EMS Leadership: Part 10—Path-Goal Leadership Performance Considerations for EMS

A new EMS organization was just becoming established in the city of Bright Star when Ben was hired as the EMS director. With 8 years' experience as an EMS director, his first priority after setting up the organization, including purchasing ambulances and support equipment, establishing the appropriate response facilities and hiring organizational staff, was to train new crew chiefs in becoming efficient and effective leaders. The majority of the new crew chiefs had no experience in leadership, so he had to establish an appropriate leadership process to assure their success. In the past, he had successfully applied the "Path-Goal" theory. The principle objective of this leadership application is to inspire followers to achieve their goals through leadership support, direction, participation and achievement-oriented standards and practices. Ben called a meeting of new crew chiefs.

"Congratulations to you all," he greeted them. "You have an important obligation to your crew members, our patients and their families. I am going to walk you through the leadership process that I believe is effective in ensuring the success of our operational environment in emergency medicine. Please take notes as we go through the process.

"First, you need to be supportive of your crews," he said. "Be there for them and make sure they receive the continuous training and resources they need to perform their job successfully, and continually listen to them and look for ways to improve their operational performance. It is important that they trust you to be supportive of them and their operational activities. Always make it clear that you are there to make sure they are successful as emergency response crews.

"Second, provide the appropriate and responsive direction they need to achieve their own goals and objectives, as well as the goals and objectives of this organization. It is very important for them to be clear on the procedures they need to perform. These include emergency operational activity goals, objectives and procedures; maintaining an effective and supportive relationship with their patients and patient families; assuring that appropriate communications with everyone involved is responsive, including patients, their families, first-responder teams like police, firefighters and emergency room staff; and ensure they understand and apply the appropriate levels of expertise commensurate with their EMS rank.

"Next, identify and ensure your crews understand and are comfortable with our organizational and emergency crew achievement-oriented standards. Work with them in identifying and setting challenging goals, seeking performance improvements, emphasizing excellence in performance, and showing confidence that your crews can attain these high standards. These standards need to be continually revisited to assure they meet the constantly changing critical environment we work in. You and your crews must be flexible in changing or reestablishing crew-oriented standards to ensure success regarding your crews and this organization. You are also encouraged to identify and share information that may improve our organizational goals and objectives.

"Finally, you must actively participate in all aspects regarding your crews and their operational initiatives. It is important that they know you are sharing in their diverse and challenging experiences and you are cognitive of the environment they work in. This builds their trust in your leadership capabilities and your influence in daily operational activities. You must remain involved in all aspects of the operational environment, including crew relationships and their needs.

"I am confident you will be supportive, participative and achievement-oriented leaders who will apply the most appropriate guidance to assure your crew's success and the success of this organization. What we do is important regarding the community we support, and we must demonstrate outstanding leadership. I am here to provide the same leadership I espouse and expect of you with your crews. Do not hesitate to contact me with any questions you may have or support you need. Thank you for being part of this organization and volunteering to be effective leaders."

The 'Path-Goal' Theory

The "Path-Goal" theory, established by Evans, et al., is focused on explaining the behavior of leaders regarding how they influence the satisfaction and performance of subordinates.¹ Effective leaders clarify the path in helping their followers achieve goals and make the journey easier by reducing roadblocks and pitfalls.¹ The path-goal approach suggests that leaders need to choose a leadership style that best fits the needs of the subordinates and the work environment.²

The leader's job is to help subordinates reach their goals and remove obstacles by directing, guiding and coaching them along their career path. Based on the task and subordinates' characteristics, it suggests which path-goal leadership behavioral style is most appropriate for leadership-related activities. The leader increases subordinate motivation by:³ 1. Clarifying the followers' path to the rewards that are available and 2) Increasing the rewards that the follower values and desires.

The four behaviors are defined as follows:²

• Supportive leadership—Giving consideration to the needs of subordinates, displaying concern for their welfare and creating a friendly climate in the work unit.

• Directive leadership—Letting subordinates know what they are expected to do, giving specific guidance, asking subordinates to follow rules and procedures, scheduling and coordinating the work.

• Participative leadership—Consulting with subordinates and taking their opinions and suggestions into account.

• Achievement-oriented leadership—Setting challenging goals, seeking performance improvements, emphasizing excellence in performance, and showing confidence that subordinates will attain high standards.

This leadership theory has been applied in a number of corporate operational environments. Training organizations can be identified through the Internet that teach the application of Path-Goal Leadership and emphasize the appropriate procedures that are effective in ensuring success for individual organizations regarding this leadership theory. Most EMS organizational leaders probably do agree that we need to be in tune with subordinates/followers and be supportive to ensure organizational success. The combination of supportive, directive, participative and achievement-oriented leadership practices do make sense and can build as well as sustain the success of any organization, including emergency medical services.

References

1. Evans MG. The effects of supervisory behavior on the path-goal relationship. Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 1970; 5: 277–98.

2. Northouse PG. Leadership Theory and Practice, 3rd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 2004.

3. Daft RL. The Leadership Experience. Canada: South-Western as part of Thomson Corporation, 2005.

Paul Breaux, PhD, LP, has a doctorate in Leadership Studies and conducts research in EMS, firefighting, law enforcement and military leadership environments. He is in his 11th year as a volunteer licensed paramedic (LP) for Bandera County Texas EMS, and is an adjunct professor at Our Lady of the Lake University. His full-time leadership job is in applied electromagnetic research and development with Southwest Research Institute.