Complexity leadership in healthcare: Leader network awareness

Abstract

Scholars claim complexity leadership perspectives are needed for adaptation in knowledge-intense organizations. The authors argue that to operationalize a complexity perspective requires leader competencies embedded within complexity concepts. A case in point, healthcare leaders are challenged to view organizational structure and leading processes as a means to catalyze organizational collaboration and other collective outcomes vital to adaptation. We support this perspective using qualitative methods and Dynamic Network Analysis to explore leader dynamics among 15 hospital laboratory subunits. Network measures reveal leader tendencies underlying collaborative dynamics, supporting earlier leadership research that underscore the need for developing complexity leadership competencies.