Description: It is vital for healthcare leaders to have a clear sense of which leadership ideas and practices are rooted in sound theory and convincing evidence, and which are more speculative. This book provides a coherent set of six lenses through which to scrutinise the leadership literature relevant to healthcare - leadership concepts, characteristics, contexts, challenges, capabilities and consequences. It offers a view of leadership beyond the traditional focus on the individual, and argues instead that leadership has to be understood and developed as a complex set of practices by many people within specific organisational and inter-organisational contexts and cultures.
Brief description: Jean Hartley is Professor of Organizational Analysis at the Institute of Governance and Public Management, Warwick Business School, Warwick University. She undertakes research into public leadership and is also concerned with innovation and improvement in and between public service organizations. John Benington is Emeritus Professor at the Institute of Governance and Public Management, Warwick Business School, Warwick University, where for over 20 years he has led Warwick Business School's research, development and teaching work in the fields of public policy and management.
Review Quotes:
"Never before has leadership been such an important lever for reform in health and healthcare. This important work provides a clear framework to understand healthcare leadership. It is also sensibly grounded in the complex adaptive system of delivering health and healthcare. This work is a refreshing departure from many other simplistic approaches which see leadership merely as a response to context rather than a complex dynamic process." Dame Yve Buckland, Chair, NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement