I’m not a politician so whenever a work related incident is politicised, it gets me on edge.
I prefer to deal with the facts as presented. As a HRM, when you get mixed up in the office and work politics, you loose sight of the reality of what’s happening, your attention is diverted. Experience has taught me that things are never what they seem.
I’m writing this article following the recent incident where a patient at Kenyatta National Hospital, Nairobi had a brain surgery performed on him even though he was the wrong patient. The CEO was sent on compulsory leave and then the Registrars at KNH & Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital downed their tools following the suspension of doctor who performed the surgery. They cited victimization, they were standing in solidarity with their colleague. Then there were those claiming that the CEO had nothing to do with the incident and someone was out to get her.
I’m a strong believer that the buck always stops with the boss. If anything goes wrong, or right, it is the boss who is answerable, whether they were there or not. The rest of the details of how he or she wants to handle the matter within the confines of the company walls, those are details.
The Holy Bible says that to those that much is given, much is expected. When you are in a position of authority, you are not just responsible when things go right. Even when things go wrong, you still remain at the helm of it, and trust me, things will go very wrong sometimes, like this incident. Any manager who removes him/herself from a situation and blames it on their junior staff is irresponsible and should not hold that position.
Many a times when such negative incidents happen, you as the boss may find yourself between a rock and a hard place. You may loose your job as a result, but such is life. It is just like inheriting property from your parents; you inherit both the assets and the liabilities.
Therefore, to those crying foul over the KNH CEO compulsory leave situation, I’d like to say this, being the CEO of the largest referral hospital in Eastern & Central Africa is not a walk in the park. There could have been politics involved, there could even have been malice & sabotage,however, to those that much is given, much is expected.