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The terms “healthcare management” and “healthcare administration” are often used interchangeably and many people erroneously believe they are the same profession (VanVactor., 2011a). Healthcare management concentrates on providing leadership and direction to divisions, departments and units within healthcare systems/organizations to ensure delivery of health services to individuals and households (Kotter., 2003). On the other hand, health administrators focus on the staff and employees (i.e. staffing or recruitment). However, it is pertinent to note that theories in the field of healthcare management are dynamic, constantly evolving, and usually adapted from the context of business. This highlights the importance of a review of relevant literatures (Hartley & Benington (2010)., 2010; Munir et al., 2012).

Healthcare organizations comprise of complex systems where a large number of professionals play various specialized and intertwined activities. However, the unique structure of healthcare organizations promotes performance of rigid roles and strict adherence to traditional practices that—in most cases—resist change management (VanVactor., 2011a). This provides background knowledge on why healthcare managers in many organizations find it difficult to enforce effective cooperation towards integrating innovative practices in health care delivery The implication is that effective healthcare management requires collaborative efforts between top management, staff and stakeholders (such as patients, NGOs, donor agencies, government ministries/parastatals etc). But there’s a difference between leadership and management although most people wrongly use them interchangeably. Leadership is about doing the right things whereas management focuses on doing things right (Bossidy & Charan., 2002), furthermore, leadership encourages innovative thinking and use of strategies that guarantee attainment of short- and long-term objectives while management strongly respects the status quo (Mamon., 2005). Considering that the modern-day health care industry has become increasingly competitive, organizations must recognize the crucial role of leadership as a source of motivation and direction in a volatile business environment (Kotter., 2003).

Healthcare managers—as leaders in their organizations—exist as a link connecting interdependent sub-systems and adapting innovative strategies to achieve overall objectives (VanVactor.,2012). Thus, healthcare management entails collaboration among multifaceted groups working together to continuously improve health indicators—such as quality of health care and life span (Kim et al., 2016). Al-Sawai (2013) therefore suggests that health managers utilize innovative ideas to perform beyond limits set by traditional organizational practices (Röthlin., 2013). This implies that positive-minded managers who are willing to risk new approaches in healthcare management are best defined as result oriented—exactly what organizations need to challenge the status quo and achieve sustainable goals (Andrew., 2010). Using the Health Leadership Alliance (HLA) theory, Stefl et al (2008) suggested how individuals and organizations can use collaborative efforts to improve health care delivery against widening service gaps created by contemporary challenges within health systems (Munir et al., 2012). The scholars proposed two models that healthcare managers can adapt to achieve objectives of the health sector vis-a-vis: (a) leadership that differentiates logics and fragmentations in order to tackle organizational problems as separate entities and (b) leadership that integrates various logics and new ideas to solve different issues simultaneously (Hartley & Benington., 2010).

Generally, healthcare managers have the responsibility of (i) overseeing day-to-day clinic, department, or facility operations and (ii) supervising caregivers, health providers, and other health care workers to ensure that patients are satisfied with their healthcare experience (Marchildon & Di Matteo., 2014).

On the other hand, healthcare administrators are the upper leadership team whose job is to create strategic plans and ensure that the goals and budgets of healthcare organization are met. Healthcare administrators also work towards improving overall healthcare service every year. This study focuses on ‘Innovative Health Management Strategies for Enhancing Health Care Delivery in Nigeria’ and will examine leadership and health management theories for a better understanding of personal and organizational contexts in global health care business (Kotter., 2003).