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Upon entering this class it is expected that each student will have formed some opinion/position as to what constitutes leadership, particularly in healthcare. Based on the material in chapter 1 discuss Northouse's definition of leadership as it compares to your personal definition of leadership. Employ critical thinking skills acquired while reading the Carl Sagan article. How is Northouse’s definition the same/different from what you believe (d) leadership to be' If your thoughts/ideas about leadership come from other authors cite references and quotes and discuss the strengths and challenges of defining leadership. Does healthcare have any unique demands for leadership' If so, what might they be' At the end of your participation in the threaded discussion state what you believe to be the number one challenge in defining leadership as it relates to health care. Begin your final posting for this assignment with: "The number one challenge...” Peter Northouse in his book defines: leadership as process whereby an individual influences a group of individuals to achieve a common goal. Don Clark of Big Dog Leadership defines leadership in this way “Leadership is a complex process by which a person influences others to accomplish a mission, task or objective, and directs the organization in a way that makes it more cohesive and coherent." In my view and from research, to be a leader one has to know his strengths, challenges and who he is as an individual. Leaders must know the basic principle and that is to know the people that follow them so that they can identify their needs and provide them with the most effective leadership style .A leader must set a good example. Leadership challenge is about how leaders mobilize others to want to get extraordinary things done. It’s about the practices leaders use to transform values into actions, visions into realities, obstacles into innovations, risks into rewards. It’s about a climate in which people turn challenging opportunities into remarkable success. Leadership strengths are essential qualities that distinguish a good leader from a bad leader, example of such strengths are task execution (A leader must be able to come out with a brilliant idea and bring it to perfection by being able to execute those ideas), envision (expectation of the entire group are on their shoulders0, a leader must be a peacemaker, and be able to accept mistakes for wrong done. 1) For example Mothers and fathers show leadership in raising their children with good values and encouraging them to develop their potential. 2) Teachers inspire their students to learn and to develop their intellectual capacity. Healthcare workers can be leaders and develop services that meet the needs of the communities they serve, or work in collaboration with other organizations to create a cost-effective, prevention-oriented programs and services. The changes underway in the U.S Health care system demand industry leaders who can create and transition to innovative business models while continuing to deliver quality service. The number one challenge is accessibility, fragmentation; affordability issues challenge healthcare systems, whether they are centralized, socialized systems or free market, private and public enterprises. References http://www.buzzle.com/(articles)leadership_strenghts.html Kouzes,J.M,and Posner,B.Z (1995).The Leadership Challenge,2nd Edition.