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Correspondence to Dr Rachel Norris, Defence Clinical Psychology Service, Ministry of Defence, Lichfield WS14 9PY, UK; [email protected]
Introduction
‘Leadership is like the abominable snowman whose footprints are everywhere but who is nowhere to be seen’.1 Deloitte’s ‘Global Human Capital Trends’ for 20172 cites leadership as ‘important or very important’ by 90% of respondents. The structures supporting the delivery of UK military healthcare do not leave this important challenge to chance. We benefit from the leadership and oversight of external regulatory bodies, internal governance and assurance (under the auspices of the Defence Safety Authority), single service and joint military leadership codes, standards and values, national and regional headquarters, professional line management, civil service reporting chains, local clinical leadership roles and so on. We adhere to national clinical guidelines, such as the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE)3 and use national frameworks to benchmark best practice (eg, Five Year Forward View for Mental Health).4 This diverse range of resources, contexts and constructs within our own organisation only serves to illustrate one of the main challenges when considering the topic of leadership: it is a complex, socially embedded construct that resists easy definition.5
Nevertheless, psychology is integral to the concepts and practice of leadership. Psychologists have identified and developed a variety of cognitive, social, developmental, biological and personality-based psychological theories and principles that promote effective leadership and organisational functioning.6 This paper will examine the concept of leadership and consider the ‘goodness of fit’ between professional psychological practice and the principles of effective leadership. The contribution that clinical psychology has made to leadership in Defence over the past 20 years will be illustrated by personal accounts from ‘experts by experience’. Consideration will be given to potential future roles for this profession in the Defence Medical Services (DMS) and wider organisation.
The problem of definition
Leadership, like well-being, is universally regarded as a, ‘good thing’, but suffers from the same problem of definition, ‘intangible, difficult to define and even harder to measure’.7 The leadership trope of the exemplary individual and their special ability to produce enhanced organisational performance is pervasive. Leadership textbooks frequently contain detailed analyses of such individuals, their personality, values, behaviour and achievements. A ‘cult of leadership’ has...