Possession of a medical degree does not, ipso facto, mean, you have all the qualities of leadership and management to provide policy direction to the health sector.
In fact, the danger is that a medical doctor who has never interested himself in questions of leadership and management is likely to become what the Director/CEO of the Kenya Institute of Administration, Prof Margaret Kobia calls a functional manager.
A leader of an organisation must be a general manager — able to see an organisation from a holistic perspective — to provide leadership to all functional areas that, together, define its effectiveness.
A brilliant doctor does not translate into a brilliant CEO of a health institution or a ministry of Health.
Those wishing to provide effective leadership to a health institution, at whatever level of leadership, have made it point to cultivate competencies in other areas.
They have developed interest in management as a discipline — bought and read excellent books and journals on management and leadership.
I met a few such doctors at the Kenya Institute of Administration during the Strategic Leadership Development Programme Course recently. The few, particularly, young doctors surprised me as they have even read literature on military organisation and leadership.
Yes. We need doctors at the helm of some of our strategic public institutions such as ministries, departments and Government agencies, but the appointing authority will be interested in you as the CEO or Cabinet Secretary of this or that department not because you can successfully operate on a patient.
{Kennedy Buhere, Via Email}
Human error to blame for accidents
Continuous news of grisly road accidents are sickening. The death toll is alarming and we all must find the will to contain it fast. The Government, citizens and stakeholders must collectively take measures to rid our roads of this menace.
Most accidents often involve heavy trucks, trailers and public service vehicles. Human error, mostly caused by fatigue and haste to meet set targets, is among the major causes of accidents that need our urgent attention.
