Over the past year I have been fortunate enough to work on the North West Leadership Schools pilot, an initiative funded by the Strategic Health Authority and supported by the National Leadership Council. It involved trainee-led leadership schools across five different healthcare professions, with each group employing different approaches to develop their members’ leadership skills.
So what did we learn through it all? Given that the Faculty may in the future extend membership to clinicians from other professions, I think there are lessons for us all to consider. Programmes varied from early evening night schools to catch members after work, to locally delivered Learning at Lunch seminars and longer, more intensive study days. Content was equally diverse, spanning topics from Emotional Intelligence & Leadership to How to Build a Business Case.
Besides learning what a Healthcare Scientist actually is (see here for explanation), I learned about the benefits and also challenges of working with people from different professional backgrounds (another blog post in itself!). One striking observation was how privileged we are as medics - no other profession has anywhere near as much resource and effort invested in its trainees. A widely shared understanding that we all have a leadership role is also something taken for granted within medicine but yet to be developed in other groups.
Now that the pilot has concluded, the importance of high-level backing to ensure viability has been demonstrated by which of the five schools has flourished. I wonder if the Faculty can play a role in ensuring - and legitimising - continued support for leadership development activity for doctors?
Thinking more broadly, equipping our colleagues from other professions like this surely has a role to play in advancing distributive leadership across the NHS(1). I wonder how the Faculty will fit into this agenda?
You can read the more detailed report about the lessons learnt from this work in the Projects section (Education & Training) of The Network web pages.
References:
(1) Kings Fund Commission on Leadership & Management, The Future of Leadership & Management in the NHS - No More Heroes. London: Kings Fund 2011.
Leadership and management
I actually feel that the other healthcare professions have had a headstart on us medics in extolling the virtues of a proper management education. This is probably due to the contrast in career structure. For many medics the pinnacle of their career is when they become a GP or consultant - a role very much bound up in taking care of and serving their patients. However, the senior position in nursing and health science is one of a nurse manager or consultant clinical scientist. These are both roles that have very large, and widely acknowledged, management roles. In terms of installing the importance of management; we can learn a lot.
In contrast I think leadership possibly comes more naturally. Doctors are able to fill a number of roles - in an emergency, in general patient care, etc. - and take the lead when necessary. The requirement of this leadership starts at FY1 and continues right through. However, few doctors recognise this leadership component for what it is.
We now need to bring both components, leadership and management, to the forefront of our thinking and training. We will only achieve this effectively by learning how other healthcare professionals have achieved this goal. Maybe the FMLM has a role for all of us.