Chapter 16. Leadership Theory and Application

Dr. Scott is professor and director of Continuing Education in the Department of Pharmaceutical Systems and Policy at West Virginia University School of Pharmacy. She received a B.S. in pharmacy from the University of Kentucky, an M.S. in pharmacy administration from Purdue University, and a Ph.D. in social and administrative pharmacy from the University of Minnesota. Her teaching interests include patient health education, outcomes and quality improvement, pharmacoeconomics, and patient-reported outcomes. Her research interests include health services and health outcomes research, specifically patient-reported outcomes and cost-effectiveness of patient care services and drug therapy; educational research on continuing professional development; and examining the relationship between educational programming and the implementation of pharmacy services. She has been involved actively in pharmacy professional organizations, has served in numerous leadership positions on the state and national levels since 1977, and was selected as an academic leadership fellow for the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy in 2004.

After completing this chapter, readers will be able to

1. Define leadership and identify qualities needed to be an effective leader.

2. Discuss the integration of organizational culture into leadership models and theories.

3. Explain how leadership theories and models can be used as a guide to promote change within an organization.

4. Identify ways to develop leadership skills in others, such as delegation and the use of leadership evaluative tools.

5. Discuss how to leverage personal strengths to advance an organization.

6. Describe leadership roles within the profession and community for students and pharmacists.

Jennifer Leader is a fourth-year pharmacy student who is involved in several student pharmacy organizations at her college of pharmacy. Recently, she was recognized by her peers and inducted into Phi Lambda Sigma, a pharmacy organization that fosters and recognizes student pharmacist leaders. Jennifer's long-term goal is to become a director of pharmacy or a regional manager or to own her own store. Other goals are to be actively involved in local, state, and national pharmacy organizations and to have a leadership position in one of the pharmacy organizations on both the state and national levels. Based on her leadership class in pharmacy school, Jennifer feels that she has a broad understanding of the concepts of leadership and leadership theories. During her rotations to date, she has encountered several leaders who do not exhibit the leadership styles and skills that she was taught in pharmacy school. Thus, she is thinking that she may need additional leadership development to further self-awareness of her strengths and leadership skills as well as to gain a better understanding on how to interpret the leadership style of others.

1. How is leadership defined? What sorts of things distinguish leading from other seemingly interchangeable terms like supervising or managing?

2. How can leadership theories and models be applied to promote change within an organization?

3. If a person wants to become a leader within the organization or profession, how could they assess or ...