Leadership
Leadership and management
Know the difference between leadership (vision, influence) and management (planning, organizing, staffing, controlling). Classic theories include Maslow's hierarchy, Herzberg's motivators and hygiene factors, McGregor's Theory X and Y, and Lewin's change model (unfreeze, change, refreeze). Situational leadership adapts style to follower readiness.
Planning and finance
Strategic planning uses SWOT and goals that are specific and measurable. Budgets include operating and capital; variance analysis compares budget to actual. Productivity is measured as units of work per paid hour, and FTEs are planned from workload standards.
Worked example
A department needs 1,200 hours of work per week and each FTE provides 40 productive hours, so 1,200 / 40 = 30 FTEs before adding coverage or benefit time.
Quality and projects
Use PDSA, Lean, and Six Sigma for improvement; use charters, scope, and milestones for projects. Risk management includes incident reporting, root-cause analysis, and disaster planning. HIM leaders manage vendor selection, EHR optimization, and staff development.
Trap
Do not confuse leadership with management, or a capital budget with an operating budget. A capital request buys assets; operating covers recurring expenses.