Leadership in Health Tourism

…and the makings of a Good Leader

NOTE

This is the abridged version (a.k.a. the Readers Digest version) of an extensive paper dealing with the subject of Health Tourism and Leadership.

before getting down to the nitty-gritty

…some comments and observations which illuminate and reflect the thinking and doing

Before getting down to the nitty-gritty of the subject (i.e., Leadership in Health Tourism), I start off with some comments and observations - as a way of illuminating and reflecting, for the benefit of the reader, my thinking and doing on the subject.

As in all fields of endeavor, so too, in the case of Health Tourism, good leadership is of fundamental relevance, because, as with “investment”, nothing happens without it.

Recognition of its relevance led to “Leadership” being designated a Health Tourism Strategic Concept and Practice.

All good and bad outcomes (in the realm of “undertakings”) can be attributed directly, to “the leadership” (good leadership in the former case, and bad leadership in the latter case).

On the subject of “getting things done” (another Strategic Concept and Practice – something I will be coming back to later), one needs to know “who to call” (the Leader) – and one needs to “go to the top” to get things done (again, meaning the Leader).

Some (mistakenly) have suggested that I too, am a leader (“in a way”).

If it was true, I would want to be known as someone who:

• translates vision into reality
• empowers others
• maximizes the efforts of others, towards the achievement of a goal

Amongst the numerous “utterances” on the subject of leadership and leaders, I particularly like those of Derek Sivers (entrepreneur and founder of MuckWork – uttered during his 2010 TED talk titled “how to start a movement”):

• a leader needs the guts to stand out and be ridiculed
• a leader needs to embrace stakeholders as equals

the Meaning

…i.e., Leadership

Leadership:

• the capacity to translate vision into reality (Warren Bennis – who died in 2014 – is regarded as a pioneer of the contemporary field of Leadership studies)
• those who empower others (Bill Gates)
• a process of social influence, which maximizes the efforts of others, towards the achievement of a goal (Kevin Kruse - CEO of LEADx and author of Great Leaders Have No Rules)
• the power or ability to lead other people (Merriam-Webster Dictionary)
• the position of being a company, product, etc. that is more successful than its competitors (Cambridge Dictionary)
• the ability of an individual, group or organization to "lead", influence or guide other individuals, teams, or entire organizations (Wikipedia)
• an influential power relationship in which the leader's power promotes movement / change in their followers (Wikipedia)
• “in business” - the capacity of a company's management to set and achieve challenging goals, take fast and decisive action when needed, outperform the competition, and inspire others to perform at the highest level they can (Investopedia)

the Shades of Leadership

…and why one of my preferred styles of leadership is the one described as “Disruptive”

Leadership comes in several guises (or “styles”), including (depending on whose list one prefers – in alphabetical order):

• Achievement Oriented
• Affiliative
• Authentic
• Authoritarian – Autocratic
• Bureaucratic
• Charismatic
• Coaching
• Collaborative
• Delegative
• Democratic
• Directive
• Disruptive
• Laissez-Faire
• Pace-Setting
• Participative
• Servant
• Strategic
• Supportive
• Transactional
• Transformational

There may also, be some others which I have “missed”.

One that I particularly subscribe to, because of its direct and immediate impact, is that of Disruptive Leadership (which fits in nicely with disruptive innovation – something else I have applied in Health Tourism).

My one big contribution to Health Tourism can be said to have been the transformation of the “concept and practice” (from Conventional to Contemporary) and “repurposing” of the activity (from a “need” to a “want”).

The transformation was “called for” and justified by the need to deal with the “shortcomings” (in the form of Fallacies, Deficiencies and Failings) associated with Conventional Health Tourism.

So, in brief, what attracts me to Disruptive Leadership is that it looks for better solutions and ways to establish new processes – and wants to make an impact.

In Greece, Disruptive Leadership is taught to the corporate world by Iphigenia Paparoussi (founder and Managing Director of Leaders Lab – a management consultancy).

I first met Iphigenia “some years back”, at a Health Tourism “do” in Thessaloniki (Greece) – and later caught up with her again in 2021, when I attended one of her Webinars (Sales and Negotiations with Disruptive Leadership – in 8 steps).

the Health Tourism Leadership

…a.k.a. the Vital Few

In practical terms, the Health Tourism Leadership is represented by the “decision-makers” and “purse-string-holders” (a.k.a. the Vital Few) tasked with designing, creating – or transforming – and then operating what are now known as, arcHTos Derivatives:

• Nation-Level Economic Sectors
• Destinations
• Special Economic Zones
• Resorts
• Assisted Residential Tourism Facilities (technology-enabled Housing and Care abroad)
• Enterprises (Businesses)
• Services:

1. Health-related (in the context of ht8)
2. Travel & Tourism related
3. Sector-supporting

• Events (the “Conferences, Exhibitions and B2B Meetings” combos)
• Representative Bodies (Associations, Councils and Chambers of Commerce)

Good Leadership during a Crisis

…cometh the hour, cometh the man

“cometh the hour, cometh the man” is a popular English proverb – which basically holds that “the right leaders will come to the fore during times of crisis”.

The COVID-19 Pandemic – and the ensuing Economic Recession - provided an opportunity for “real leaders” to demonstrate their mettle.

I have written on the subject of leadership in the face of crisis in the paper titled: Impact on Health Tourism of the COVID-19 Black Swan Event.

on Leadership and Reading

…too important and busy to read anything longer than a tweet

One of my gripes with leaders is that they are “too important and busy” to read anything longer than a tweet.

Maybe I can fit the following short list on a Tweet – and bring it to their attention:

• “not all readers are leaders, but all leaders are readers” (Harry S. Truman)
• “leaders with good judgment tend to be good listeners and readers” (Sir Andrew Likierman – former Professor of Management Practice at the London Business School)
• “If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have time to lead” (Phil Schlechty - who died in 2016 - was the founder and CEO of the nonprofit Schlechty Center for Leadership in School Reform in Louisville, Ky, USA)

Leadership and Judgment

…in the face of uncertainty

In order for leaders to lead “well”, they need to be endowed with “good judgement” – especially in the face of uncertainty.

Uncertainty stems from our inability to compare the present to anything we’ve previously experienced. When situations lack analogies to the past, we have trouble envisioning how they will play out in the future.

My thinking and doing – with regards to the subject of “judgement”, was influenced to a considerable degree by Sir Andrew Likierman (Professor of Management Practice at the London Business School) – through his 2020 Harvard Business Review article titled “The Elements of Good Judgment”.

the Role of Leadership in the face of Uncertainty

…and dealing with the VUCA aspects of Health Tourism

Health Tourism, even “at the best of times”, is associated with VUCA (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity).

I have come to the conclusion that (in Health Tourism, at least), the essential quality of a “good” leader is the ability to choose the best path forward, despite the uncertainty of the future.

Increasingly, that ability will be what differentiates leaders who succeed from those who fail.

Leaders with “skin in the game”

…those who have something (considerable) to lose when things do not pan out in something they propose, enact or support

I claim that “real” leaders should be expected to have “skin in the game”.

Skin in the Game: Hidden Asymmetries in Daily Life (acronymed: SITG) is the title of a 2018 book by Nassim Nicholas Taleb (a former options trader with a background in the mathematics of probability and statistics – and author of The Black Swan).        

Those who have “skin in the game” have something (considerable) to lose when things go wrong (i.e., do not pan out) in something they propose, enact (put into action) or support.

In response to the turmoil and changed circumstances, we will see the “situation-appropriate” leaders (with skin in the game) come to the fore (cometh the hour, cometh the man).

A short note from the author of Skin in the Game - Nassim Nicholas Taleb

Never trust anyone who doesn't have skin in the game. Without Skin in the Game, fools and crooks will profit - and their mistakes will never come back to haunt them.

To have "skin in the game" is to have incurred risk (monetary or otherwise) by being involved in achieving a goal. In the phrase, "skin" is a synecdoche for the person involved, and "game" is the metaphor for actions on the field of play under discussion.

if the leader is respected – and not liked – he has done his job

...with due attribution to Marco Tronchetti Provera (CEO, Pirelli) – a true leader

Most “populists” playing the role of leader – who are in fact demagogues - need to be liked – and aim to be liked – and in the process, betray the interests of the Stakeholders they serve.

Populism (the actions and behavior of a “populist”) is associated with Demagogy (a strategy for obtaining and gaining support by appealing to popular prejudices, emotions, fears and expectations).

Demagogy refers to the action of winning support by exciting the emotions of ordinary people rather than by having good or morally right ideas.

And a demagogue is a leader who makes use of popular prejudices and false claims and promises in order to gain – or maintain – power.

Having a demagogue as a leader is a tragedy.

On this issue, I like to quote Pirelli CEO, Marco Tronchetti Provera (a real leader): “if you are respected – and not liked – you have done your job”.

tomorrow’s Leaders – the Health Tourism Protégés

…the induction of young, tech-savvy entrepreneurs and students into the Ecosystem

Internet Century Health Tourism (ICHT) makes provision for inducting young, tech-savvy entrepreneurs and students – referred to as Protégés – into the Domain and Ecosystem.

The belief is that, to ensure sustainability and continuity, the Health Tourism Sector needs new blood, to counter some of the bone-headed and wrong-headed “established principles, norms and beliefs” – and now discredited advice still being dispensed by some of the old blood.

Protégé:

• someone who is helped, taught, or protected by an important or more experienced person (Cambridge Dictionary)
• a young person who is helped and taught by an older and usually famous person (Cambridge Dictionary)
• one who is protected or trained or whose career is furthered by a person of experience, prominence, or influence (Merriam-Webster Dictionary)
• a young person who receives help or training from an older experienced person (macmillan dictionary)

Induct:

• to bring in as a member (DICTIONARY.COM)
• to officially accept someone into a group (macmillan dictionary)
• to introduce someone formally or with a special ceremony to an organization or group, or to beliefs or ideas (Cambridge Dictionary)

Protégés, who represent the leaders of tomorrow, will be provided with mentoring by the Health Tourism “Vital Few” and the “Wise Heads”.

the Vital Few:

• the Decision-Makers and Purse-String-Holders (investors or financiers) – usually meaning those tasked with financing, designing, creating – or transforming – and then operating arcHTos Derivatives

Wise Heads:

• the Thought Leaders