I decided to cover the leadership failures and damages caused to VA by leader Eric Shinseki. Eric Shinseki was the one Obama put in charge of the VA resources and problems /scandals as some would say. However, he was supposed to mandate reform and reinstate the VA’s missions. He failed to make these improvements. The saddest part is with his failure he did not have to show accountability, for his lack of leadership and support that resulted in failure. He instead ended up in charge of the investigations regarding the VA failures. The role of a leader is not just in a title or style it is a combination of position, title, and style. Position and title only provide a leader the path to lead while style complements and build the foundation to
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Shinseki preferred being honest which was apparent when he made the statement, “I can’t explain the lack of integrity of some of the leaders of our healthcare facilities… I will not defend it because it is indefensible.” (Shinseki, Eric) This came after an unexpected death following what was supposed to be a routine hernia operation. Which the patient developed complications that went unattended to for hours, at that point the patient ended up being rushed to another hospital. This was not only a major problem representing mismanagement but also misconduct, which is only one reason some call the VA scandal/problems a leadership failure from top to bottom. The national commander of the American Legion called Shinseki leadership a “story of bureaucratic incompetence and failed leadership” (Meshkin, 2014) Shinseki was not a leader to showboat; he was low key and did his critical work behind closed doors. However some say as a leader he did not show enough “consideration, empathy, and understanding” towards the situations and his subordinates. (Nahavandi, 2015, p. 78) It was clear he set goals and pushed to end homelessness among veterans he also wanted to improve the backlog of claims and the process times. Many would tell you that he cared deeply about veterans, as he was a fellow veteran himself that took steps to support other veterans. The exposure to Agent Orange remains a work in progress but this is a program for disable vets that he brought attention to and worked on getting approval
Shinseki preferred being honest which was apparent when he made the statement, “I can’t explain the lack of integrity of some of the leaders of our healthcare facilities… I will not defend it because it is indefensible.” (Shinseki, Eric) This came after an unexpected death following what was supposed to be a routine hernia operation. Which the patient developed complications that went unattended to for hours, at that point the patient ended up being rushed to another hospital. This was not only a major problem representing mismanagement but also misconduct, which is only one reason some call the VA scandal/problems a leadership failure from top to bottom. The national commander of the American Legion called Shinseki leadership a “story of bureaucratic incompetence and failed leadership” (Meshkin, 2014) Shinseki was not a leader to showboat; he was low key and did his critical work behind closed doors. However some say as a leader he did not show enough “consideration, empathy, and understanding” towards the situations and his subordinates. (Nahavandi, 2015, p. 78) It was clear he set goals and pushed to end homelessness among veterans he also wanted to improve the backlog of claims and the process times. Many would tell you that he cared deeply about veterans, as he was a fellow veteran himself that took steps to support other veterans. The exposure to Agent Orange remains a work in progress but this is a program for disable vets that he brought attention to and worked on getting approval