Use the below as basis for developing recommendations about the leadership and management competencies, roles, and responsibilities that are required to address the challenges in the organization.

Lawanda Hastings has a challenge ahead of her. She recently took over leadership responsibilities for the downtown branch of Southglenn Physical Therapy Clinics $($SPTC$),$ which are private outpatient clinics owned by Dr$.$ Matt Nelson. SPTC has served the Salt Lake City community since $1999$ and specializes in orthopedic rehabilitation, sports medicine, deep tissue massage therapy, aquatic therapy, and work$-$related injuries. Over the years, Dr$.$ Nelson has built SPTC from a single outpatient clinic to three complementary clinics that have a sound reputation for providing excellent physical therapy services.

SPTC is especially well$-$known for the excellent rehabilitation services provided for professional and amateur athletes who injure knees or other joints in snow sport accidents, common injuries associated with Utah$$s exceptional ski resorts, where many collegiate and Olympic athletes practice for competitive events, and families ski and snowboard during the winter months.

The three clinics complement one another because each offers basic rehabilitation services, and each is also known for a particular specialty. For example, the Main SPTC clinic, now housed in a $30,000-$square foot building with an indoor pool, focuses on sports medicine, athletic injuries, and aquatic therapy. The Downtown clinic that Lawanda now leads specializes in work injury programs, designed to help patients return to full employment after an occupational injury. The smallest of the three clinics in the nearby suburb of Murray primarily treats post$-$surgical patients to help reduce pain and increase mobility. All three clinics are located along the light rail line, making travel between the clinic locations for staff and patients quite easy.

Clinic Roles

Each of the three SPTC operations is headed by a clinic director, whose role is to lead clinic operations and coordinate patient care at the clinic location. Each director is also a licensed physical therapist, who ultimately oversees the professional conduct of clinic staff. The three directors report directly to Matt Nelson, as does the clinic administrator, who is responsible for functions such as patient scheduling, client and insurance billing, the electronic medical record system, purchasing and accounts payable, and personnel and payroll services. These functions are coordinated centrally at the Main SPTC clinic, as are out$-$sourced custodial and maintenance services for each clinic.

A marketing coordinator also reports directly to Matt. About $65\%$ of the patients seen at SPTC are referred by local physicians, so maintaining strong relationships with local medical providers is essential for SPTC$$s long$-$term prosperity. Along with Matt, the three clinic directors, the clinic administrator, and the marketing coordinator comprise the SPTC leadership team. Additionally, at each clinic, managers oversee the clinic$$s routine physical therapy services and rehabilitation services, and directly supervise the work of the physical therapists, occupational therapists, massage therapists, and athletic trainers employed at each clinic.

Lawanda was the clinic director at the Murray clinic for four years and successfully oversaw growth of the clinic$$s surgical rehabilitation practice. Then, abruptly, the clinic director at the Downtown clinic left under a cloud of suspicion that involved sexual harassment claims against him by two of the female massage therapists. Matt asked Lawanda to take over leadership responsibilities for the Downtown clinic and to address leadership and managerial needs of the understandably dispirited staff.

Just the Facts

Through discussions with Matt, interviews with the four departmental managers who now report to her, and open forum dialogues with clinic staff, Lawanda has discovered the following:

$1.$ Client feedback surveys have shown a downward trend in patient satisfaction with service provided at the Downtown clinic. The biggest concerns come from patients using the occupational therapy department, which represents the largest number of patient service interactions for the clinic. Patient concerns include difficulty scheduling appointments, late appointments, and impolite staff who rush them through their treatment. Patients who rated other clinic services at the Downtown clinic such as physical therapy, massage therapy, and athletic training didn$$t identify the same concerns with staff interactions, but they also pointed to difficulty scheduling appointments at the clinic.

$2.$ A recent staff survey suggests that Downtown clinic staff enjoy the work they do$,$ but feel pressured to hurry through appointments because of tight schedules. They also reported concerns about relationships with their managers, including some managers who reportedly micro$-$manage their staff