Leadership for healthcare

Leadership for Healthcare offers a comprehensive summary of generic concepts and ideas about leadership and attempts to organise and structure the content based on the 'Warwick 6 C Framework for thinking about leadership' which was co-developed by the authors. The book builds on the idea that too many earlier reviews of leadership approaches centred on separate individualistic models. Instead, it examines the evidence for a comprehensive leadership approach in the wider arena that healthcare leaders have to operate in. This idea is not new, but the authors do provide an easy to use, robust and accessible review of the evidence. The '6-C Framework' views leadership— chapter by chapter of the book—from six different angles: concepts, characteristics, contexts, challenges, capabilities and consequences and emphasises that these elements are interconnected and interactive. Conceptual approaches to leadership are personal • • qualities of the leader, organisational positions of a leader and leadership as a social process. The authors refer to several studies to clarify the con-ceptualisation of leadership being used in any given setting as an important prerequisite for effective leadership development. We agree with the authors that if the concept of leadership is understood in the social processes of influence and mobilisation, then the attention will need to be paid to how the leader understands, interacts with and engages with the group being led. Leadership through influence requires the cultivation of interpersonal skills and emotional intelligence, amongst other aspects. Characteristics of leadership are categorised into • • formal and informal leadership, direct and indirect leadership, clinical and non-clinical leadership, individual and shared/distributed leadership, different Book review Leadership for healthcare bases of power. It was noted by the authors that the leadership characteristics may vary according to the role. Leadership development activities need to be geared to the roles and resources of those in leadership positions. While the authors show the conceptual distinction between leader development and leadership development is a useful one, both types of development are important, according to the context and the needs of the organisation. We agree that overall, leadership development requires careful thinking about who is to be developed, and what their potential roles and contributions are within and for the organisation. Different types of leaders are different sources and processes of influence, and it is necessary for leadership development to be designed appropriately. Context of leadership shows the importance • • of partnership and inter-professional and inter-organisational …