When I first set about researching leadership with my colleague, James Taylor, I was taken aback by the plethora of frameworks, models, matrixes and competency sets dedicated to what makes an effective leader. Then there is also the distinct concept of clinical leadership and the fundamental differences between leadership and management.
In the first of our two-part paper for the Journal of Paramedic Practice, the limitations of a ‘tick-box’ approach to leadership frameworks were discussed (Taylor and Armitage, 2012a) while the second instalment, which can be read in this edition of the JPP, emphasises that while it can be viewed as a process, the ‘human’ dimension of leadership cannot be understated (Taylor and Armitage, 2012b).
The importance of leadership within the modern ambulance service is beyond question. Consider a climate of constricting financial constraints married with an unparalleled increase in demand—the ubiquitous drive for patient satisfaction and the ever–present clinical performance indicators. Increased governance and accountability fused with a demand for compliance and adherence to localprotocols. Heightened public expectation against a back-drop of increased personal risk to front-linestaff.
Take a pause there.
The key to a quality service, as always, is through the people responsible for delivering it. Withthe advent of foundation trusts, increased staff engagement and professional development has, at least in theory, been firmly placed on every ambulance service’s agenda. The rhetoric surrounding foundation trusts status dictates that ambulance services will become more accountable to its staff, so the scene is set for leaders to make their mark.
So here is my contribution to the debate—not another framework or competency set or model for some leadership development programme— rather, a new paradigm. A revised way of thinking, afresh mind-set which puts those responsible for service delivery at the heart of everything a leader does. Not so easily captured through a list of defined competencies or some complex matrix diagram, but a genuine approach which recognises what is important— the people central to any health service.
Show me that kind of leader and I will gladly follow.