Austin began her career in healthcare at the age of 14 when she became a lifeguard at the community pool. At age 16 she became a first responder, and then at 18 she an EMT-Basic. She became a paramedic at 21. Throughout the years she taught numerous healthcare courses in her home state.

Throughout her time teaching classes, Austin remained active providing patient care as an EMT-paramedic, and later as a critical care paramedic. While she enjoyed providing patient care and teaching classes, she realized that she also enjoyed the challenge of setting up and running new programs. With her clinical background and her experience teaching, Austin soon recognized that she could provide the unique niche of being able to teach classroom materials while applying actual field applications. She complemented her "textbook" material with a variety of skills and scenarios that were obtained from her experience in the prehospital care environment. As Austin continued to work in EMS, both as a clinician and educator, she realized that her passion was shifting from clinical interests to operations management and administration.

During one of her classes Austin learned that a local EMS training center was looking for a manager to oversee operations. In addition to ensuring that the courses were coordinated and that quality education was delivered, the manager would be responsible for taking the training center "to the next level". The current facility had traditional educational tools, including mannequins and medical supplies. However, the board of directors felt that the program could potentially benefit from the addition of technology and enhanced practice stations.

Austin was approached by a board member and was asked to consider applying for the position. The new position would be full time and would allow for the successful candidate to develop a contemporary program that was otherwise not available in the region. After talking with several board members and a friend, Austin decided to apply for the position.

Austin interviewed for the position and a month later accepted the position and began her new career path. Within 6 months of accepting her new role, Austin made significant progress. She was able to determine where the current programs were at, what equipment would be needed for the future, and participated in strategic planning with the senior management team.

Austin was also successful representing the program at a variety of venues throughout the region. Within 12 months other training centers were visiting Austin's facility to observe and learn about the best practices. Within 24 months Austin's department was receiving requests for education from throughout the region. In addition, Austin's department implemented new channels for delivering education including classroom and distance learning sessions.

The senior management team at Austin's company was pleased with the progress that had been attained in such a short time. They continued to encourage Austin to explore new course offerings, increased her budget, and allowed her to hire new staff as the growth demanded additional personnel to support her programs.

The current staff welcomed the addition of new team members. During one class's break a veteran instructor and a newly hired instructor were discussing the progress of the training center's accomplishments. The newly hired instructor asked the other instructors, "What is it that helped to propel this program to its current level?" One of the original instructors replied, "In my opinion, leadership played a huge role". He then began to outline the leadership traits that Austin continually brought to the training center -- and had maintained for the past 3 years.

Vision
When Austin was hired she had field and classroom experience. The members of the board of directors that recruited her recognized that she could see the "big picture". This was seen as critical in maintaining the current center's momentum while strategically planning for the future. In addition, Austin was able to talk with her peers and students to keep them engaged and interested in the training center's development. This in turn fed the training center staffs ability to work toward their overall mission. Austin's ability to see the big picture, in addition to attaining buy-in from her colleagues proved to be invaluable.

Focus
Austin was extremely attentive to the focus of the training center's mission and operations. She constantly re-evaluated the activities that were taking place to ensure that the necessary steps were taken so that the goals/objectives could be achieved. When team members became distracted or the focus shifted, Austin was able to successfully intervene, re-focus the team's attention, and avoided overwhelming them.

Influence
Austin had landed a great job that was brand new. Prior to the position being opened, no other individuals had the opportunity to perform the job functions. With her newly found position Austin was able to earn the trust of her colleagues and staff. Several factors contributed to her success with the trust of the team. First, she consistently projected a sincere motive to make the training center a success. In addition, she supported team members in their quest to develop themselves professionally. Austin also displayed consistent behavior. This was important because she interacted with several key individuals ranging from students to the Chair of the board of directors. Several of Austin's colleagues noted that Austin always maintained a professional demeanor, regardless of the situation. This contributed to Austin's success gaining the team member's trust and motivation.

Dynamic style
In addition to vision, focus, and influence, Austin possessed the ability to have a dynamic leadership style. For example, when conducting meetings she was skilled at keeping the group "on-task", yet she would also joke with the group when appropriate. She was also able to agree to disagree, even on sensitive topics. She possessed the ability to switch gears on a moment's notice without appearing flustered or outwardly stumbling. Because of the nature of her position, her ability to be dynamic complimented her overall skill set.

Austin's success with the training center development was not due to Austin alone. She was, however, able to bring specific leadership traits to the group and that did help. The training center's team was also important. They believed in the overall mission of the center, were able to see the big-picture, and had trust in Austin that together the center's mission would be accomplished. Without all of these factors coming into play, the center's success might not have been so robust and Austin might not have had the chance to observe the success on a fist hand basis.

Having an individual in a leadership role is important. Surrounding that person with motivated team members is also important. A supportive board also comes into play. When elements such as these are present, creativity and success can flourish. When elements are stripped, the organization as a whole may suffer. Where do you see your organization?

Paul Murphy has been involved in the emergency medical services and healthcare for more than a decade. He has held a variety of clinical, administrative, and consultant roles. He has functioned as an EMT, Paramedic, Flight Paramedic, and Critical Care Paramedic. He has worked in a variety of settings, ranging from rural volunteer to paid urban EMS systems. Paul is active in healthcare management and has held management roles at start-up companies as well as a Level II Trauma Center. He is a published author and has spoken at healthcare conferences. Paul has Master's degrees in Computer Resources/Information Management and Healthcare Administration.