive cross-functional collaboration, resolve conflicts, and enable change
  • Mid-level clinical manager looking to grow your influence within teams and communicate confidently with senior leaders to deliver better outcomes and advance your career

The learning journey will benefit you the most, if you are a:

  • CEO in Healthcare
  • COO in Healthcare
  • CMO in Healthcare
  • CNO in Healthcare
  • Chief Psychologist
  • Chief Resident Officer
  • Chief Compliance Officer
  • Chief Psychiatrist
  • Chief Hospitalist
  • Chief Medical Information Officer
  • Physician
  • Nurse Executive
  • Nurse Supervisor
  • Nurse Manager
  • Laboratory Manager
  • Clinical Coordinator
  • Physical Therapist
  • Physician Assistant
  • Occupational Therapist
  • Medical Assistant
  • Pharmacist

What You Will Learn in the Course

The course will help you:

  • Explore how your unique personality traits and presence can influence teams, patient interactions, and your overall career trajectory.
  • Identify healthcare communication strategies for winning hearts and minds within clinical teams or healthcare settings.
  • Recognize the dynamics at play during complex interactions.
  • Interpret conflict dynamics to improve leadership strategies in healthcare for the betterment of patient outcomes.
  • Adapt your leadership style to motivate your teams toward achieving shared goals.
Profile picture of faculty Roderick W. Gilkey, PhD

Hear from the Faculty

“The healthcare culture is driven by a mindset that deeply values growth, knowledge, and action to enhance patient care. Fragmented care occurs when there is a disconnect in the communication strategies between healthcare staff, patients, and other stakeholders. The Communication Strategies for Healthcare Leaders course is designed to provide healthcare professionals with effective strategies and frameworks needed to navigate organizational complexity and interpersonal communication challenges.”

— Roderick W. Gilkey, PhD
Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, School of Medicine; Emeritus Professor in the Practice of Organization & Management, Goizueta Business School

Course Highlights

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Expert Faculty

Participate in a course that is designed by an award-winning expert in psychiatry, neuroimaging, and business management.

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Industry Examples

Acquire a deeper understanding of the concepts covered in each module through real-life healthcare industry scenarios.

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Self-Paced Learning

Access recorded sessions that provide the flexibility to learn at your own pace with a weekly commitment of three to five hours.

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Frameworks and Tools

Gain multiple frameworks and tools to help craft your communication strategies, including a proprietary framework for creating highly effective work environments.

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Self-Assessments

Introspect to identify your strengths and weaknesses as a leader using a variety of self-assessment exercises in the modules.

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Hands-On Learning

Practice course learnings through assignments and discussions that will accelerate your ability to integrate the learnings in your professional role.

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Case Studies

Explore case studies of prominent leaders that demonstrate the impact and importance of successful communication strategies.

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Capstone Project

Work on a capstone project to refine your skills by applying course learnings to a communication challenge in your organization for immediate on-the-job impact.

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Guest Interviews

Gain insights into communication and conflict resolution from industry experts who share their extensive experience in the field.

Curriculum

The comprehensive curriculum will help you develop core leadership capabilities beyond business acumen to tackle communication challenges you may encounter often.

Module 1:

Foundations of Leadership Strategy and Communication

Explore personality traits and their impacts on communication and leadership approaches and examine different leadership styles to get results. Navigate the challenges of gaining credibility, authority, and influence in the healthcare environment. Develop your own personal leadership style and understand the derailment factors that affect effective leadership.

Module 2:

The Role of Emotional Intelligence in Leadership

Understand emotional intelligence to cultivate self-awareness and hone your communication style for more authentic interactions and improved outcomes. Understand the cognitive and emotional competencies important for healthcare leadership, and build rational, emotional and interpersonal skills to enhance your leadership communication.

Module 3:

Communicating Influence and Leading with Emotional Intelligence

Discover the importance of receptive communication and effective listening to influence teams and successfully implement strategic change. Understand the nuances of solving complex problems in healthcare. Explore the key indicators of emotional literacy, and develop your own emotional intelligence needed for effective leadership.

Module 4:

Leading and Managing Complexity and Conflict

Create a harmonious work environment through integrating ideas, recognizing and addressing seemingly contradictory situations, and developing a diagnostic mind.

Module 5:

Dealing with Conflict and Crisis

Delve further into tools and strategies for communicating through conflict and achieving a positive resolution by navigating organizational complexity and fostering change. Explore how to modify your personal leadership and negotiation style for greater impact, engagement, and productivity in the workplace.

Module 6:

Building a Culture for People to Thrive

Integrate learnings from previous modules to encourage open and candid communication, reduce workplace stress, and cultivate a highly effective environment for teams. Learn how to manage stress triggers in the workplace and create supporting and encouraging work environments to build on individual and team potential.

Module 1:

Foundations of Leadership Strategy and Communication

Explore personality traits and their impacts on communication and leadership approaches and examine different leadership styles to get results. Navigate the challenges of gaining credibility, authority, and influence in the healthcare environment. Develop your own personal leadership style and understand the derailment factors that affect effective leadership.

Module 4:

Leading and Managing Complexity and Conflict

Create a harmonious work environment through integrating ideas, recognizing and addressing seemingly contradictory situations, and developing a diagnostic mind.

Module 2:

The Role of Emotional Intelligence in Leadership

Understand emotional intelligence to cultivate self-awareness and hone your communication style for more authentic interactions and improved outcomes. Understand the cognitive and emotional competencies important for healthcare leadership, and build rational, emotional and interpersonal skills to enhance your leadership communication.

Module 5:

Dealing with Conflict and Crisis

Delve further into tools and strategies for communicating through conflict and achieving a positive resolution by navigating organizational complexity and fostering change. Explore how to modify your personal leadership and negotiation style for greater impact, engagement, and productivity in the workplace.

Module 3:

Communicating Influence and Leading with Emotional Intelligence

Discover the importance of receptive communication and effective listening to influence teams and successfully implement strategic change. Understand the nuances of solving complex problems in healthcare. Explore the key indicators of emotional literacy, and develop your own emotional intelligence needed for effective leadership.

Module 6:

Building a Culture for People to Thrive

Integrate learnings from previous modules to encourage open and candid communication, reduce workplace stress, and cultivate a highly effective environment for teams. Learn how to manage stress triggers in the workplace and create supporting and encouraging work environments to build on individual and team potential.

Capstone Project

The capstone project involves developing a detailed action plan for a challenging situation facing your organization that requires the integration of stress management, leadership strategies, and conflict resolution. You will be asked to reflect on the anticipated or actual outcomes of your plan, any obstacles you may face, and how you intend to overcome them.

Frameworks and Tools

The important tools and resources are aimed at developing the competencies necessary for developing communication strategies and effective leadership in healthcare.

  • Six leadership styles: Research from Daniel Goleman highlighting six distinct leadership styles based on different aspects of emotional intelligence
  • Situational leadership II model: Activity for participants to reflect on leadership skills and approaches that they already use and those they need to develop
  • Four communication strategies: Communication strategies to increase the efficiency of teams and influence the culture of an organization
  • Nominal group technique: Technique to improve group decision-making, from Alfred Sloan of General Motors, by encouraging all team members to express their opinions
  • 12-step protocol for challenging conversations: Tool that prepares leaders to anticipate, plan for, and conduct challenging conversations
  • Brain-friendly environments: A proprietary framework for creating an environment where everyone can achieve their potential

Course Faculty

Profile picture of faculty Roderick W. Gilkey, PhD

Roderick W. Gilkey, PhD

Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, School of Medicine; Emeritus Professor in the Practice of Organization & Management, Goizueta Business School

Roderick W. Gilkey holds a joint appointment at Emory University, as a Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Emory School of Medicine and at the Goizueta Business School as a Professor in the Practice of Organization and Management. His most recent research is in the area of neuroimaging, which involves the use of fMRI scanning technology to gain images of executives who are involved in strategic thinking, moral reasoning and creative problem solving. This research is focused on understanding how the brain operates using cognitive and emotional reasoning in executive populations. More info

Certificate

Image to depict sample of the program certificate

Certificate

Upon successful completion of the course, participants will be awarded a verified digital certificate by Emory Executive Education. The certificate will be a recognition of your achievement in completing the Communication Strategies for Healthcare Leaders course.

Connect with a Learning Advisor for a 1:1 Session

Didn’t find what you were looking for? Write to us at learner.success@emeritus.org or Schedule a call with one of our Academic Advisors or call us at +1 585 549 3600 (US) / +44 1174 633354 (UK)

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