Steven Safyer MD Appointed President

and CEO of Montefiore Medical Center

Contents Page

1.0 Introduction

1.1 Leadership Styles

2.0 Choosing Dr.Steve Safyer

3.0 Who is Dr. Steve Safyer?

4.0 Leadership Style

5.0 Contributions and Achievements

6.0 Attributes

6.1 Code of Ethics

6.1.1 Organizational Principles

6.1.2 Clinical Principles

6.2 Values

7.0 Conclusion
1.0 Introduction

1.1 Leadership Styles

It seems that some people are born leaders, and each of these born leaders has
a different leadership style and the variations are many.  Leadership style is
developed over time by education, practice, and trial and error.  Even if we don’t
feel like we were born with a particular propensity to lead, we can still develop an
effective leadership style through dedication and determination.

Developing an effective leadership style takes time, and one cannot expect to be
a great leader overnight. There are classes and seminars dedicated to helping
people develop their leadership styles, and taking advantage of these can be of
great benefit to us.

Leadership style is the manner and approach of providing direction,

implementing plans, and motivating people. Kurt Lewin (1939) led a group of
researchers to identify different styles of leadership. This early study has been
very influential and established three major leadership styles. The three major
styles of leadership are:

 Authoritarian or autocratic
 Participative or democratic
 Delegative or Free Reign

Although good leaders use all three styles, with one of them normally dominant,
bad leaders tend to stick with one style.
a) Authoritarian (autocratic)

This style is used when leaders tell their employees what they want done and
how they want it accomplished, without getting the advice of their followers.
Some people tend to think of this style as a vehicle for yelling, using
demeaning language, and leading by threats and abusing their power. The
authoritarian style should normally only be used on rare occasions. If you
have the time and want to gain more commitment and motivation from your
employees, then you should use the participative style.

b) Participative (democratic)

This style involves the leader including one or more employees in the
decision making process (determining what to do and how to do it). However,
the leader maintains the final decision making authority. This is normally used
when you have part of the information, and your employees have other parts.
Note that a leader is not expected to know everything. This is why we
employ knowledgeable and skillful employees. Using this style is of mutual
benefit, it allows them to become part of the team and allows us to make
better decisions.

c) Delegative (free reign)

In this style, the leader allows the employees to make the decisions.
However, the leader is still responsible for the decisions that are made. This
is used when employees are able to analyze the situation and determine
what needs to be done and how to do it. We cannot do everything! We must
set priorities and delegate certain tasks.
2.0 Choosing Dr.Steve Safyer

As for this assignment, I have chose Dr.Steve Safyer who has great leadership skill. I
strongly feel that he is an immensely talented leader whose passion and intelligence are
matched with his experience. He a confident leader who work together to develop a
more effective partnership between his company, Montefiore and the Albert Einstein
College of Medicine and bring both institutions to new heights of excellence. Dr. Safyer
is an instrumental part of Montefiore's success and I always look high upon him and
believe that his team was very fortunate to have worked side by side with their inspiring
leader beside enjoying his leadership style.

3.0 Who is Dr. Steve Safyer?

Dr. Safyer is an accomplished physician-leader and highly respected healthcare

executive, has spent 28 years at Montefiore, previously serving as senior vice president
and chief medical officer. He has built leading specialty care programs and an extensive
primary care network, developed innovative business and clinical strategies to manage
care and assume risk, championed the adoption of cutting-edge clinical information
systems, and created nationally recognized quality and safety programs. In 2010,
Modern Healthcare named Dr. Safyer among the top 50 most powerful physician
executives in the United States. Throughout his medical career, Dr. Safyer has been a
strong advocate for underserved populations including those who are incarcerated and
affected by drug addiction, HIV infection and tuberculosis.

Dr. Safyer received his Bachelor of Science degree from Cornell University and his
medical degree from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine.  He is board-certified in
internal medicine and is a fellow of the New York Academy of Medicine.  In 2006, Dr.
Safyer was named founding chairman of the Bronx Regional Health Information
Organization, an independent not-for-profit community-based organization formed to
build a technology-based regional health information exchange. Dr. Safyer is married to
Paula Marcus, MD, and they have two daughters.
 Dr.Safyer’s leadership in health care extends beyond Montefiore. He has been a
member of numerous panels and committees for regional and national organizations,
including the Hospital Association of New York State, the Greater New York Hospital
Association (GNYHA) and the Association of American Medical Colleges. He is
secretary of GNYHA and a board member of the League of Voluntary Hospitals and
Homes of New York. He was named chair of the Bronx Regional Health Information
Organization, an independent organization for health information sharing. A frequent
lecturer on health information technology, population-based medicine and public health
issues, Dr. Safyer has written and co-authored numerous articles in peer-reviewed
journals, on subjects ranging from electronic medical records and managing the health
of a population, to tuberculosis in prison populations.

4.0 Leadership Style

Throughout his 28 years career at Montefiore, Dr. Safyer has held increasingly senior
leadership positions.  As senior vice president and chief medical officer since 1998, he
has practiced Participative Leadership and had directed all clinical operations of
Montefiore's integrated delivery system and provided oversight of the faculty, academic
programs and clinical information systems.  Dr. Safyer is a professor of medicine and
professor of epidemiology and population health at AECOM. He strongly believes that
with his leadership style they will advance a coordinated, comprehensive agenda to
transform the health of the region and create a national model for healthcare reform.

5.0 Contributions and Achievements

He has been an appointed member of numerous panels and committees for regional
and national organizations including the Hospital Association of New York State, The
Greater New York Hospital Association and the Association of American Medical
Colleges.  He has been a long-standing advocate for underserved populations, including
those incarcerated and affected by substance use, HIV infection and tuberculosis.
 Montefiore Medical Center, the University Hospital for the Albert Einstein College of
Medicine, encompasses 125 years of innovative medical "firsts," pioneering clinical
research, dedicated community service and ground-breaking social activism.

The medical center is ranked by the prestigious Leapfrog Group among the top one
percent of all U.S. hospitals based on its strategic investments in sophisticated and
integrated healthcare technology.

Montefiore's distinguished centers of excellence include cardiology and cardiac surgery,

cancer care, tissue and organ transplantation, children's health, women's health, surgery
and the surgical subspecialties.  Montefiore is a national leader in the treatment of
diabetes, headaches, obesity, cough and sleep disorders, geriatrics and geriatric
psychiatry, neurology and neurosurgery, adolescent and family medicine, HIV/AIDS
and social and environmental medicine, among many other specialties.

6.0 Attributes

6.1 Code of Ethics

Dr. Safyer’s strives to abide by the ethical principles in all aspects of patient care,
medical education, clinical research and community service, and in all aspects of
administrative functions related to those services. These ethical principles
describe guidelines for honorable behavior for health care providers, managers
and all other associates, and volunteers. Together they have strives to realize
these standards in all its clinical and organizational activities.
 6.1.1 Organizational Principles

Under the Dr. Safyers’s leadership, Montefiore Medical Center recognizes

that managers and associates have ethical obligations to patients, staff
and the community. Therefore:

a) Montefiore creates an ethical organizational environment.  

b) Montefiore pursues a socially responsible agenda.

c) Montefiore engages in responsible stewardship.

d) Montefiore supports fair marketing and communication practices.

6.1.2 Clinical Principles

He recognizes that their primary mission is to ensure the provision of high

quality, ethically based patient care. Therefore:

a) Montefiore monitors quality of care. 

b) Montefiore supports ethical clinical decision making.

c) Montefiore promotes multidisciplinary clinical consultation.

d) Montefiore protects patient privacy and confidentiality.

6.2 Values
Montefiore Medical Center’s core ethical and social values guide their decision
making and define their philosophy of care. Their values shape their actions and
motivate and inspire them to pursue excellence and achieve goals.

a) Humanity

Physicians, nurses and staff serve with extraordinary care and compassion. They
continually seek new and improved ways to provide treatments and cures for
patients everywhere.

b) Innovation

Their innovative delivery system, research endeavors and use of technology

are key to their success in ensuring patient safety and delivering the highest-
quality care. Together, Montefiore and Einstein College of Medicine Albert
advance clinical and translational research to facilitate the transformation of
new discoveries into treatments and therapies that benefit their patients.

c) Teamwork

At Montefiore, Dr. Safyer’s collaborative approach ensures a culture of

participation, learning and respect. They value the knowledge and specialized
expertise of their colleagues who contribute vital insights and new
perspectives in pursuit of a common goal. By bringing together
multidisciplinary teams, they improve the quality of patient care, enhance
patient safety and provide the broadest range of expertise possible. Their
physicians value the importance of patient and family involvement in
treatment and work to provide education and answers to questions at every
stage of care.

d) Diversity

Dr. Safyer is proud of their heritage of serving residents of the Bronx as well
as patients from across the nation and around the globe. Recognizing that
different backgrounds bring new contributions to patient care and medical
 advances, they are committed to recruiting and retaining candidates that
reflect this diversity.

e) Equity

Their actions are the result of a deep belief in fairness to all those they serve.
They are committed to offering access to vital programs and exceptional care
to all patients regardless of race, gender, sexual preference, social or
economic status. Through their investments in staff, research and technology,
they strive to continuously improve the health and well-being of their
community and to advocate for access to healthcare for those in need.

7.0 Conclusion

In business, executives often focus on models of rational analysis paying far too little
attention to the idiosyncrasies and irrational processes that make up individual human
behaviour. At the heart of success however, lies a true understanding of the emotional
side of decision-making.

Since most of us are not born leaders, at least we can identify and attend programmes
which can help us to develop our leadership styles. This will help us to improve our
understanding of how human behaviour affects the functioning of an organisation. By
focusing on conscious and unconscious behaviour, as well as rational and irrational
action, we will learn to manage irrational and dysfunctional processes in our company.
We will explore our personal leadership style and address ways of dealing with
processes that fall outside recommended models.
References

http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/leader/leadstl.html

http://www.newswise.com/articles/steven-safyer-to-deliver-einstein-2010-commencement
http://www.montefiore.org/whoweare/stories/safyer-appointed-president-and-ceo-of-montefiore/

http://www.leadershipstyle.net/

http://executive.education.insead.edu/challenge_leadership/

http://www.mariosalexandrou.com/blog/6-leadership-styles/