Managing the education function.

The challenge of hospital-based education is to motivate change in the participant to benefit the organization as a whole, while increasing individual competence and positively affecting the quality of service. Enabling people to transfer learning into effective work behavior is the goal of hospital education staff. To ensure a successful future, the manager of the education function needs to be passionately committed to service of the organization. The manager must be able, be seen as able, and be unafraid to assume the evolving role. On the cover of Jim Lundy's book, Lead, Follow or Get Out of the Way, he addresses a memo to those who lead or aspire to lead. He recommends the following: Share your goals and aspirations. Let the implementers be involved in the planning. Achieve clear understanding of expected results. Evaluate progress periodically and fairly. Reinforce the importance of others. Coach your subordinates for growth. Emphasize and reemphasize teamwork. Search constantly for improvement in understanding, performance, and results! (Lundy, 1986) These leadership strategies will serve the manager of the education function well. Choose to lead, follow, or get out of the way! Marilyn Ferguson shared in her 1986 address to the ASHET annual conference, "We can fear the future . . . or by taking courage from each other and tapping our hidden resources, we can help create it" (Ferguson, 1986).