Training Blog

When the acknowledged father of modern management, Peter Drucker, was quoted in Fortune for saying ?Leadership is all hype. We?ve had three great leaders in this century – Hitler, Stalin & Mao? he would have found many ears, highlighting the sheer lack of understanding of what leadership actually is and the enormous benefits it can bring to both individuals and organisations. Inside this article we?ll examine not only what leadership really is but also how this relates to healthcare, why it?s so vital at the present time and what embracing its principles can really do for you in this challenging era of healthcare reform

Let?s work with an example. St Anytown NHS Trust is working with a raft of initiatives and reforms from simply balancing the books to modernising medical careers. You?re charged with reducing your departments spend by 20% without reducing throughput. You plan carefully trying to minimise the effects of cuts but as you step into implementation you find a host of adverse reactions from plain old resistance through to sickness, absence, internal bickering and even staff leaving because they have ?had enough?. Despite the careful and logical approach to organising the cost-saving initiatives, it seems that the whole department wants to disrupt it. Whereas you understand the imperative you equally sympathise with the team. Neither lessens your frustration at not being able to achieve. You?ve just uncovered the difference between effective or efficient management and a particular type of leadership. The NHS hierarchy – a singular view of leadership In common with most management scientists, Trust Boards and Government tend to view leadership as a functional part of the managers role i.e. just one of the things an effective manager does. Consequently, development of leaders is often aimed at turning doctors into managers. This helps individuals better manage staff but completely fails to fill the leadership void, or address the type of leadership that the NHS really needs right now. Whereas effectiveness in this ?functional? leadership is vital for organisational performance, it falls way short of the ?situational? leadership needed to hold the organisation together. Yes, I am suggesting that we are getting better at ?managing? the NHS but failing to hold the NHS together.

You probably gauge my sense of feeling in this and if you want to learn more about our approach to leadership in the NHS then try http://www.medicology.co.uk