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Liz Clark explores the values and beliefs that support excellence in leadership, and how senior nurses, in understanding these, can contribute to the government's vision of effective health care for all
LEADERSHIP HAS been a key issue in healthcare organisations for more than a decade, partly because healthcare services across the UK have been going through a period of profound change.
Recent reforms have required healthcare organisations to adopt new ways of operating and to redefine their purposes, the nature of their work and the relationships between their staff.
Old-style, top-down bureaucracies are being replaced by organisational structures and cultures in which shared vision, partnerships, patient empowerment, and collaboration across professions and agencies, are emphasised.
Effective clinical leadership is essential in delivering the high-quality, personcentred care envisioned by health minister Lord Darzi in the final report of the NHS Next Stage Review, High Quality Care for All (Department of Health (DH) 2008).
In his report, Lord Darzi states that 'it is through unlocking talent that we will achieve high quality care across the board'.
'Unlocking talent' involves tapping into the leadership skills and potential of all front line staff to deliver high-quality, safe and effective care to patients and service users.
This article offers readers opportunities to:
* Consider nurses' roles in delivering quality-driven healthcare services.
* Explore the values by which they live and the beliefs they hold.
* Undertake a 'values clarification' exercise.
* Reflect on their beliefs and values about leadership.
* Create a personal vision for their work.
Some nurses may not think of themselves as leaders because they equate leadership with authority or with specific job titles rather than as a way of thinking and behaving.
Any assumption that everyone with 'leader' in their job title is a leader should be challenged because it implies that those without such titles are not leaders and have no responsibility to lead.
Leadership is not simply granted to individuals, and is not about responding passively to events. It is about creating possibilities that were absent before.
Any nurse can be a leader by taking responsibility for their leadership action, instead of waiting for others to do so, and by envisioning change and making it happen.
The NHS Leadership Qualities Framework (NHS Modernisation...